PGT: 4-1, Your Dallas Mavericks advance to the NBA Finals!!!

[LetsGoMavs]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qREe_...&feature=feedu

Definitely one of the more underrated plays of the game - you gotta love Tyson's reaction!

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by LetsGoMavs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qREe_...&feature=feedu

Definitely one of the more underrated plays of the game - you gotta love Tyson's reaction!

I also loved that Brendan wanted to preen a little bit and then remembered "oh crap, I better get back or the rest of the team is going to kick the stew out of me.." then big hustle..

He's really getting it now. I heard he brought an old coach up to help with free throws, Gary Boren might have some competition.

And re-watching it Tyson was a hoot.

[alexamenos]

-l loved the early taking-care-of-business exit by Dirk. That was an all-time classic now-is-not-the-time-to-celebrate statement. Contrast that with Heat's premature emotional ejaculation ater the Boston series and even after their win in game 4;

-the extent to which Dallas has outplayed their opposition in the latter part of the 4th quarter has reached epic proportions. Someone, maybe me, needs to recap the 4th q domination beginning with game one v. Portland;

-re small ball -- not a big fan of that move. I don't think you want turn the game into a track meet and an open lane to the rim against OKC. The 8-0 run to go ahead began when Chandler returned, perhaps not altogether coincidentally;

-Peja sucked and that was kinda disappointing. We were leading 66-63 when Peja missed a wide-open three. That was right after the stupid Westbrook T and the building was ready to explode. Instead of kicking OKC hard in the crotch, KD comes down and nails a 3....unfortunate turn of events;

-I wouldn't want to see Doris Burk nekkid if she was in a three way with the girl in that t-mobile gif and polevault girl (before she got fat);

-If only to draw the ire of jthig, lhd and underdog.....jesus h christ kidd's unwillingness to take virtually uncontested 8 footers drives me crazy. I swear there were at least two times when Kidd was not guarded, no further than 10' from the rim, and the OKC's help defense backed off of him even further. In both cases he was desperately looking for somewhere to throw the ball;

-we need a coordinated plan for dealing with heat trolls. I suggest that we only respond to heat trolls with ticket schtick, dallas-mavs.com inside jokes, and references to 1990's era texas rangers (so....are you going to get something to eat or go to the range?);

-oh yeah....phew. That okc team kinda scared the piss out of me;

-best team in the nba by a million miles. bring on the emmeffing heat.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by alexamenos

-we need a coordinated plan for dealing with heat trolls. I suggest that we only respond to heat trolls with ticket schtick, dallas-mavs.com inside jokes, and references to 1990's era texas rangers (so....are you going to get something to eat or go to the range?);

Still think we should ban every single one of them. The chance we box out someone who is legitimately here just to talk basketball and not throw around thinly veiled passive-aggressive trash talk is about .0001%.

[DirkFTW]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

Still think we should ban every single one of them. The chance we box out someone who is legitimately here just to talk basketball and not throw around thinly veiled passive-aggressive trash talk is about .0001%.

Thisssssssssssssssssssssssss

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by alexamenos

-If only to draw the ire of jthig, lhd and underdog.....jesus h christ kidd's unwillingness to take virtually uncontested 8 footers drives me crazy. I swear there were at least two times when Kidd was not guarded, no further than 10' from the rim, and the OKC's help defense backed off of him even further. In both cases he was desperately looking for somewhere to throw the ball

That sh!t drives me crazy too - I honestly think Kidd is afraid of getting blocked, doesn't want to be on the wrong end of a SportsCenter highlight.


But I'd still take his downside over Devin Harris's downside 10-out-of-10 times...

