Playoffs GDT: Lakers @ Mavs, Game 3, 5/6/2011, 8:30pm Central (ESPN)

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Rick41

Anyone by any chance know which kicks Haywood has been sporting?

Those all blues would look sweet on my feet.

Idk. I wondered what J Kidd was wearing tho, it has a triangle looking logo and at first I thought they may have been Kaepas haha.

You just need to sport the basketball boots in your sig!

[purplefrog]

Mavs winning streak continues and they go up 3-0.

Dirk continues being Dirk by scoring 33 pts and grabbing 12 boards
TC goes 10 an 17.
Matrix scores 19 and grabs 7.

Mavs win the rebounding battle for the first time in the series 48-41.

The strangest occurrence in the game was when Kobe Bryant, apparently suffering from hallucinations related to sleep deprivation (he is reportedly fretting over the two game losing streak at the Staples Center), began to see bugs crawling on his skin under his uniform. Bryant was taken to a nearby Dallas hospital after the game for observation. It was later revealed that the bugs were really a symptom of Shawn Marion's defense.



Mavs 97
Lakers 96
"Experts" still pick Lakers in 7.

[Dirkadirkastan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I23_sTLuZns

[Kidd Karma]

Originally Posted by SMC0007

Idk. I wondered what J Kidd was wearing tho, it has a triangle looking logo and at first I thought they may have been Kaepas haha.

You just need to sport the basketball boots in your sig!

Kidd's been wearing Peak Shoes, Chinese based company, since after the 2008 Olympics. I think Artest, and Battier are other spokespersons for the company...amongst others.

[kg_veteran]

Originally Posted by dalger

Yep, that's why I was perfectly fine with Stevenson starting in Game 2 after a pretty bad first game. Luckily, he went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and justified being on the court for his usual 10-14 minutes. As much as I enjoyed Brewer's contributions in the first game, I don't want to make unnecessary changes and put our chemistry at risk. If Stevenson has an off game, get him off the court, just like in Game 1. If not, never change a winning team.

Sure, if he's stinking up the joint (as he was in the 3rd quarter of Game 1), then make a substitution. But the team has a set and clear rotation (something that helps them perform better), and it should only be altered when it's absolutely necessary. In Game 1, Carlisle was looking for a spark, and he found it. In Game 2, Stevenson was doing just fine, and he stuck with him.

That's the way it should work.

[Rick41]

Originally Posted by SMC0007

Idk. I wondered what J Kidd was wearing tho, it has a triangle looking logo and at first I thought they may have been Kaepas haha.

You just need to sport the basketball boots in your sig!

Jason Kidd wears Peak Shoes.

He signed with them a while back.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I'm seeing Mavericks -2 at the betting sites. Isn't HCA advantage worth a good 3 points at least in the eyes of the line makers? Does this tell us they actually favor the Lakers here and expect them to bounce back?

Generally, yes. I'd imagine if this game were being played a neutral site, even down 0-2, the Lakers would be favored by about 2 points.

[LonghornDub]

This will be the best crowd at the AAC since the '06 Finals.

[Mav Addict]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

This will be the best crowd at the AAC since the '06 Finals.

Especially when everybody put on the blue shirts they will be giving out at the ACC

[deamon]

Mavs have to be focused. It will be tougher than in LA, that's always Lakers, they can wake up and win 4 in a row. Keep focus and destroy those rich egoists, Go Mavs!

[Rick41]

Looks fantastic.




Kobe must be trippin' if he ain't excited for the blue out.

[ty]

The Time Is Now, baby.

[LonghornDub]

Half the lower bowl won't put on the shirts, I bet.

[deadtokevin]

Does anyone know who the ESPN crew is for tonights game? Please tell me we get Van Zombie

[Mav Addict]

Originally Posted by deadtokevin

Does anyone know who the ESPN crew is for tonights game? Please tell me we get Van Zombie

LOL...his face is like some serious looking mask

[joemoeschmoe]

Originally Posted by deadtokevin

Does anyone know who the ESPN crew is for tonights game? Please tell me we get Van Zombie

omfg that is hilarious! roflmao

He's actually a decent announcer too.

[iella]

NBA star Pau Gasol blames teammate for breaking up his relationship

LOLkers.

[mavs777]

probably khloe lol

[LonghornDub]

Can anybody with insider post Hollinger's article today? Want to see how he's spinning his previous stuff into his new "we shouldn't be surprised" stance.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/playo...PERDiem-110506

[kenny_817]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

This will be the best crowd at the AAC since the '06 Finals.

The blazer series was WAY better than the crowd in the finals...I was at both. I've never seen the AAC like it has been in these playoffs its amazing

[41mvp]

Just win!!!
3-0 looks great!!!

