Round 1: Mavs vs. Jazz - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

djb · 04-18-2001, 12:00 PM

It's been a little quiet around here since the Mavs guaranteed themselves a spot in the postseason..what's up with that?! I declare this the official Round 1 thread [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

TheKid · 04-18-2001, 12:06 PM

I agree DJ, it's amazing I haven't seen any interesting threads with some debating something. However I will take this opportunity to say I'm HYPED officially. How many people TRULY believe we're going to pull this series out?

Hales233 · 04-18-2001, 12:23 PM

I TRULY believe we will take the series in 5...Maxwell hits a three at the buzzer for the series win in the Delta Center!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Maringa · 04-18-2001, 12:54 PM

As much as I want us to win, I think Utah takes it in 4 games. Chalk it up to experience, inability to handle Malone (Laettner was the only player this year that was able to shut him down) and Stockton being in better shape physically than Nash. Nash is not at 100% (more like 70 %) and teams have learned/adjusted to closing the passing lanes on him. Dirk seems a little frazzled right now and unless he gets his head in gear, there is no way we win without his offense.

Malone and Stockton know that this is it, so they are not backing down. Look for a lot of physical play, with possibly a few injuries affecting our star players (Howard, Dirk and Nash).

Bench play: Eisley-hopeless in Utah, Buckner (will he effective when he comes back?, Booth (may be only key contributor, Najera - Nelson doesn't trust him. Bench play is where Utah may have all the nails they need to close the coffin.

I hope that we win the series, but then if we do, we face San Antonio....Mark Cuban despite our performance, needs to make significant changes like he did in the off-season (draft picks). We can't be satisfied with with our centers and point guards. We need a healthy, confident and athletic point guard to back up Nash. I am tremendously disappointed with Eisley and Maxwell (bless his heart) does try but isn't the answer. I think we can survive with Bradley, Booth and Wang, but that trio will never take us past the second round....Come on Mark, work some of your magic over the off-season...

LAM0015 · 04-18-2001, 01:11 PM

i think a big problem with the Mavs is their unwillingness to get the ball to players when they are hot. dirk may hit 3 shots in a row early in the game..but might not get another shot for 5-10 minutes.
the mavs need to take advantage when players are hot.
they seem to often times fail to get the ball to a player when he's on and by the time they get him the ball, he's cooled off

i'm hoping a few days off will help nash ....
if howard isn't scoring early, please, don't continue to feed the guy the ball repeatedly..if he is on..then get him the ball.....

djb · 04-18-2001, 01:22 PM

The Mavs are in trouble if they think they can just keep pounding the ball in a halfcourt set. I swear they keep passing it to Howard down low no matter how hot or cold he is. Teams don't stand a chance when the Mavs push the ball and RUN, but lately all I've been seeing is Howard posting up. And if they are going to do the halfcourt thing, why not get Dirk more involved like earlier in the season?! Yea the last couple games have left a real bitter taste in my mouth.

giostar · 04-18-2001, 01:50 PM

I think that Nellie has a little something up his sleeve for Utah. Remember how much he (and I) hate Malone. This team can beat Utah. I don't care how crafty people think Stockton and Malone are, they are getting old. Remember this. Including the 98-90 loss to Dallas on 3/26, the Jazz are 6-7 since, while the Mavs are 7-4 (including that 3 game slide against a TOUGH SCHEDULE of Utah, San Antonio, and PHX). I don't think it will be easy, but I think the Mavs suprise the jazz in game one, loose game two, and win the next two at home. I was close earlier in the season when I said the mavs would take 10 in a row, and they went 9-1. Let's see if this one will come true.

Its going to be a good battle to see. The New vs. The Old. Does anyone know what times/days the games will be?

Maringa · 04-18-2001, 01:50 PM

DJ, the last few games have turned me sour on the Mavs. We can only wish it is a gimmick by Nelson to hide any playoff plays and to make our opponent overconfident......I can dream can't I? I can just see it now...Wang as the secret weapon!!!!!

The Crippler · 04-18-2001, 01:56 PM

Teams don't really allow you to run much in the playoffs, so it's better that they have been working more half court sets. Vet teams like the Jazz make sure that they get back on D, and will not allow the easy baskets. That is one reason I would of liked to play the Kings, they don't play much transition D at all.

And Lam, I've noticed as well that the mavs don't distribute the ball to the hot man. I know they have lots of scorers, and it's good to keep everyone happy, but c'mon, when Dirk is hot, he doesn't miss. I would give him a touch everytime down the floor. When Fin's hot, he demands the ball, and takes the shot. I would like to see Dirk develop that mentality, and if he does, Fin better recognize and keep his ego out of the way.