[clements23]

do you guys have the video links on game 5? I haven't seen it until its over . if someone give me the link, I'll pray for Dallas Mavericks to win their trophy ! #promise

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by alexamenos

-l loved the early taking-care-of-business exit by Dirk. That was an all-time classic now-is-not-the-time-to-celebrate statement. Contrast that with Heat's premature emotional ejaculation ater the Boston series and even after their win in game 4;

-the extent to which Dallas has outplayed their opposition in the latter part of the 4th quarter has reached epic proportions. Someone, maybe me, needs to recap the 4th q domination beginning with game one v. Portland;

-re small ball -- not a big fan of that move. I don't think you want turn the game into a track meet and an open lane to the rim against OKC. The 8-0 run to go ahead began when Chandler returned, perhaps not altogether coincidentally;

-Peja sucked and that was kinda disappointing. We were leading 66-63 when Peja missed a wide-open three. That was right after the stupid Westbrook T and the building was ready to explode. Instead of kicking OKC hard in the crotch, KD comes down and nails a 3....unfortunate turn of events;

-I wouldn't want to see Doris Burk nekkid if she was in a three way with the girl in that t-mobile gif and polevault girl (before she got fat);

-If only to draw the ire of jthig, lhd and underdog.....jesus h christ kidd's unwillingness to take virtually uncontested 8 footers drives me crazy. I swear there were at least two times when Kidd was not guarded, no further than 10' from the rim, and the OKC's help defense backed off of him even further. In both cases he was desperately looking for somewhere to throw the ball;

-we need a coordinated plan for dealing with heat trolls. I suggest that we only respond to heat trolls with ticket schtick, dallas-mavs.com inside jokes, and references to 1990's era texas rangers (so....are you going to get something to eat or go to the range?);

-oh yeah....phew. That okc team kinda scared the piss out of me;

-best team in the nba by a million miles. bring on the emmeffing heat.

Yup, no doubt. I punched my hands yelling at the TV for him to take a few of those. Layups, runners, pullups etc. They are all there and he needs to take them.

[Flacolaco]

So...I have been to the AAC, conservatively....I don't know... let's call it three hundred times. I have NEVER seen it like that. Just...the scene, and the vibe. It was just amazing. And it went on and on after the ceremony. In the bathroom, in the halls, down the escalators, out in the plaza, the streets, the parking lot...hell, I could see people partying and cheering on the freeway. What a joy to take part in it.

I've heard similar decibel levels after playoff OT wins for the Stars, but that's 18,000 people vs 21,000 people, so obviously the basketball crowd can get louder.

The pure, unmitigated, unbridled joy of the moment where Marion got that and one...television could never do it justice. It was just a raw, primal outpouring of emotion. I sit there 41 times a year and am pretty analytical about the Stars for defendingbigd but I was completely out of that element last night. I had to watch it again when I got home just to piece the journey together in my head and figure out how that went from a 46 minute kick in the balls to the embodiment of joy.

I was so fortunate that a friend of mine, who is really reckless with his money, bought those tickets. I wonder how stupid I can get him to be on Saturday morning at 10am when tickets go on sale for the Finals.

[kingmalaki]

Congrats on making the Finals. It should be a good and exciting series vs Miami )I'm expectng them to close).

[Flacolaco]

I have a feeling the ban bazooka will have a pretty sensitive trigger.

And if I research anyone's IP and find they are a "Heat fan" that lives in DFW...we're not going to ban them. We're going to pile on them and bring the very fires of hell down upon them.

[Murphy3]

Yep, it's at least once a game that Kidd passes up a layup when his defender is already beaten.

[Monstergame]

nice article btw.

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2011...ks/?xid=si_nba

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Monstergame

nice article btw.

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2011...ks/?xid=si_nba

LOL, Haslem can't guard Dirk...

The difference between 2006 and now: Dirk is better, Haslem is worse.

[Murphy3]

Again, I think JJ is going to have an absolutely huge series.

[Mav Addict]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Again, I think JJ is going to have an absolutely huge series.

I agree, and so will Peja

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Again, I think JJ is going to have an absolutely huge series.

I get it!

[Mav Addict]

I truly believe Kidd passes up those shots b/c he thinks once he pass to an open teammate they have a better percentage of making that shot instead

He is shooting around 35%...a teammates shooting percentage on the receiving end of one of his passes is around 60%....believe me, he knows this, even if he is 8ft from the basket

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by Mav Addict

I truly believe Kidd passes up those shots b/c he thinks once he pass to an open teammate they have a better percentage of making that shot instead

He is shooting around 35%...a teammates shooting percentage on the receiving end of one of his passes is around 60%....believe me, he knows this, even if he is 8ft from the basket

I truly believe that he makes the wrong decision when he doesn't take the ball to the rim when that option is available. Almost every game he has that opportunity. When there's no one between you and the rim and you're 10 feet away, you need to go to the rim.

