Devin from the opening gun

[alexamenos]

Just heard it on 103.3...

Devin's getting the start tonight in place of Griff. Maybe Avery wants to run right at a banged up Parker from the opening gun.

Regards

[Evilmav2]

Uh oh... Avery must have been watching some old 01-02 game films, and decided to unleash some old Nellie style small-ball hell on these stinking sp*rs asses...

[Dirkenstien]

Good move, Harris is athletic and just as quick as Parker. The only question is discipline.

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by Evilmav2

Uh oh... Avery must have been watching some old 01-02 game films, and decided to unleash some old Nellie style small-ball hell on these stinking sp*rs asses...

I gotta think it has something to do with Parker being really banged up -- Harris can blow by him a few times and maybe draw a foul or two from Duncan. That's be like killing two Spurs with one stone, or something like that.

cheers

[EricaLubarsky]

I really hope Ginobli doesnt torch Terry

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

I really hope Ginobli doesnt torch Terry

Terry or Howard? I kind of figure Howard gets Ginobilli and Terry gets Bowen -- terry and Bowen can kind of hang out around the 3 point arc together.

[dirno2000]

I don't think this has anything to do with Parkers injury since Avery doesn't dictate the Spurs matchups. I think we needed another offensive threat on the floor so Duncan can't guard Griff and essentially play zone.

[G-Man]

Ultimate head game between 2 old buddies. The master and the pupil.

I find it hard to believe AJ is really changing his lineup. I'll believe it when I see it. BUT. If Devin is ready, it could a huge move. Does Pop respond with Beno?

If Parker doesn't play, Nick will foul out in the first quarter.

[birdsanctuary]

This could make things very interesting...

[DirkGoesNuclear]

Howard will be on Ginobili. Terry will just hang around any of their shooters that don't really penetrate: Bowen, Finley, Barry.

Harris in the lineup force Spurs to go small. Duncan will have to play center, which means no Rasho or Nazr.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by DirkGoesNuclear

Howard will be on Ginobili. Terry will just hang around any of their shooters that don't really penetrate: Bowen, Finley, Barry.

Harris in the lineup force Spurs to go small. Duncan will have to play center, which means no Rasho or Nazr.

So Dirk is a center too then..unless we big/small it and Dirk guards Bowen, but if we had Harris/Terry/Howard/Dirk/center, it wouldnt really be small ball-- just one of our guards guarding a larger player

[EricaLubarsky]

I love Harris and Terry isnt a bad defender when he plays against a larger guy

[ilMavvento]

Devin will lead us to the promised land....

....as long as he hits his FTs...

Good move by Avery, it appears.

[MavsHavSprsNutsInaJar]

YA BABY!!!!

[sixeightmkw]

I always knew he was the key.

I actually posted this on the Spursreport.com site that Devin is the key to this series and they all laughed before I eventaully got banned, but I guessI was right.

[sike]

not to gloat or anything....but kg and I have been talking about the greatness of the Dash/JT/JHo,Dirk/Damp lineup.....

looks like great minds DO think alike

man, the quickness that JT and Dash provided out there was simply unmatchable by the spurs. I loved those few minutes in the second half where Duncan was in no man's land guarding AG or Josh. Man that made Pop look silly. and that is a good thing.

[kg_veteran]

Originally Posted by sike

not to gloat or anything....but kg and I have been talking about the greatness of the Dash/JT/JHo,Dirk/Damp lineup.....

looks like great minds DO think alike

man, the quickness that JT and Dash provided out there was simply unmatchable by the spurs. I loved those few minutes in the second half where Duncan was in no man's land guarding AJ or Josh. Man that made Pop look silly. and that is a good thing.

Not to gloat, or anything.

A new era is beginning, folks.

[sike]

now just think if...or should I say "WHEN" JT actually starts making the spurs pay for leaving him open so often.... 6-18 in game 1 and 5-13 in game 2 is just not thre real JT. The move to put Harris in the starting lineup (or even just to play him heavy min) will look even more genius when Harris is finding JET for wide open shots....and that textbook JT shot comes through.

[sike]

Originally Posted by kg_veteran

A new era is beginning, folks.

“Gather round, gather round”, come with your hat in your hands for a prophet is amongst us! And he speaks the words of truth....as if the very words of GOD!!!

[miles berg]

I just hope Avery sticks with Devin as the starter throughout the playoffs.