[joemoeschmoe]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

Can anybody with insider post Hollinger's article today? Want to see how he's spinning his previous stuff into his new "we shouldn't be surprised" stance.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/playo...PERDiem-110506

Here ya go.

Lakers Lakers Lakers Lakers Lakers Lakers Lakers Lakers Lakers.

With 48 hours to digest the fact that the defending champions have dug a rather deep hole for themselves, it's been a nonstop news cycle discussing everything that ails the purple and gold. Pau's softness, Kobe's ankle, Ron's antics, Fisher's age, Blake's shot, Phil's decisions: We've scrutinized all of them.

As for their opponent ... wait, there's another team?

The Dallas Mavericks are two wins away from one of the most shocking series sweeps in memory; you'd have to go back to Milwaukee over Boston in 1983 to find a similarly jaw-dropping result. And while the smart money still says it's more likely to end in six games than in four (recent reference points: Boston-Orlando 2010; Utah-Houston 2008), the conclusion is the same: The Mavs are poised to wrest the conch away from the Lakers as Western Conference favorites.

(Also, one side note here warrants mentioning: When the Fisher-Bryant Lakers have gone down, they've gone down hard. The Game 6 Beantown smackdown in 2008. Kobe's quitting in the second half in Phoenix in 2006. The Motown meltdown in 2004. A 28-point closeout loss at home in 2003. Only the Phoenix series in 2007 produced anything remotely resembling a soft landing.)

And the fact that it's the Mavs, whom many of us picked to lose in the first round and almost nobody gave much of a chance in the second, immediately leads to another question:

How'd we miss on these guys?

In this case, it was universal. Stat geeks, pundits, scouts, whatever -- nobody was that keen on Dallas. But through eight playoff games, you can argue they've been the best postseason team. Only Miami, at 6-1, has a better postseason record, but the Heat have had five home games against soft opposition; the Mavs are 6-2 with five road games and have played two very good teams.

In particular, their offense has been majestic. Dallas leads all playoff teams in offensive efficiency and is second only to the Thunder in true shooting percentage. This mastery hasn't been more heralded largely because the Mavs played at a ridiculously slow pace in the Portland series.

So now, in 20/20 hindsight, it's time to look back and figure out why they've been better than anyone expected. Some of these are things the stat geeks missed, some are items the talking heads missed, but all of them are relevant to the Mavs' sub-radar entry into this postseason:

This year isn't last year

The fact that the Mavs lost in the first round as a No. 2 seed last year has nothing to do with this year. Last year's team was a fraud that won a bunch of close games against bad teams; this year's gang was demonstrably better (more on that in a second). So even though Dallas won 57 games in an accredited basketball conference, they were widely discredited as a playoff team to watch and Portland became a trendy first-round upset pick.

It goes deeper than last year, of course. Loosely connecting their previous history -- including the '07 Golden State and '06 Miami series -- with this year's team was a tenuous proposition at best when only two players remain from those series. Especially because ...

Dirk kicks butt in the playoffs

Because of the Mavs' unhappy playoff history, people are acting like this is the first time Nowitzki has ever done well in the playoffs. Ex-squeeze me? Baking powder? Nothing could be further from the truth -- Dirk has been monstrous in the postseason his whole career.

Apparently nobody remembers his annihilation of San Antonio and Phoenix in the Mavs' run to the 2006 Finals, or the shot over Miami's outstretched Shaquille O'Neal that preceded the Dwyane Wade-Bennett Salvatore shenanigans at the end of Game 5 of that year's Finals, or even the fourth-quarter eruption that momentarily saved the Mavs in Game 5 of the Golden State series.

For his career, Nowitzki is one of the rare players who has a better PER in playoff games than in the regular season, and sprinkled in there are plenty of huge fourth-quarter shots. He had a poor series against the Warriors in 2007, but go back and look at the last two months of that season -- he was struggling with something. Otherwise, he's been straight money his whole career.

Fun with point differential

Dallas' point differential for the season was an unimpressive plus-4.2, which was only the eighth-best figure in the league and hardly screams "contender" from the rooftops.

But a big chunk of that owes to a nine-game stretch that Dallas played without Nowitzki; the Mavs went 2-7 with a minus-5.3 scoring deficit. In their other games, their margin was plus-5.4, which is better but still not overwhelming.

But Nowitzki still struggled with his ankle when he returned; this was obvious both visibly and by a quick scan of his game log, which reveals he wasn't himself until the beginning of February. From that point to the end of the regular season, Dallas went 25-10 with a plus-6.2 scoring margin. Now, add in the 29 games before Nowitzki was hurt, when they were 24-5 with a plus-6.0 scoring margin.

Sum up the two and you're talking about a 49-15 record and the league's third-best scoring margin. Yes, I've cherry-picked all their best games, and you can do this exercise to "improve" a few other teams, too, most notably the Lakers.