[Mav Addict]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

I truly believe that he makes the wrong decision when he doesn't take the ball to the rim when that option is available. Almost every game he has that opportunity. When there's no one between you and the rim and you're 10 feet away, you need to go to the rim.

Oh I agree, but Jason Kidd is the most pass first player in NBA history behind John Stockton...he will always look to help give another player a better shot, despite the difficulty of his own shot....he is no longer that player from earlier in his career

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

I truly believe that he makes the wrong decision when he doesn't take the ball to the rim when that option is available. Almost every game he has that opportunity. When there's no one between you and the rim and you're 10 feet away, you need to go to the rim.

I think he has multiple opportunities every game where his defender is completely out of position -- he could waltz into the lane down to about 10' without any resistance -- but he let's it pass.

[LonghornDub]

But the Mavs have proved that their 43-10 start and championship-worthy scoring margin were fair representations of who they are as a team.

...what?

[DirkFTW]

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/pl...m5_phantom.nba

Who in the world is that screaming at the beginning? Mahinmi?

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Is it true that Westbrook was the only Thunder who refused to shake hands with the Mavericks after being beaten?

[GhostFace]

Been reading these forums for years and finally had to register. That 3 last night was so unreal. After 5 long years, back to the biggest stage! Mavs!

[bigcat]

a good analysis from hoopsdata:

They had to come from behind again. But, we've learned this week that the Dallas Mavericks know how to close out a game, and the Oklahoma City Thunder don't! Let's take a look at some additional Dallas strong points in their 4-1 Western Conference Championship series victory...

First, the numbers from Wednesday's Game Five.

DALLAS 100, OKLAHOMA CITY 96
2-point pct: OKC 45%, Dallas 47%
3-pointers: OKC 5/16, Dallas 5/20
Free Throws: OKC 21/25, Dallas 31/36
1's and 2's: OKC 81, Dallas 85

It may not have felt like a free throw game while you were watching. But, for the second time in a row, Dallas had a big edge from the charity stripe. They were +10 in makes and +11 in attempts here, +15 in makes and +14 in attempts back on Monday in their Maverick Miracle. Treys were a wash, which would normally be bad news for Dallas. The Mavericks were outscored by six points on deuces too. They kept attacking the basket and marching to the line.

(Hint #1 for the NBA Finals...Dallas will clearly make it a point of emphasis to get the Miami stars into foul trouble. Mark Cuban commented on this before the Lakers series. It ended up not mattering there. A 65 of 75 mark from the line in the last two games vs. OKC suggests a line of attack we'll be seeing again next week).

I've spent a lot of time focusing on what OKC was doing wrong this series (because Russell Westbrook is giving me Stephon Marbury and Gilbert Arenas flashbacks---Westbrook's age 22 season is almost a dead ringer for Marbury's, with a difference being that his Usate Rate was even higher---Westbrook's Usage Rate this year was more in line with Arenas at his ball-hoggiest--making him a potentially implosive hybrid if the maturity process doesn't go as hoped). Let's focus tonight on what Dallas has been doing right.

Here's a list in no particular order...

*Dallas won turnovers in every game this series. They had been concerned about turnovers setting up cheap points for Portland back in the first round. This is a team that can get burned by opposition fast break points if they're sloppy with the ball (Nowitzki referenced that in his past-game interview with Doris Burke). In order, they won 12-13, 12-14, 12-14, 13-25, and 12-13. One of those quiet, relatively hidden things that can loom large in games that go down to the wire.

*Dallas won or tied three-point volume in every game this series. It was only a big edge in two games rather than every time out. But, this is something nice to have in your hip pocket whenever you take the floor. Game-by-game makes were 9-7, 9-7, 7-1, 8-2, and 5-5.

