Your suggestions..

[RareMilk]

I think we did a good job! What killed us was the turn overs, and the horrifying incident with Howard and Dampier

Kidd is Kidd. He won't make those turnovers the next game and obviously Denver is going to play the passing lanes so he is going to change things up a little bit and Kidd being the veteran point guard won't have a problem with change (most likely).

Jason Terry obviously is put at a disadvantage with the height mismatch with JR Smith but if Denver is going to switch on the two man play (Dirk & Jet) pick and rolls then have Jet take the mismatch and pull up for a jumper off the dribble or kick back out to Dirk. A lot of things happen when Dirk and Jet play together. It is evident throughout this season.

Howard isn't a premier defender but we really got lucky Melo got those early fouls. His main priority is to keep Melo in check and hopefully our bench and Dirk & Jet will contribute a load of points allowing Howard to quietly hit the occasional dagger or drive at will.

I truly hope Bass isn't giving in to this pressure he has been great this post season and last post season. Hopefully he'll come through.

Just my two cents. Everyone wants to be a coach right? Lol

[LSMF]

I don't even buy the Turnovers crap actually, if the refs had called the fouls they were letting the Thuggets get away with all game. Most of the guys forcing the turnovers would have been on the bench. You can't force turnovers from the bench, right? And BTW on those "clean" steals J-Kidd was getting hacked as he was making the pass.

[Kidd Karma]

Playoff basketball at it's thuggish slowdown best.

Mavs too soft. Their bench showed up, ours did not. Kidd and billups were equally bad. Barea should not be starting. Jones took midget to the post way too often in the 3rd....chalk that up to Karl adjustments.

[rakesh.s]

this is a bad matchup for the mavs, just like the warriors were two years ago...Dirk isn't thuggish enough to go toe to toe with these guys in a 7 game series. Nobody on this team has a mean streak, and Bass is too short to play in this series. Mavs still don't have a legit second scorer who can slash to the bucket -- Howard is always injured these days, and he's just a jump shooter anyway - if his shots don't fall, the mavs get blown out. Kidd can't get you 15 points every game like he did in game 1, so don't even expect that from him.

Denver might get a sweep here, barring a 65% shooting game from the mavs. I'm expecting another blowout in game 2, and two close losses at home for the mavs - good night and good luck.

Denver will get beat down by the lakers in the conference finals though..the thuggery won't work against LA's frontline or against a guy by the name of Kobe Bryant.

[LSMF]

Originally Posted by rakesh.s

this is a bad matchup for the mavs, just like the warriors were two years ago...Dirk isn't thuggish enough to go toe to toe with these guys in a 7 game series. Nobody on this team has a mean streak, and Bass is too short to play in this series. Mavs still don't have a legit second scorer who can slash to the bucket -- Howard is always injured these days, and he's just a jump shooter anyway - if his shots don't fall, the mavs get blown out. Kidd can't get you 15 points every game like he did in game 1, so don't even expect that from him.

Denver might get a sweep here, barring a 65% shooting game from the mavs. I'm expecting another blowout in game 2, and two close losses at home for the mavs - good night and good luck.

Denver will get beat down by the lakers in the conference finals though..the thuggery won't work against LA's frontline or against a guy by the name of Kobe Bryant.

Ive been reading posts like this all day. And Im pissed.

[tcat075]

Originally Posted by longsufferingmavsfan

Ive been reading posts like this all day. And Im pissed.

I agree.

Denver is good. I still predict a Mavericks victory over all, but Denver is a good team. They may win this series.

But they are not good enough to sweep us.

If WE play better, then we will win. Most of the team was horrid. Its hard for 7 players to suck for 4 games in a row. If we can just more than A SINGLE PLAYER who shows up for the game (Josh does get a pass with his ankle, but Dirk was really the only one to show up), then we're going to win a couple, at least.

Dirk needs support. His teammates need to give him support. But one thing they have to realize is that they are giving SUPPORT. Dirk is the main guy here. If Dirk's on, give him the ball, and if he's not, still give him the ball.

That's something that has annoyed me about this team over the last few months. Dirk is not being treated as a superstar by his team (*insert rant about refs here*). He'll make a couple shots, but then Josh will go jack up a jumper and not even look at Dirk. I mean, its OK if Kidd has an open 3, or JET has an open 3, especially if they are recieving a pass from a double-teamed Dirk, but Dirk is the superstar. We have to make sure he gets the ball, and he gets some shots.

Dirk took 2 shots in a 6 minute stretch in the 4th, when Denver blew us away. Granted, stupid turnovers were some of the cause. Tight, likely illegal defense on Dirk was part of that. But when we're struggling, the superstar needs to get shots.

[LSMF]

From lurking around other forums it seems everyone including Mavs fans think we're done. I just hope our Mavs aren't thinking that way. No quitting allowed!!

[ghazi]

Someone said the disparity in fouls/FT was due to athleticism.