Nonetheless, it's instructive when explaining why a team with an underwhelming 82-game résumé could be cruising through the first two rounds like this. Which is why I'm slapping my head over picking Portland in the first round -- as improved as the Gerald Wallace trade made the Blazers, Dallas also had ramped up over the final two months. From the beginning of February to the end of the season, Dallas had just one double-digit defeat.

Speaking of which ...

We overreacted to the Mavs-Lakers game

Nobody who watched the Lakers' 110-82 annihilation of Dallas on March 31 -- just two weeks before the playoffs began -- could have imagined the tables being turned so thoroughly. Dallas looked totally overmatched that game, especially in the backcourt -- Rodrigue Beaubois was starting at the time, so Jason Kidd had to check Kobe Bryant or Ron Artest from the opening tip, and it was harder for coach Rick Carlisle to spot minutes for the Barea-Terry backcourt. (Barea played just eight minutes.)

About the only thing that carried over from that game into this series was Steve Blake shooting 0-for-5. It's easy to come up with justifications now, but Dallas was on a road back-to-back and it was the Mavs' only truly bad game in a span of three months; meanwhile, the Lakers were in the midst of their 17-1 post All-Star hot streak.

Here's the thing: It was one game out of 82. And apparently not a representative one. In fact, that game might be seen as the beginning of the end -- it was really the last time the Lakers looked like a championship team. In the month between that game and the start of this series, L.A. went 7-7.

Peja matters

I shrugged off this pickup as more replacement-level fodder for the end of Dallas' bench -- incorrectly as it turns out, because Peja Stojakovic had way more left in the tank than anyone expected. He is at 40 percent on 3s, posted a 15.25 PER in his late-season cameo and, more surprisingly, is moving well enough on D to garner 20-plus minutes off the pine.

Those minutes have been crucial, because they solved the Mavs' Achilles' heel -- the back of the forward rotation. Peja's minutes used to go to a motley crew of replacement-level scrubs (Brian Cardinal, Sasha Pavlovic, Ian Mahinmi, etc.), contributing to the Mavs' wild on-court versus off-court swings whenever Nowitzki left the game. When Stojakovic plays at least 19 minutes, the Mavs are 21-4 (including playoffs).

Beaubois' injury may have helped them

I'm a big Roddy guy long-term, and I figured losing him in the Portland series would really hurt the Mavs. It turns out that it probably helped, as the current four-man guard rotation has more options than the "we can go small and fast, or fast and small" variety offered by a Kidd-Beaubois-Barea-Terry quartet.

In fact, you can take this a step further. When you look at the Mavs' plus/minus stats from the regular season, the fact they're playing better in the playoffs isn't as big a surprise.

Dallas' three worst performers in that stat, according to basketballvalue.com, were Beaubois, Cardinal and Pavlovic. (I excluded Corey Brewer here, whose numbers were dragged down by his time with the lowly Timberwolves.) Not coincidentally, the three Mavericks who saw at least 100 minutes in the regular season and have seen virtually none in the playoffs are Beaubois, Cardinal and the since-departed Pavlovic.

Every team eliminates ineffective players from the rotation during the playoffs, but the combo of adding Peja and eliminating the three worst offenders appears to have done this in a particularly efficient way for Dallas.

All told, it's one of many subtle ways the Mavs are punching above their regular-season weight, and we all pretty much missed it. Of course, they still have to take care of business by winning two of the next five games to complete their unexpected triumph, but at this point they have an overwhelming advantage that almost nobody expected.

In retrospect, that's on us.

[fluid.forty.one]

I went out to the bars with some friends last night and there were 2 Laker fans there.

One of them was one of those Laker fans who watches 4 games all regular season and then just assumes the Lakers will win it all, like always. He just talked the whole time about all the things the Lakers were doing wrong and if they turn it on the Mavs have no chance. Dumbest thing he said all night was "I used to think Dirk was a good guy until I saw him this series, but he's dirty... elbowing people in their face and whining to the refs. I'm pretty disappointed, I thought he wasn't a douchebag like the rest of them, but I can't stand him anymore." Umm, really?

And the other Laker fan was like "I dunno, he's pretty soft. What 7 footer doesn't bang in the middle"

I replied with, "One that's about to knock Kobe's bitch ass out of the playoffs."

Go mavs.

[Kidd Karma]

Sheesh, Hollinger spins that Boob's injury saved the Mavs.

[fluid.forty.one]

God. I want this game so bad. It's going to be unbearable hearing everyone talk about how the Lakers are going to come back to win it all, with the Mavs choking again, if the Lakers get just one game.

Crush these bastards.

[Kidd Karma]

Originally Posted by fluid.forty.one

I went out to the bars with some friends last night and there were 2 Laker fans there.

