Jazz/Mavs: Playoff Positioning

[LonestarROB]

The problem I have with Eisley is that(to me anyways) he looks to create a shot for himself first. Instead of trying to get others involved.

[djb]

That's because he's not very good at drawing the defenders and finding the open man. He plays too much like a two-guard out there.

[Mavinator]

MavsFanFinley- I am the farthest thing on this board from a Finley-hater, but I think he really just had a terrible game tonight, and I think it was largely his fault that Dirk didn't get the ball at all in the first half- only 5 attempts is ridiculous. Finley's 9 attempts plus 6 turnovers = 15 times when he took control of the ball, that's three times as many as Dirk had, and Dirk is generally the more effective offensive weapon, especially against the Jazz.

I like Howard's consistency, though- after those two or three bad games he had a while ago, he's been consistently pretty effective both early in games and in the fourth quarter... it seems like every game he gets 12-16 in the first half and then 4-8 in the fourth quarter.

[MavsFanFinley]

Im not saying your a finley hater, I just think it's a bit harsh to put this loss on his shoulders alone.

What do you mean Finley's 9 attempts? He only had 7 going into the 4th quarter.

[Mavinator]

Oh, I wasn't putting it on his shoulders alone- a whole lot of our guys had problems tonight. And, whoops, you're right about the shot-attempts thing, I usually quote statistics from memory and I was in error there. Of course, I also accidentally said 6 TO's when he actually had 7, so it still equates to 14 possessions...

That dunk on Polynice was NICE, though.

[MavsFanFinley]

I didn't get to see the dunk [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] I heard about it though, I'll have to catch some highlights but it'll probably be all Jazz though.

I guess Im not seeing your logic about Fin and posessions. Those turnovers all came in the first half. No, 7 turnovers isn't pretty but as I understood it, they came from the Jazz double-teaming him. How does that count as a posession? And how would it be different if Dirk had the ball in those situations? Im confused but what else is new? Dirk still shot the ball more than Fin and we lost.

Dirk 7-16 and 7-7 (ft)
Fin 5-10 and 3-3 (ft)

[MavsFanFinley]

I wish Nelson would of got kicked out again [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

That way Harris would of used both Booth and Bradley and we could of had a repeat of the last game [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Speaking of Fin's turnover problem, both Nash and Dirk had 4 apiece too. Howard had 3, with Booth and Bradley having 2 also.

[Mavinator]

Finley's seven first-half turnovers all came as a result of trying to drive the lane and being immediately double-teamed. This is why I have never been a big proponent of many fans' views that Finley "should drive the lane more". As great as Finley is, he is still a subpar ball-handler, and I actually think he's better off taking mostly jumpshots and only occasionally trying to push the ball into the middle... his game requires a lot of balance to minimize turnovers. Anyway, my point is that if Finley hadn't turned the ball over those seven times, I guarantee you he would have shot the ball 5 or 6 of those times, not because he's greedy, just because that's what he does when he drives the lane. Dirk's turnovers, on the other hand, all came from bad crosscourt passes- I remember most of them specifically. Nash did have a couple turnovers too, but that's actually fairly typical of him. When he racks up assists, he also rachs up turnovers (usually with about a 3-to-1 ratio) and this was one of those nights...

Finley was downright noble taking so few shots in the second half, but the difference between Dirk and Finley tonight was that Finley was just way off, but Dirk was hitting his shots...

[Jordan23TX]

Collectively, we all agree there is plenty blame to go around ... from the players to the coaching staff...Hope we get back on track tuesday....Guys ease off Eisley , he's not doing as bad as we make it... His role has changed ..& he's struggling with his new role ..The trade affected his game moreso then anyones..

[erub]

A loss is a loss...can't do much about it. We're still in pretty good shape though, with 3 tough games coming up.

[ReggieThetaChi]

No player can be credited with losing a game on their own. It isn't fair to put the blame on Eisley's paling in comparison to Nash, Booth playing like crap, Finley turning the ball over, or ineffectiveness of the bench. This is a team game, and the bottom line is that the team played like crap. Saddling the loss on one scapegoat sure makes it alot easier to accept a loss, but it is not accurate. The bottom line is Dallas played like crap, not any individual player. This statement is a bit incoherent, because I'm loaded up on painkiller right now, but I'm sure all of you get the gist of it.

[Flying Tiger]

I'm not too upset with the loss. I would rather stay in the 4/5 spot then move up to 3. In my opinion, we have a better chance of getting by Utah in the 1st than even the T-Wolves. It would be a rough series, but if the Mavs are still alive, I think we would advance to the 2nd.

[TheKid]

I think this was a game as a Mavericks fan we all want to forget about as soon as possible. It was just terrible, other than Juwan, I personally don't think anyone played particularly well. I tell you what though, I'm probably going to become an anti Bradley person very soon....