Postgame Game 1 Spurs@Mavs: 3 to go

[Dirkadirkastan]

My favorite part was when Haywood and Stevenson stood up and cheered after Damp went 2-for-2 on the Hack-a-Damp.

[Rick41]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

My favorite part was when Haywood and Stevenson stood up and cheered after Damp went 2-for-2 on the Hack-a-Damp.

I saw that, that was awesome. And it's good to have Haywood in good spirits, because i have NO idea why Damp is getting more minutes than he is, compared to tonights play.

[bernardos70]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

My favorite part was when Haywood and Stevenson stood up and cheered after Damp went 2-for-2 on the Hack-a-Damp.

^This.

I rewound it a few times when that went on. Actually, the broadcast showed them both just before Damp took the 2nd free throw, and they were already anticipating it.

[bigcat]

the best quote regarding dirk's performance tonite:

"He missed a shot. We're working on it." - Holger Geschwindner

[kchan]

Originally Posted by bigcat

the best quote regarding dirk's performance tonite:

"He missed a shot. We're working on it." - Holger Geschwindner

^DIRKED!

Seriously I want the guys to post a higher FG percentage next game with better def of course. And kick their butts....LOL

[CATCH-17]

Anyone think we should get Deshawn Stevenson some minutes on Ginobili?

[tcat075]

Originally Posted by CATCH-17

Anyone think we should get Deshawn Stevenson some minutes on Ginobili?

If he starts lighting Marion up or gets him in foul trouble, yes I do.

[fluid.forty.one]

Originally Posted by bernardos70

^This.

I rewound it a few times when that went on. Actually, the broadcast showed them both just before Damp took the 2nd free throw, and they were already anticipating it.

haha ya I loved that.

[nowhereman]

You guys have already talked about everyone else, so I'll add that Barea was really good staying in front of Parker. He's not gonna win that matchup but I trust him to give Parker fits. He also singlehandedly caused consecutive SA turnovers by denying RJ position in the block and drawing an offensive foul on Parker. Good stuff in limited minutes by our backup PG. With all the weapons out there, all we need is for him to keep the ball moving and be a pest on D. A+ on both counts.

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by nowhereman

You guys have already talked about everyone else, so I'll add that Barea was really good staying in front of Parker. He's not gonna win that matchup but I trust him to give Parker fits. He also singlehandedly caused consecutive SA turnovers by denying RJ position in the block and drawing an offensive foul on Parker. Good stuff in limited minutes by our backup PG. With all the weapons out there, all we need is for him to keep the ball moving and be a pest on D. A+ on both counts.

Chum?

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by nowhereman

You guys have already talked about everyone else, so I'll add that Barea was really good staying in front of Parker. He's not gonna win that matchup but I trust him to give Parker fits. He also singlehandedly caused consecutive SA turnovers by denying RJ position in the block and drawing an offensive foul on Parker. Good stuff in limited minutes by our backup PG. With all the weapons out there, all we need is for him to keep the ball moving and be a pest on D. A+ on both counts.

he is still pounding the rock and slow to get us into our offense half the time. but i agree it's nice to throw him at Parker

[CATCH-17]

The Mavs looked like a well coached team last night.

The help defense was incredible. Everytime a switch needed to be made they made it.

Who else would like to see some plays ran for Haywood? I think he can score at will vs San Antonio.

[tcat075]

Originally Posted by nowhereman

You guys have already talked about everyone else, so I'll add that Barea was really good staying in front of Parker. He's not gonna win that matchup but I trust him to give Parker fits. He also singlehandedly caused consecutive SA turnovers by denying RJ position in the block and drawing an offensive foul on Parker. Good stuff in limited minutes by our backup PG. With all the weapons out there, all we need is for him to keep the ball moving and be a pest on D. A+ on both counts.

I think your actually right about defense. He showed last year he was one of the best at slowing Parker, oddly enough, and he did a solid job today. Still extremely "meh" offensively but at least he's contributing slightly.

[xrobx]

on april 28, 1996 ted st. martin hit 5,221 free throws in a row. of course that wasn't in a game, but let that sink in. 5,221.

[mac222b]

Dirk was unbelievable! my brother, not a mavs fan, was wondering how he could only manage to get 14 shots on a night when he was hitting EVerything. Hack-a-Damp was part of it for sure but still...

[left texas]

I just loved the fast break where the ball did not even touch the floor!

And Dirk, well what can you say, but I love you man!!