One of them was one of those Laker fans who watches 4 games all regular season and then just assumes the Lakers will win it all, like always. He just talked the whole time about all the things the Lakers were doing wrong and if they turn it on the Mavs have no chance. Dumbest thing he said all night was "I used to think Dirk was a good guy until I saw him this series, but he's dirty... elbowing people in their face and whining to the refs. I'm pretty disappointed, I thought he wasn't a douchebag like the rest of them, but I can't stand him anymore." Umm, really?

And the other Laker fan was like "I dunno, he's pretty soft. What 7 footer doesn't bang in the middle"

I replied with, "One that's about to knock Kobe's bitch ass out of the playoffs."

Go mavs.

Way to step up!!

[Kidd Karma]

Originally Posted by fluid.forty.one

God. I want this game so bad. It's going to be unbearable hearing everyone talk about how the Lakers are going to come back to win it all, with the Mavs choking again, if the Lakers get just one game.

Crush these bastards.

Heard it all morning.

[joemoeschmoe]

Originally Posted by Kidd Karma

Sheesh, Hollinger spins that Boob's injury saved the Mavs.

Yeah. This is weak considering Roddy is no longer injured (I think) and Rick is just choosing not to play him.

All that point differential data was there to see before the series started.

In general, his article was not as sheepish as it should have been considering he picked LA in 5, but he did at least give the Mavs credit for taking wins instead of just being given them by LA.

In the end, the proof is in the pudding. If the Mavs win the series...

[iella]

Barea

"We got shooters out there and the big guy setting the [hella] screen. Especially when Dirk sets the [hella] screen, I know they're not going to leave him, so if I get by my guy, it's going to be either my shot, a dropoff to the big guy or a dropoff to the corner.''

[SMC0007]

I can't wait to hear the AAC crowd tonight. If you're there because of business or corporate BS taking up seats near the court, GTFO or swap with a die hard fan who is going to give it hell!

[Flacolaco]

Is anyone else more nervous about this one than game two? If they had lost game two no one would have thought much of it and it would be all "mission accomplished" heading back to Dallas.

Now they have this tremendous opportunity and find themselves the favorites for the first time in forever, which they historically don't handle well. The general feeling out there is that they can't afford to give the Lakers a single inch, so this game is huge, lest things start unraveling.

Or maybe that's just me.

[LonghornDub]

I'm more nervous for this one, but I won't be very worried even if they lose. They're in a great spot.

[fluid.forty.one]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

Is anyone else more nervous about this one than game two? If they had lost game two no one would have thought much of it and it would be all "mission accomplished" heading back to Dallas.

Now they have this tremendous opportunity and find themselves the favorites for the first time in forever, which they historically don't handle well. The general feeling out there is that they can't afford to give the Lakers a single inch, so this game is huge, lest things start unraveling.

Or maybe that's just me.

Ya, but then I realize how silly I'm being by somehow trying to justify that I'd be more comfortable had the Mavs not gone 2-0.

Just gotta ride this out.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Mavs still have swagger, momentum, confidence, and defense in their favor. Combine that with an awesome home crowd and watch out. Both teams will be bringin their A game tonight. Should be some awesome basketball.

GO MAVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

[BGMaverick9]

for the person who created @MavsSweep on twitter...that's lame

[kg_veteran]

I think that's a pretty solid article from Hollinger. Peja has provided the third forward in the rotation that was missing since Butler went out, and putting Stevenson into the rotation for Beaubois has helped both with his size and strength on defense and by giving the other vets a more comfortable feeling about the rotation. It's clear to me that the players want Stevenson in the lineup in that role, and it seems to be working out really well.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

Is anyone else more nervous about this one than game two? If they had lost game two no one would have thought much of it and it would be all "mission accomplished" heading back to Dallas.

Now they have this tremendous opportunity and find themselves the favorites for the first time in forever, which they historically don't handle well. The general feeling out there is that they can't afford to give the Lakers a single inch, so this game is huge, lest things start unraveling.

Or maybe that's just me.

Yeah, I'm a bit nervous that the Lakers might finally "wake up," but then I remind myself that Kobe hasn't been scoring in the paint because he's probably still injured (not changing tonight), Gasol has been playing like a little bitch because some girl dumped him (might change tonight) and Ron Artest will be watching from the sidelines because he's a knucklehead (some things never change...)

I want to see the Mavs dig deep and find that killer instinct that has been lacking (outside of Dirk) for the past several years - no reason this series should go past 4 or 5 games (because the longer it lasts, the steeper the climb - let's get our vets some rest before the next round!)

[LonghornDub]

I think there is a fair chance the Mavs win this one comfortably.

[monty55555]

Dear God,

It's my birthday. Please let the Mavs win. That's all I ask.

Thank you

[EricaLubarsky]

I think our chances of winning are inversely proportional to the amount of confidence voiced by posters on D-M.com