Jordan23TX · 04-18-2001, 02:07 PM

I think that what happens is the Mavs are "best" when more then one player is hot. That makes it hard to guard anybody. What I think happens is once someone gets hot ... they then try to get someone else going to give teams a 1-2 punch. I personally like it when Howard gets it going down low ... because it sets the table for everyone else....when Howard & Dirk are going OFF .....we aren't beatable....its sorta the same recipe that SAC used all year ..Webber killing them low ...& Peja killin them from outside....Bottomline "if" we get it going ,,,, its going to be contagious.....Ease off Eisley he will be adequate...... But I dont think there will be any major offseason acquisitions... Whomever gets our exception will be just about it ..or maybe a sign & trade including Trent... Which BTW, I wished we had him for the playoffs. .. because teams are goin to try to push us around like bitches....

TheKid · 04-18-2001, 02:43 PM

This is the one time of the season I think Eisley will step up. He has stepped for Utah before in the playoffs hitting some big shots so I'm expecting him to be big if Nash is still hampered by those injuries. I agree with you DJ, they need to run and if they do that, we should be able to pull out a 3-2 victory in the series. However the ONE key factor is the REFS. They will give Utah EVERY call in the playoffs, so I'm letting everyone know now, get ready for the Mavs to get no calls. I hope Nellie is telling this to his players because they can't start bitching getting technicals and things of that nature. Also if I were Nellie, I would ask Cuban to move his seat about 12 rows back so he can't bother the refs because they will and I mean they WILL be horrendous!!!

Evilmav2 · 04-18-2001, 03:34 PM

If we can contain Malone for two or three games, we will win this series. We have great matchups across the board with the possible exception of Polynice/Ostertag v. Bradley/Booth/(sometimes Dirk), and Malone/Howard. We will live and die with our perimeter game (as we have most of this year)... Bradley's playoff heroics are coming...

TheKid · 04-18-2001, 03:44 PM

Well let me tell you what Evil man. You better be right, if your man Bradley plays well that means he'll probably control the front line. If that happens, give us the first series in FOUR GAMES!!!!

LonestarROB · 04-18-2001, 03:49 PM

I actually think we'll beat'em. I just hope the ref's call good games and don't fall for the Jazz antics.

TheKid · 04-18-2001, 03:50 PM

You mine as well accept it, the Mavericks are all ready in the Bonus and the first game hasn't even started!!

LonestarROB · 04-18-2001, 05:35 PM

1st game. Saturday at 1:00. Don Nelson just told me so [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] .

Hoover · 04-18-2001, 06:15 PM

The complete first round schedule was just released....

http://basketball.dallasnews.com/sch...ayoffsked.html

Not smart enough to link it so just cut and paste.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

scooterj5 · 04-18-2001, 06:25 PM

Break it down if you wanna, but we beat these guys 2 times this year and they beat us 2 times. We can win this. Mavs in 5.

erub · 04-18-2001, 06:39 PM

I think that we don't have a chance to win this series in 5. The veteran Utah team will not let us take it at their homecourt. Our best hope is to get either game 1 or game 2 at Utah, then come back here and close it out.

Malone will try to bully us around, but I think we won't be in that bad of a shape. Our perimeter game will be big, but so will Finley driving and scoring, and getting fouled. Free throws this season have often been to our advantage, and we must make it so here. Practically our whole team is an excellent FT shooting team - around 80% from the line, and getting 19 points a game from the charity stripe.

Nash's play will be key to this series - Eisley just appears that he doesn't know how to run the offense. I'm curious, anybody know if Nash's production has gone down (pts wise) since the Howard trade? I think that he has, although I don't have any statistics handy to prove so.

scooterj5 · 04-18-2001, 08:39 PM

Sure this team is veteran but what does that mean anyway?? Malone/Stockton tandom has been in the playoffs forever, and they haven't won a title. They got beat up on by younger Blazers teams for the past two playoffs. But just to play it safe, I think we should pay a homeless guy to kick Malone in the balls.

MAVS IN 5

Hales233 · 04-18-2001, 08:53 PM

LOL

Hoover · 04-19-2001, 09:00 AM

Dr. Jack Ramsay at 4:43pm ET
Yes...the Mavs are getting better, the Jazz are struggling. They will play better in the playoffs...Stockton and Malone will rally the troops; but the Mavs have too many guns...Finley, Dirk and Howard are a tough matchup for Utah. Nash vs Stockton will be a dandy. Mavs in 6.