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by left texas

I just loved the fast break where the ball did not even touch the floor!

And Dirk, well what can you say, but I love you man!!

why is this not on the NBA highlights?

[dalger]

Pop during the press conference:

Question: "Were you surprised by the number of turnovers that your team had tonight?"

Pop: "No, we've been capable of doing that before. So, it's not a surprise."

That guy's dry and ironic humor is just f'n hilarious. No one laughed at that one since Pop kept as straight a face as possible pretending to be serious, but it was so clear that he was just totally making fun of that poor reporter woman.

[bobbyfg7]

Pops is a quote machine, no doubt. Great game. If the Mavs have this kind of intensity all postseason, they can go far.

Interesting article by Ludden:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...avericks041910

I call dibs on the second paragraph for my signature.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by bobbyfg7

Pops is a quote machine, no doubt. Great game. If the Mavs have this kind of intensity all postseason, they can go far.

Interesting article by Ludden:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...avericks041910

I call dibs on the second paragraph for my signature.

Boy Howdy no kidding. Great opening paragraphs...gotta quote 'em.

DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki(notes) snarled and flung his arms up, pushing himself from Matt Bonner(notes), a show of toughness that sent the American Airlines Center into a delirious roar. Nowitzki bared his teeth and barked some more, and, no, this was not an act born of frustration. This looked like contempt.

This is who you send to stop me, Nowitzki seemed to be demanding. Is this all you have? All these years, all these battles, and, still, you haven’t learned?

[sike]

Originally Posted by bobbyfg7

Pops is a quote machine, no doubt. Great game. If the Mavs have this kind of intensity all postseason, they can go far.

Interesting article by Ludden:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...avericks041910

I call dibs on the second paragraph for my signature.

+rep for posting the article

[GermanDunk]

Originally Posted by dalger

Pop during the press conference:

Question: "Were you surprised by the number of turnovers that your team had tonight?"

Pop: "No, we've been capable of doing that before. So, it's not a surprise."

That guy's dry and ironic humor is just f'n hilarious. No one laughed at that one since Pop kept as straight a face as possible pretending to be serious, but it was so clear that he was just totally making fun of that poor reporter woman.

Many coaches are too ambitious for my taste, but Coach Pop is a cool guy. I like him very much. And he is ambitious.

[Dirkenstien]

Great freakin game. Dirk with another classic playoff performance, big guys doing serious dirty work down low, and Kidd providing some amazing leadership. Butler was awesome as well. Can't wait for the next game. 1 down, 15 to go.

[Lor20]

with the mavs winning the first game the chance for the mavs to win the series (based on an assumption of 70% likelyhood to win home games and 40% to win away games) is 75.7%.

11% that they will win in 4
27% that they will win in 5 (3% that the spurs will do that)
16% that they will win in 6 (12% for the spurs)
22% that they will win in 7 (9% for the spurs)


so im sticking to my mavs in 5 forecast!
lets make it so!

[xrobx]

Originally Posted by Lor20

with the mavs winning the first game the chance for the mavs to win the series (based on an assumption of 70% likelyhood to win home games and 40% to win away games) is 75.7%.

11% that they will win in 4
27% that they will win in 5 (3% that the spurs will do that)
16% that they will win in 6 (12% for the spurs)
22% that they will win in 7 (9% for the spurs)


so im sticking to my mavs in 5 forecast!
lets make it so!

where exactly do you get these percentages

[Lor20]

Originally Posted by xrobx

where exactly do you get these percentages

those are just calculated probabilities assuming the mavs have a 70% chance to win against the spurs at home and a 40% chance to win in san antonio.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

For people (mostly Spurs fans) saying that there is reason for the Spurs to be optimistic...well yes, but if their big three played that well...and the team's bench played well...and they shot a good percentage....and they resorted to hack-a-Damp (embarassing)....then what other tricks are there? Rebounding battle and ft battle I suppose, but then all of those other things will probably have to happen as well to win. IMO it's just as much of a downer when you lose and your three best players played well.

I still have guarded optimism, but it's hard not to objectively say that the Spurs will need to play 110% every game to have a chance to win this series.

[Rick41]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2751084_n.jpg

Just a preview what I have to deal with...


*put the link instead cause of a random F bomb*

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Rick41

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2751084_n.jpg

Just a preview what I have to deal with...


*put the link instead cause of a random F bomb*

I laughed.

[Rick41]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

I laughed.

So did I, the world of a spurs fan collapses after 1 playoff loss as you can see...