That simply is not true . The Nuggets are indeed one of the best in league at getting to line, and Mavs are one of the worst. But 36-13? Nugs average 30 FT per game, and give up 27 FT per game. They hack... A LOT. Personally I believe Dirk deserved 6 more free throw attempts.

Also Mavs shot PLENTY of free throws in the regular season v Nugs if I recall correctly. That's the only reason we were in it until final minute last game w/o Kidd/JHo despite shooting 35%.

People said we need to drive to hole more. I don't buy that, the Mavs shot 49% for the game so all things considered, when they weren't turning the ball over incessantly, the offensive was efficient. And well, does it make a difference howoften Mavs attacked the hole? Stats indicate this Crawford guy has a vendetta against the Mavs!

Furthermore I believe Dirk WAS driving to the hole, getting hit, and the fouls didnt get called!

How else would the Nuggets accumulate 11 blocks anyway? (or somethin like that). Mavs aggression offense was not an issue, only 1 of those blocks, to my knowledge, came off a jumper.

So it is somewhat of a double edged sword when attacking basket v Nugs due to their amazing shot blocking presences.

All I can say is cut down on the turnovers, hit jumpers. Let the chips fall where they may

[LSMF]

I simply refuse to believe were done. I refuse. We are not done and we are not getting swept. That is all.

[Murphy3]

That is the problem.. there is no way in hell that the Mavs would be allowed to get away with as much contact on defense as Denver is...

What exactly do you do?

I suppose you continue to attack and hope that the officiating isn't as bad next game.

[purplefrog]

But don't you think that if the Mavs match the Nuggets physicality the refs would have to step in and call a more even game in order to prevent an escalation? I don't think they would have a choice as long as the Mavs stuck with it. As for fouling out, who cares? If the game is already so lopsided you might as well get your moneys worth.

[Murphy3]

Perhaps a bigger question is...What do the Mavs do with Nene? He was the one unstoppable offensive force for the Nuggets (besides the fastbreak). He absolutely killed Dampier. They did it a variety of different ways whether it was off of his dribble, out of the post, off of dribble penetration or whatnot. Many times, they ran the pick and roll, and Damp was lost trying to guard him that far away from the bucket... Or they'd pick and roll and pop it out to someone wide open beyond the arc although the shot wasn't hit..

What do the Mavs do about Nene?

[ghazi]

Officiating will be better from here on out IMO.

[birdsanctuary]

Stern wants a Melo vs Kobe WCF. Frankly, were done. Our only chance of winning a championship falls on Cuban donating a billion to the NBA's favorite charity.

Dirk is the only white guy to ever show an inkling of off the chart basketball skill since the days of Larry Bird. Stern figures that Europe is too soccer lustful to ever take basketball on as the #1 sport, so he screws Dirk and the chance to bring basketball to new heights in Europe. Dirk gets beat up beyond belief, and frankly it ruins the NBA for me! Whannh Wanhhh!

[GoNugs]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

What should the Mavs do? Anyone with any type of intelligence at all would agree that the Mavs are in a bad situation...
1. The Nuggets are allowed to pound on any Mavs that takes the ball to the rim often with no call
2. The Nuggets are the recipients of many, many touch fouls when they take the ball to the rim.

What should the Mavs do? Some are upset about the complaining over the officials. Hell, I for one believe that all three officials should be caned after what I saw during the first half of game 1. But how do the Mavs attack Denver? Does anyone believe that if they're even more aggressive that the officials will begin to give the Mavs the benefit of the doubt on the defensive end? I question that considering how many ticky-tack fouls the nuggets were the beneficiary of.... Should the Mavs keep attacking the rim regardless of what's called and what is not?

I'm just curious.. Honestly, if the game is called similar to as it was in the first half of game 1, the Mavs are in deep trouble. I suppose the first thing to do is to not turn the ball over so much which turned into numerous fast break points..

But, what do they do?

Out of curiousity....how long will you continue to complain about the officiating? When it evens out...and it will...will you be just as "objective" on the calls that are poorly called the other way, but benefit the Mavs?

I realize I am not objective...but I don't think the game was officiated nearly as badly as you do. I suspect...it's somewhere in the middle.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by GoNugs

. blah. . blah . . When it evens out...and it will...
.

you've not yet been on the bad end of a series in which the calls didn't even out.

[aquaadverse]

Originally Posted by GoNugs

Out of curiousity....how long will you continue to complain about the officiating? When it evens out...and it will...will you be just as "objective" on the calls that are poorly called the other way, but benefit the Mavs?

I realize I am not objective...but I don't think the game was officiated nearly as badly as you do. I suspect...it's somewhere in the middle.

06-Refs
07-Nellie
08-Avery
09-???

Appears to be a three year rotation.

[CadBane]

F that fining Kmart BS. How about you just call the fouls in the game. Fining him doesn't do a single thing to benefit the Mavs.