[bernardos70]

Where's Devinharriswillstart?

[sike]

Originally Posted by miles berg

I just hope Avery sticks with Devin as the starter throughout the playoffs.

agaisnt the spurs...yes....against the suns....I would...but will he?

the final point is this: does the offense run better through Dash? If the answer if "yes" then Devin will start from now on. AJ is more than willing to have a true point guard out there....as soon as he feels Devin is ready....Devin will be starting.

[kg_veteran]

I don't see why Devin wouldn't work as a starter against the Suns. Terry can certainly guard Raja Bell, and Devin has the same positive two-way effect against Nash that he has against Parker.

[sike]

Originally Posted by kg_veteran

I don't see why Devin wouldn't work as a starter against the Suns. Terry can certainly guard Raja Bell, and Devin has the same positive two-way effect against Nash that he has against Parker.

I certainly think Harris would "handle" Nash better than JT historically has...plus, there is no way Nash stands a chance against Dash.

I would not be too surprised if Devin was greeted by Raja....

[kriD]

Parker look-alike makes difference in Mavs' lineup

By RANDY GALLOWAY
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

SAN ANTONIO - The General had a new plan for Game 2, which even included a new lineup.

Enter the kid, Devin Harris, the Mavericks' version of a Tony Parker starter kit.

"Devin is not the guy to win this series for us, but what he brings can give us even a better chance," explained Avery Johnson before the opening tipoff.

It was a bold move by a coach whose team had narrowly lost the first game of the series Sunday.

Bold became gold Tuesday night.

Pace, penentration, and defensive confusion -- yes, plenty of confusion by the Spurs -- were all a product of what Harris helped deliver in a blowout 113-91 victory for the Mavs.

Don't elevate the General to genius status just yet.

But this thing with Harris was the kind of brainstorm that can be labeled PDS (Pretty Damn Smart), and it's also worthy of Coach-of-the-Year status, which, of course, Johnson already has won.

And with the long wait to Game 3 back up north Saturday afternoon, you can bet Devin Harris, and not any bear-hug defense on Dirk, will send Spurs coach Gregg Popovich deep into his bunker, looking for answers.

Simply put, Harris' speed and quickness broke down Pop's defense. Even his half-court defense. And if anything can worry the Spurs, it's definitely that.

At the same time, Harris' defense on Parker prevented the French flash from doing to the Mavs what Devin was doing to the Spurs.

Harris out-Parkered Parker.

And not even with Steve Nash could that ever be said.

The box score line on Devin was impressive:

Twenty points on 7-of-12 shooting, with three assists and no turnovers from the point in more than 32 minutes.

But even that doesn't begin to tell the full story, particularly the meager assists total.

Consider this:

The Mavs had nine fast-break points in 48 minutes of a muddled half-court mess in Game 1.

In the first quarter alone Tuesday night, the Mavs had seven fast-break points, 13 by halftime (to four for the Spurs), and 19 for the game.

Pace and penetration and foul problems for Tim Duncan all combined in the second quarter for the Mavericks to double the Spurs in points (32-16) for a 20-point halftime lead.

The Spurs had no answer for Harris in the first half, so they did a lot of yapping at referee Steve Javie and his crew.

Mark Cuban is, by far, the bigger whiner in the NBA when it comes to the refs. But Duncan and the Spurs are second, and moving up with a bullet.

Foul problems will occur when you can't stop offensive penetration. And the Spurs' defense couldn't stop Harris. Hacking happened, even by Duncan, although he would never admit it.

But you haven't been paying attention if you think the General pulled this Devin Harris move out of the San Antonio sky. Or that it was a panic move from Johnson after a tough defeat in Game 1.

For weeks, and months, the Mavericks have been plotting how to survive a playoff series against the Spurs.

And the key to that was Harris, who watched in street clothes because of injury most of the season's second half.

"We played pretty much our style and our pace this time, as opposed to Game 1," Johnson afterward said. "A lot of that had to do with Devin being out there.

"We were saving him for this round. We had our eyes on this round with Devin."

Harris played limited minutes during the Memphis series, partly because he wasn't needed, but mainly because Johnson didn't want to push it with the thigh injury.

Popovich claimed he wasn't surprised by the impact Harris had on the game. "He's done it to us before," said Pop, referring to Devin's 22-point outburst against the Spurs way back in November.

But, sure, Pop had to be surprised. Even shocked at what he saw Tuesday night.