Uhhhh......does someone want to tell him this is a five game series? I think Dr Jack is going senile. This is the same guy who said Wang would succeed because he spoke English already! I'm beginning to think that I can get a job at ESPN as an expert analyst![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Mavs win it in four. The old timers in Utah can't run with the Mavs over an extended period. If you will remember after the game in Utah, the Jazz went on a big slide and I think part of that can be attributed to fatigue after the Mavs game.

ReggieThetaChi · 04-19-2001, 12:49 PM

Veteren legs= old legs. Donyell Marshall is still a fat ass who is over rated, no matter how much he has impoved this year. Mailman will not deliever, Stockton will get outplayed. They have nothing on us anymore. We'll beat them in 4.

djb · 04-20-2001, 04:45 PM

With the playoffs looming, this thread needed to be bumped!

zk18 · 04-20-2001, 04:58 PM

The one thing that will help the Jazz is all of the days off between games. I think its ridiculous to have 2 and 3 days off between games, but ill have to deal with it. Mavs will still dominate though! MAVS IN 4!!! GO MAVS!! Watch out for the MANTIS!!!!

LonestarROB · 04-20-2001, 05:01 PM

My biggest concern is actually the time(2:00) and place(NBC). We never play good in afternoon games and we suck even more when on National TV.

LAM0015 · 04-20-2001, 05:03 PM

i agree, it is best when more than one player is hot.... but when nash isn't in the game, the mavs do a piss poor job of getting the ball to the hot player.
and hell yes, get the ball out of howard's hands when he's not hot. what the hell is the deal with trying to establish him first in every freaking game recently?
and the good teams that can run and can play the half court game will be the most successful offensively in the playoffs.

djb · 04-20-2001, 05:04 PM

Mavs are 0-3 in afternoon games this year I think, but remember those weren't exactly garbage teams were playing against (Kings, Suns, etc). Also, I don't believe that "Mavs don't play well on national tv" garbage. After all, the Mavs beat one of the top teams in the league before an international audience in that Mavs/Kings webcast a while back [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

djb · 04-20-2001, 05:08 PM

BTW, Mavs will win 103-99 tomorrow!

LonestarROB · 04-20-2001, 05:10 PM

True, and we did beat the Raptors on national tv(blackedout locally) too. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

LonestarROB · 04-20-2001, 05:11 PM

Yeah, I say we win 102-97 tomorrow. If we don't, they'll be hitting the golfcorse by the end of next week.

Evilmav2 · 04-20-2001, 05:19 PM

We will lose tomorrow, but steal homecourt in game 2...

Flying Tiger · 04-20-2001, 06:01 PM

I don't know about game one, but I bet we take the series(if the Mavs are still alive when it's over.). These two teams play each other so phisically, I bet we lose track of the technicals and ejections in this series. I will go ahead and predict a victory, Mavs-101 Jazz-94

scooterj5 · 04-20-2001, 06:30 PM

GAME ONE- Our guys are too fired up to lose. Dirk goes for 35. Dallas 90, Utah 86.

Hales233 · 04-20-2001, 07:06 PM

GAME ONE---- Mavs 107, Jazz 104

Bookit · 04-20-2001, 07:13 PM

This is getting rediculous. The Mavs beating the Jazz? Ok.....I'm in.

Mavs 102
Jazz 100

scooterj5 · 04-20-2001, 07:24 PM

Utah's centers...

Greg Ostertag shoot 56% free throws
Olden Polynice shoot 26% free throws

Umm let's foul them to death. Where's that Bubba Wells guy damnit?!!

dallmav · 04-20-2001, 08:14 PM

The mavs will win this one in 5 games. Utah first round exit. bye bye to Malone

Mav_on_the_Move · 04-20-2001, 08:32 PM

You don't need Bubba Wells for fouls when you have Mark Bryant heheheheh.
Seriously though, if the Mavs can steal game one, they should win this in 4 because their confidence will be sky high. The refs issue is one that concerns me. While I don't like to moan about the Refs they will give the Jazz the calls if for no other reason than they don't want to listen to Malone (and people think Bradley whines alot[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img] If they can keep their heads when it starts they can pull it out.

Oh and Mr. Cuban I'm willing to offer my services as your official ref basher. Just get me a courtside seat and I'll say all the things you want to tell the Zebras and the Zebra leader Darryl Garretson (where's Earl Strom when you need him). You can complain vicariously through me.

Flying Tiger · 04-20-2001, 09:42 PM

hahaha...I agree that the Mavericks will definatly have the confidence advantage. The Jazz didn't finish too strong, but the Mavs did. I also agree that is is way bogus that the refs give the Jazz so many calls...that's a bunch of crap! It doesn't matter how old the guys are, you gotta make the right call. And Malone does whine too much.