[GoNugs]

Originally Posted by CadBane

F that fining Kmart BS. How about you just call the fouls in the game. Fining him doesn't do a single thing to benefit the Mavs.

A foul was called on that play.

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by GoNugs

A foul was called on that play.

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant. Thanks. I wasn't talking about the dozens other non-calls or anything...

[dirno2000]

Denver’s aggression is eerily similar to what we saw a couple of years ago from Golden State which is troubling. That being said I don’t think we need to make any changes, just be strong with the ball and deliberate in our movements. Granted they’re getting away with a lot of reaching and grabbing but if we play stronger a lot of those turnovers will take care of themselves. The goal is to make them have to have to hack you so hard that the refs can’t overlook it. A few of those missed calls still shouldn’t have been turnovers and I’m sure the players would tell you that (at least I hope they would).

Almost 90 games into the season we are what we are so to try to out Denver Dever would be foolish. We can’t match their physicality. Like Carlisle said after the game, we have to do what we do better than they do what they do. It’s really that simple. They had about 8 more FTA’s per game than we did in the regular season so the FT discrepancy, while is should get closer, probably won’t even out. Still with that they won 4 more games than we did and they had the same record as the Spurs (bottom of the league in FTA’s). I don’t think that will decide this series.

[pepe]

If the MAVS can keep the turnovers to a minimum the Nuggets fast break points will be a non factor. I would like to see the MAVS double teaming Nene and Kmart in the post, these guys are not the best passers in the world and it should create a lot of steals and misses.

Be physical specially with Melo and JR, these two seen to unrattle when things dont go their way.

When Birdman is on the game guarding Dirk, keep Dirk in the 3 point line and make him a jumpshooter, if the Birdman is not playing close to the basket his rebounding and blocks are non existent.

The MAVS dont need major adjustments to win this series.

GO MAVS

[Underdog]

We could REALLY use Stackhouse from 3-4 years ago in this series...

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by Underdog

We could REALLY use Stackhouse from 3-4 years ago in this series...

We could also use 'gana from 3 years ago....somebody that could actually do something on the defensive interior other than fight for post position (ie, damp).

[SMC0007]

OR if we had the Kidd and Stack from 5 or 6 years ago!

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by SMC0007

OR if we had the Kidd and Stack from 5 or 6 years ago!

No, I just mean we need a player that can do what Stack used to do for this team...

We need a scrapper - this squad has no balls...

[SMC0007]

YEah I know where you were going with that. I guess I could have worded that better. I'm adding that Kidd was more aggressive in driving back then and that could help too. He was Definitely a better finisher then.

[dalmations202]

Ever watch Kurt Rambis play ball for the Lakers?

That is what I am talking about.

[Thnikkaman]

Dirk just needs to grow a pair.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by Thnikkaman

Dirk just needs to grow a pair.

Dirk Nowitzki is an elite player because he is one of the most efficient scorers in the league. It's a shame how American culture refuses to accept this.

[LSMF]

Originally Posted by Thnikkaman

Dirk just needs to grow a pair.

FAIL. Your Star player ran away from 5 foot7 Nate robinson. Carmelo is the one who needs to grow a pair.

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by Thnikkaman

Dirk just needs to grow a pair.

Because 28-10-4 on over 50% shooting just won't get it done.

[Blackspider972]

Could we maybe switch rosters for a few games??

[Murphy3]

Well, I suppose it's up to the Mavs to win at home.. which they did a great job of late in the season.

It's not over yet.

[dnkbro]

In order to beat the Nuggets, the Mavericks need to do the following:

1) Slow down the pace of the game. I know it is a double-edged sword, but the Mavs can not, by any means, give the Nuggets fast break points. Slowing down the pace and grinding the game out is the best the Mavericks can do because the Nuggets are a more athletic team.
2) Limit easy buckets. This ties into slowing down the pace. Allowing the Nuggets to run you out of your gym and get easy layups is almost a guaranteed loss. This ties in with athleticism.
3) Get Nene and Melo into foul trouble. Taking them out of the game will swing the game in favor of the Mavericks. In order to achieve this, simply run pick and rolls and wait for the Nuggets to switch. Because Denver switches out every pick and roll, getting Melo on Dirk and Nene on Dirk is a piece of cake.
4) Limit turnovers. Self-explanatory. Denver is good in forcing turnovers so limiting them makes their defense a low lot less effecient.
5) Knock down the open shots. The Mavericks are a jump-shooting team. You guys need to hit the open shot if you want to win the game.
6) Stop giving up easy 3s. JR Smith, Billups, and Melo should NEVER be allowed to take an uncontested 3, they will torch anyone on any given night.
7) Don't lose composure. Denver is a team that plays in spurts. Limit their runs and continue to chip away and the game will be much easier to win.
There are other ways to beat the Nuggets but those are the main ones.

[Dirkenstien]

Limit layups and protect the paint. We're making it way too easy on them by giving up so many points in the paint.