It is not often that he watches a Parker performance against Parker, and against the Spurs.

"I think Avery made a great move by putting Devin in the game," noted Duncan, who also added, "Tony is down half a step right now with the contusion on his leg. But Harris was good, real good. It's another adjustment we will have to make for the next game."

Next question:

With Parker slowed a bit with injury, can the Spurs make that needed adjustment for Harris?

The one thing Avery might be wrong about was saying Devin Harris couldn't win this series for the Mavs.

If the Spurs don't come up with an answer, Harris can be the difference.

He definitely was in Game 2.

[miles berg]

I don't see why the two PG look can't work, it worked for Boston with Ainge and DJ, the Spurs are basically two PGs with Manu (who isn't a true SG) and Parker, etc...

It can work if you have big men that do their jobs defensively and swings like Josh and Adrian that can take on a Kobe or TMac assignment in the playoffs.

Stick with Devin, he is the 2nd most talented Maverick and really makes a difference when he is out there. He doesn't no any better than NOT to drive it down the other teams throats, he is young, raw, green, and hungry.

Let him do his thing 30+ mpg as the starter, force tempo on both ends of the floor.

[kriD]

Calling on Harris is brilliant

[By Kevin B. Blackistone / The Dallas Morning News]

SAN ANTONIO – One afternoon in the middle of the season, Avery Johnson was talking about the importance of a few of his players. Dirk Nowitzki. Josh Howard. Jerry Stackhouse.

But he spent the most time talking about how excited he was about what Devin Harris, the second-year guard who was still learning the NBA game, could bring: speed. But at the time, he'd trusted Harris to start only a couple of games.

So it was a bit of a shock Tuesday night to see Harris walk onto the court with the rest of the Mavericks' starters to begin Game 2 against the Spurs. It even suggested Johnson was panicking, down one win to none to the defending champions. That hardly seemed to suggest a lineup change.

And didn't we just see Dave Tippett do the same thing with the Stars' lines in Game 2 of what turned out to be a disastrous Stanley Cup playoff series against Colorado?

But this is why Johnson was just bestowed with the coach of the year award in his first full season at the helm. This is why he's put together the most remarkable start for any coach in the history of the NBA.

Johnson's insertion of Harris, who missed much of the last third of the season with an injury, into the starting lineup took advantage of the one area where the Mavericks eked out an edge in what was a remarkably evenly played Game 1: transition baskets.

That was why through much of what was a loss in Game 1 for the Mavericks, Johnson was skipping up and down the sidelines, winding his right arm through the air as if he were a human windmill. He wanted his younger team to impose its faster legs on a more aged and slower Spurs bunch.

The Mavericks managed to do so for most of the first half. Then the Spurs slowed everything down.

That the Spurs couldn't slow the Mavericks on Tuesday, getting outscored 113-91 in the end, was because Harris wouldn't let them.

Harris jump-started the offense and the Spurs never could catch up. It was like watching the proverbial race between the tortoise and the hare, except it was the hare that had the guile, too.

Harris was but a blur. For the Spurs' quick-as-lightning All-Star guard Tony Parker, he must have felt as if he were playing against himself.

"It was brilliant," Adrian Griffin said of his coach's decision to start Harris in his place. "I said from day one that this coaching staff is great at making adjustments, and that's what the playoffs are all about. It's not about egos. I want to win.

"And we know what Devin can do. We were just waiting until he got back to 100 percent. He just puts so much pressure on the defense. He's not just fast, he's really fast."

Harris can't shoot, yet. But it doesn't matter much, when he can go around and by other players as if they were mere telephone poles.

Most of his 20 points came on drives to the basket. Some were from the right side. Others were from the left, where he put the ball up with his right.

More remarkable: Harris didn't have a turnover.

Del Harris said no one on the staff raised an eyebrow when Johnson said Devin Harris would start.

"We had some pretty good statistical evidence from Mark [Cuban's] people to back up the decision," Del Harris said.

"We felt like we at least needed a 95-point game to win. They're difficult to beat in an 80-point game. We can push the ball better with Devin because he gives us two guards who can really get out and run."

Harris out-Parkered Parker. This is but another reason Johnson was tagged with the nickname "Little General." He is fearless. He isn't afraid to stick his sword into the air and yell, "Charge!"