[aurelino9]

Barkley called Kidd the best pg in the NBA in the last 20 years...EJ and Kenny mentioned Stockton and Payton but Charles said that Kidd has had a better overall career and continues to play at high level at 37. Stockton was past his prime and GP is the only other PG in the discussion (you could probably bring Nash in too but he's only been this good in the last 6-7 years).

[SMC0007]

His streak will continue into next season, I don't see what the big deal is.

Maybe he should just set a record for hitting every single free throw in the post season then.

[Underdog]

Screw regular season/post season "records" - I'm interested in how many consecutive free throws a human can hit at the professional level...

However you want to count it, Dirk is only a dozen away from doing that (even if douchers who have never played a game of basketball in their lives [David Stern] don't keep those kinds of records...)

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Screw regular season/post season "records" - I'm interested in how many consecutive free throws a human can hit at the professional level...

However you want to count it, Dirk is only a dozen away from doing that (even if douchers who have never played a game of basketball in their lives [David Stern] don't keep those kinds of records...)

I think it would be mentioned as a side-note record. ("Michael Williams has the official regular season record at 97, but Dirk Nowitzki hit xxx consecutive free throws including playoffs.)

[tcat075]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Screw regular season/post season "records" - I'm interested in how many consecutive free throws a human can hit at the professional level...

However you want to count it, Dirk is only a dozen away from doing that (even if douchers who have never played a game of basketball in their lives [David Stern] don't keep those kinds of records...)

Yeah, its ridiculous. I play basketball, and its obvious that my jump shot is like infinitely worse than Dirk's, but still. Free throws aren't hard to make, and it makes me wonder why Shaq refuses to learn. However, I have trouble making more than 5 or 6 FT's in a row. I know if I shot more of them (because its much sexier to practice 3's) I'd be better, could hit more, could shot higher than my measly 70%-ish. So maybe 15 in a row at some point when shooting 100 total. But on that 16th, it'll go just a little bit to the right, and rattle out. Or a little far, and bounce straight up and then off the rim.

I cannot even imagine what Dirk's done.

[Budapest Maverick]

Originally Posted by tcat075

Yeah, its ridiculous. I play basketball, and its obvious that my jump shot is like infinitely worse than Dirk's, but still. Free throws aren't hard to make, and it makes me wonder why Shaq refuses to learn. However, I have trouble making more than 5 or 6 FT's in a row. I know if I shot more of them (because its much sexier to practice 3's) I'd be better, could hit more, could shot higher than my measly 70%-ish. So maybe 15 in a row at some point when shooting 100 total. But on that 16th, it'll go just a little bit to the right, and rattle out. Or a little far, and bounce straight up and then off the rim.

I cannot even imagine what Dirk's done.

If you can hit 15 in a row, you can hit 30 in a row, and if you can hit 30 in a row, you can probably hit 50. In a gym, with a good ball, on a good rim, with a good form, without the pressure... A lot of hobby baller could do well. I could probably reach 30-40, in a couple of days max, i'm a good amateur shooter though. I tried only once for a half hour, i hit 14 in a row, outside, with a slippery, scuffed ball. But this incredibly awesome man, doing this on the biggest freakin' stage of the basketball world, in front of thousends, (millions), hitting several clutch ones in the proccess... That's the big thing i guess. Anyway, 1-0!!!!!

[monty55555]

DALLAS -- To all those who wondered what if ...

To all who wondered what would happen if, for whatever silly reason, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich chose to defend Dirk Nowitzki one on one, the answer came with near-perfect resonance Sunday night.

Flying solo -- and clearly enjoying the elbow room -- Nowitzki made 12 of 14 field goal attempts and scored 36 points, as the Dallas Mavericks claimed Game 1 of the best-of-seven series 100-94.

"Well, you know, they had scorers last year, too," Popovich explained later. "You pick your poison."

The end result was venomous. While Dirk was finding the basket from every angle, the Mavericks were riding the steadying hand of Jason Kidd.

"Jason was a man," Popovich graciously observed. "He was a focused, driven individual, as usual."

He was, so can we quit moaning about the New Jersey trade once and for all?
If leadership and playoff savvy are what the Mavericks were looking for when they acquired the now-37-year-old point guard two years ago, he gave it to them resoundingly Sunday night.

Nowitzki will get the headlines today, but Kidd should get the applause.

"He played great," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "He was sensational in all areas."

All areas, he said. Which meant passing, running the offense, shooting and defense.

