Finley Update - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

MavsFanFinley · 04-14-2003, 10:29 AM

Finley update

The Mavericks hope guard Michael Finley will be able to play tonight against Seattle.

Finley has missed the past 13 games with a strained left hamstring that has left the Mavericks and their fans realizing how difficult it is to win without their No. 2 scorer. Coach Don Nelson says he needs Finley at 100 percent for this team to reach their postseason goals.

"He's going to be facing really good players every night," Nelson said. "I think a critical test for us -- really not winning or losing the next couple of games -- but it's just seeing where Mike is.

"If he's going to stumble and needs some games to get his game back where it was, then let's do it now, not in the playoffs. Then, if it's not going to hold up, let's find that out, too, by playing some games and seeing how strong that hamstring is and can he take a playoff series and play at a high level."

Tough decision, imo. It's a slight chance, but still a chance that we can win the division and #1 seed.

I know Finley is going to need a couple games to kick the rust and I'd rather have him do it now instead of the playoffs. Especially if the Lakers our are 1st round matchup.

But, I know he'll be tentative when he returns. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. I remember last year he passed on a bunch of open shots, but took bad ones. And I can already tell you that he'll be really hesitant about driving to the basket the first few games.

I want him to play (even if it's just a few minutes here and there) in these last 2 games, but I don't want him used as a scapegoat if we lose either or both these games cause he has a poor showing.

I do agree with Nelson, though, that we need to know if the hamstring is going to hold up now rather than when the playoffs start.