"It takes a lot of courage," Cuban said, "for Coach Johnson to say, 'You know what? We're going to put a second-year player in there.' "

But just about everything Johnson's decided to do this season has worked out like a charm.

He turned Erick Dampier into a very serviceable player by bringing him off the bench to play mostly against second-tier centers. He improved his team's defense and made the offense more efficient by employing Griffin with the starting five for most of the season when Griffin was healthy.

Now he's gone back to making the most of Jason Terry's talents, as a scoring guard, by taking the point guard responsibilities from him and handing them to Harris and bringing Griffin off the bench. And clearly he surprised his old mentor, Gregg Popovich, in doing so.

Maybe we should re-nickname Johnson the Little Genius, instead.

[nowitzki_prophecy]

You want a slower tempo against the Suns,we need to slow them down and get the ball inside.
Griffin is more suited for a slower game then Devin but i think Devin is also our best option of slowing down Nash.
With the defense we have,it would be foolish to run and gun with them.
There set game is a Nash pick,that's about it.
Funny we're talking the Suns game,we're 1-1 against the world champions,anything could happen.
I do think its much more in our hands than theirs though... If we play our basketball,this series should end in 5-maybe 6 games.

[dirt_dobber]

I remember at the beginning of the game Devin was face guarding Mr. Longoria. Tony was unable to shake the pup loose.
I think all the extra running by Parker took an early toll. He would sometimes run off 2 even 3 screens yet Harris was still there.
I love the way the whole team attacked the rim.
.

[kriD]

Devin's driving is divine

By JEFF CAPLAN
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Baby-faced Devin Harris was a wolf in sheep's clothing after all.

Mavericks coach Avery Johnson had alluded to it, long preaching about Harris' speed and looming potential. Through five games of these playoffs, though, he'd only cryptically discussed any expansion of Harris' rather marginal role. But, The Little General had a plan.

Even as Game 2 approached tipoff, Johnson refused to reveal his hand when a reporter asked about a circulating rumor detailing a lineup change.

"What is our record with our starting lineup in the playoffs? 4-1?" Johnson retorted in mock amazement. "Why would I change?"

Of course, he did. And he knew he would after Game 1's fast start downshifted into an offensive slog and an 87-85 missed opportunity.

"When you're playing against a team that has quickness like Phoenix or the Spurs, I think [playing Harris and Jason Terry] is better for us," Johnson said. "It's something we had in mind. I was just a little hesitant about doing it in Game 1 because we had played so well coming out of that last game in Memphis.

"I liked the way [Harris] played in that first game, so I knew I would get to it sooner or later. It just happened sooner."

Harris, the soft-spoken second-year point guard, missed nearly the last third of the season because of a thigh injury. His limited playing time in the Memphis series -- explained by Johnson as a cautious breaking-in period after the injury -- and 16 minutes in Game 1 against the Spurs, hardly hinted to a coming-out party in his first career playoff start.

Using an assortment of dribble drives, Harris scored 20 points -- 14 in the second half after a somewhat hesitant start. He was 7-of-12 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line. The Mavs scored 113 points, a playoff high this season, in the 22-point victory.

His penetrations put the Spurs on their heels and opened room for Josh Howard, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, who moved over to his natural shooting guard position, to operate with more freedom.

Defensive-minded Adrian Griffin became the odd man out. His role will now be dictated by matchups as long as Johnson sticks with the current combo.

"Definitely a great adjustment, and it paid off," Terry said. "We'll see what we'll do in Game 3."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will certainly counterpunch. Can Harris continue to break down Tony Parker and the Spurs?

"We'll keep evaluating him," Johnson said, "and, for the most part, keep doing what we're doing right now and keep adjusting and keep trying to improve."

Harris' thigh muscle injury had put an end to the backcourt experimentation, but the Harris-Terry combo had yielded intriguing results in sporadic doses when Harris was healthy.

"It enables Jet to concentrate more on scoring and not have to worry about getting others involved. He can be more aggressive," Harris said. "When I was healthy, that was one of our most effective teams, when both of us were on the floor."

Any notion of inserting Harris into the starting lineup at this stage was initially deemed a defensive strategy to check Parker. Johnson, however, said Harris' ability to penetrate helps to keep the Spurs' defense honest, while creating more space for Howard and Nowitzki.

"It's what we wanted to do, get transition baskets and get the game at our pace," Harris said of the strategy to attack the basket. "We're at our best when we're getting points in the paint."