"He's a future Hall of Famer," said Spurs forward Richard Jefferson, a former Nets teammate of Kidd. "And he's going to keep playing at a high level.

"He's one of those guys that can make people around him better, and he has a lot of talent around him now."

It was only one night, one step on the long NBA playoff road, but the Mavericks did clearly look like the better, deeper team, which hasn't always been the case against four-time champion San Antonio.

That argument should stand, even on a night when the Spurs' Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili combined for 53 points.

"We played hard," Carlisle said of his team's defense. "We didn't necessarily play well all of the time."

What happened was that the Mavericks made Duncan and Ginobili work for nearly every point of their combined 53.

"Our defense really played a part tonight," Kidd said. "We deflected a bunch of passes, and we were active, and we tried to limit them to one tough shot."

The hustle paid off. Kidd finished with 11 assists and was moving the ball
around so craftily, Popovich resorted to the big What-If.

What if the Spurs tried to shadow Nowitzki with only one defender?

"Dirk got the best of whatever we tried to do with him tonight," Popovich said. "We tried a lot of different things, but he beat them all."

Taking advantage of Spurs both big and small, Dirk scored when driving to the basket and when falling away from it.

Midway in the third quarter, just after San Antonio had actually wrested away the lead 59-58, Nowitzki hit a pair of free throws, then a 13-foot jumper, and then converted a three-point play to push the Mavs back into the lead 67-61.

The home team never trailed again.

"That's just what he does," said Caron Butler, who's been Nowitzki's teammate for only three months. "When you've got so many guys around him to keep the double-teams coming and making it difficult for the defense, he's going to have his way. He did a great job of making decisions, creating for others and, at the same time, hitting his shots."

Of all the beneficiaries Sunday night, Butler was the most to benefit. He finished with 22 points.

With Kidd and Nowitzki making the right decisions, it looked at times like a whole, new Mavericks offense.

"I think the scouting report on us probably says that we rely on the jump shot," Kidd said. "But I thought tonight was a great example of us not doing that, and coming out and being aggressive, driving the ball to the basket and getting to the free throw line."

It seemed an accurate assessment on this Game 1 night.

The Mavericks came out sharp and focused. The Spurs ... well, Popovich rolled the diced and it came out 36.

Wrong poison.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/04...low-dirks.html

[mavErika]

In related news to the discussion above, Damp just buried 140 of 150 FT's

[DirkFTW]

Originally Posted by tcat075

Yeah, its ridiculous. I play basketball, and its obvious that my jump shot is like infinitely worse than Dirk's, but still. Free throws aren't hard to make, and it makes me wonder why Shaq refuses to learn. However, I have trouble making more than 5 or 6 FT's in a row. I know if I shot more of them (because its much sexier to practice 3's) I'd be better, could hit more, could shot higher than my measly 70%-ish. So maybe 15 in a row at some point when shooting 100 total. But on that 16th, it'll go just a little bit to the right, and rattle out. Or a little far, and bounce straight up and then off the rim.

Noob, you need to take a page from Van Exel's book and shoot 3's as free throws. Then it's allll sexy!

[tcat075]

Originally Posted by DirkFTW

Noob, you need to take a page from Van Exel's book and shoot 3's as free throws. Then it's allll sexy!

Haha, that's hilarious. Shooting 3's has basically replaced FT's nowadays in 21, must be why Nick shot that way!

Originally Posted by Budapest Maverick

If you can hit 15 in a row, you can hit 30 in a row, and if you can hit 30 in a row, you can probably hit 50. In a gym, with a good ball, on a good rim, with a good form, without the pressure... A lot of hobby baller could do well. I could probably reach 30-40, in a couple of days max, i'm a good amateur shooter though. I tried only once for a half hour, i hit 14 in a row, outside, with a slippery, scuffed ball. But this incredibly awesome man, doing this on the biggest freakin' stage of the basketball world, in front of thousends, (millions), hitting several clutch ones in the proccess... That's the big thing i guess. Anyway, 1-0!!!!!

Yeah, its one thing to go to the gym and shoot FT's for an hour and then get a rhythm and make 40-50 in a row. Its another thing to go out, night after night, take the ball to the basket, get smacked hard, hit the ground hard, get up, step to the free throw line, lights blaring at you, camera's snapping, people screaming and waving, while sweat runs down you face and moistens your hands, and to calmly sink both free throws, nothing but net. Not once, not 5 times, but 35 trips in a row.