Counting on 7-9 in general brings comfort of course. Let's not forget though that Dallas has shown a consistent knack for inflicting horrible long range performances on playoff opponents. It's still up for debate about how much is defense and how much is luck. Here are OKC's three-point percentages by game:

44% (equivalent to 66% on two's)
39% (equivalent to 58% on two's)
6% (equivalent to 9% on two's!!)
15% (equivalent to 23% on two's)
31% (equivalent to 47% on two's)

After a shaky start, Dallas held Oklahoma City to 8 of 46 on treys the last three games. Ironically, this may not matter much in the Finals because Miami hasn't been shooting many treys lately (3/8, 3/13, 3/9, 5/13). Should Chicago rally back, they haven't been anything special on treys since the Eastern Conference opener themselves.

Let's say it's mostly defense, with a little bit of luck helping to create the 1 of 17 (OKC), 2 of 20 (LAL), 2 of 16 (Portland), 2 of 13 (OKC) type performances.

*It would take a lengthy X's and O's treatise that I'm not qualified to do, but it's pretty safe to say that Dallas made sure that each individual OKC player had to shoot from places they weren't comfortable shooting from. The options for OKC were to run a gauntlet to the basket for a score or a foul (largely attempted by Westbrook, Durant, and Harden)...or, shoot a guarded shot from a non-sweet spot.

And, give OKC credit for running that gauntlet! The Thunder either shot at least 48% on two's, or attempted 30+ free throws in every game until tonight's.

OKC's Gauntlet Run
Game One: 48% on two's, AND 37 of 43 on FT's
Game Two: 62% on two's, but just 21 of 26 on FT's
Game Three: 46% on two's, but 32 of 36 on FT's
Game Four: 52% on two's, but 19 of 25 on FT's
Game Five: 45% on two's, 21 of 25 on FT's

Games 1-2-4 were 48% or higher on two's, Games 1 and 3 saw a high number of free throws.

Dallas doesn't have a bunch of defensive stoppers. But, they use experience, schematics, and brains to disrupt what they can to maximum effect. We're about to learn where the Miami Heat stars don't like to shoot from. And, we're about to see them fly at the basket because that's better than forcing up poor shots from non-sweet spots.

*Dallas wasn't able to fully redefine offensive efficiency, as the super-fantastic performances from Game 4 of LAL and Game 1 here turned out to be temporary peaks. They did maintain better than a point-per-possession scoring ratio in the other games (which can be tough to do consistently in playoff wrestling matches). And, they did that despite hitting just 30% of their treys over the last three outings.

I focused on team issues in the list above. Obviously Dirk Nowitzki's consistently high level of play is a big positive as well. I think the media's done a very good job of capturing that story. Wanted to list some keys that haven't been discussed as much, but will likely be important in the next round. We'll talk more about the finals once it's time to run an in-depth preview. First, some quick concerns for Dallas:

*They were outrebounded in all five games of this series.

*Their SIGNIFICANT edge over OKC in having a gameplan in nailbiters may or may not help them as much in the next round. It's not like Miami has knocked everyone's socks off in buzzer games this year. But, the Heat at least have a few guys who have been in playoff nailbiters many times before and won't be in awe of the moment. Let's review how close all five games were from the Dallas perspective.

Game One: Up just 106-101 with 3:42 left vs. tired OKC
Game Two: Lousy finish in only loss
Game Three: Blew almost all of a huge lead
Game Four: Please
Game Five: Trailed 94-92 with 1:15 left

A 4-1 series win feels dominant, particularly coming on the heels of 4-0 vs. the Lakers. But, Dallas trailed late in three of the five games vs. OKC. And, they were also almost too cavalier in the series opener, then again in Game Three after jumping out to a 35-12 advantage. If you assume Miami won't be exhausted in the series opener...and that Miami is less likely to fall apart in the final seconds...

More on that next week, as well as the way that the Dallas three-point attack is very well suited to deal with the brick wall Miami has been putting up inside against Chicago. The Finals could be a lot of fun! First, let's get through Miami-Chicago. The Bulls will try to stay alive Thursday night at home. Back around mindnight with numbers and notes after that game finishes.

[Blackspider]

Miami less likely to fall apart? Wasn't that their motto all year long? Not being able to close out games??

[Budapest Maverick]

Amazing job in the series from the guys, i'm proud of them all, it was a tough series despite the 5 games, our crunch time play was the deciding factor. Way to go team. Marion and Kidd's defense was amazing. And Dirk's best series... up to date.