Mavs vs Wizards - Page 3 - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Fidel · 12-23-2002, 10:19 PM

Dirk has taken over.
He´s totally dominating the boards.

ÜberDirk · 12-23-2002, 10:22 PM

OH MAN, WHERE'S THE FOUL?????????

ÜberDirk · 12-23-2002, 10:23 PM

Dirk has 5 offensive boards!

Nash, yes!

ÜberDirk · 12-23-2002, 10:23 PM

Jeesh, this is the second straight game where dirk is played ALL 48 minutes.

Fidel · 12-23-2002, 10:26 PM

And Dirk HAD something to prove tonight.
Every game with Jordan in is HUGE for Dirk.
It sure means alot to him to play against MJ´s
Wizards and have a game like this (even if he won´t admit it).

Mavs win.

ÜberDirk · 12-23-2002, 10:29 PM

Dirk didn't have a stellar shooting night, but he played AMAZING! 17 boards, 5 offensive. Great D, 2 steals (including one on MJ), 30 points I believe, 12 or so ft's. I hope MJ acknowledges him as a talent, that would boost dirk's confidence big time. He was a huge MJ fan, as well as Scottie.

LRB · 12-23-2002, 11:01 PM

<< Jeesh, this is the second straight game where dirk is played ALL 48 minutes. >>

Nellie can't keep this up very long without fatigue starting to take affect on Dirk. Dirk played great, but even he needs a breather now and then. Then bench needs to step up more and make it easier for Nellie to rest the big 3.

ÜberDirk · 12-23-2002, 11:08 PM

yea, shawn was big today.
But walt, NVE, raja were really useless IMO

LRB · 12-23-2002, 11:24 PM

<< yea, shawn was big today.
But walt, NVE, raja were really useless IMO >>

Would liked to have seen Shawn get some more minutes. But I agree that Walt, NVE, and Raja did very little tonight though Nick did get that one big rebound late in the game. Still we expect and need more from him than that.

But a win is still a win, and I'll happily take this one.

ÜberDirk · 12-23-2002, 11:25 PM

i concur

dude1394 · 12-23-2002, 11:56 PM

Just got back from the game and read over this thread. Good grief what a bunch of immature cursing UD, think you might clean that up a little...

Dirk was a stud tonight, he got the ball almost everytime down. Shot pretty horribly actually, I think some of it had to do with playing the whole game, but he was giving it his all, rebounding, chasing down loose balls, diving on the floor. Great game by the dirkster.

Nick was cold as ice but seemed to get some assists and rebounds. Tonight was an indication of what playing defensive ball is all about. Without our hot shooting we are going to have to win ugly like this.

Everybody went to the boards hard tonight, it was a very big key to the win because as hard as it was to believe the wizards were outshooting us from 3pt land. In fact we were only 3-13, just couldn't get it going there.

Shawn continues to play well, raef still struggling but did add some rebounding and some good d. Man he sure seems to have lost some confidence. I would like to see nellie let him get in there and foul out..

Finley took it inside pretty good tonight and didn't just settle for the three, of course he missed all of the ones that he shot.

Looking at the box score, we certainly should have gotten walt a few more shots, he was on-fire actually.

Crowd was pretty up tonight and really wanted to get into it, but like against utah the mavs didn't give 'em a lot to work with. Good hard fought game by the mavs however, a good win when they just aren't playing that well offensively.

OutletPass · 12-23-2002, 11:56 PM

errrr...the dreaded double post.

but yet another good and accurate post from Dude.

OutletPass · 12-23-2002, 11:58 PM

Brief Thoughts from the AAC:

For everyone who wants Dirk to step up so that we can advance to the next level as a team, tonight was a good sign, even though he was passing up shots in the 4th from around the FT line to feed NVE and Griff. Obviously, he can't play 48 every night, but he's going to be coming close.

Dirk posting up.
Dirk rebounding.
Dirk playing good D.

One of the better crowds of the year, despite the fact that the Mavs just weren't hitting 3's.

Steve looked very visibly tired from the 1st quarter on.
I'm wondering how many of the guys have the flu, but it's just not being mentioned. Maybe that explains NVE, do ya think ?

Shawn...excellent again. Maybe he's gettin the hang of that hook shot...I though he played as hard as anyone did.

Fin showed a lot of fire going to the boards, especially in the 2nd half.
Griff was a real stopper on D. He deserved to be out their in the 4th.

Disliked: Walking the ball up the court so much.

Maybe they have the flu...maybe they're tired...maybe they're trying to work on their half court game...but it's not normal Mav basketball.

I'm sure everyone is going to be wrapped up with family for the holidays, myself included...so let me wish everyone a very Merry Xmas. And thanks to all the new AND old "contributing" members of this forum, you make this a fun place to discuss all things Mav.

Peace to all...see you after Xmas.

Feliz Navidad, Chi !

Edit: Agree with your well timed, simultaneous post Dude, take care !

ÜberDirk · 12-24-2002, 12:03 AM

Dude 9-23 isn't "terrible" lol

And my cursing wasn't immature, i was simply angry and showing emotion, mabye you don't get emotional during our games, I do.

dude1394 · 12-24-2002, 12:18 AM

Agree, it wasn't terrible, but there were a whole lot of pretty close in jumpers and shots around the baskets. He wasn't taking a lot of 3's so his shooting wasn't great. But I will retract the horrible, but it sure looked worse than it was.

LRB · 12-24-2002, 12:41 AM

<< Disliked: Walking the ball up the court so much. >>

OP: that is one trend that I see a lot of in our "ugly" games of late. Bob Ortegal kept harping on it the whole game tonight. I would really like to see the Mavs bring the ball up faster even after made baskets. I'm convinced that the slow walk works against us, and that we play better both offensively and defensively when we are constantly pushing it even if we have to pull the ball out and go into a half court set. Even when we push, not all of the players are running the court. We need at least 4 guys to run the court not just 2 or 3. I hope that they can shake whatever is making them so lathargic and soon. Still it was nice to see them gut this one out.

OutletPass · 12-24-2002, 01:14 AM

LRB...I just looked back at everyone's predictions for the game.

Not ONE member of this forum predicted that we'd score less than 100 in this game. If we keep playing at this pace, I think that there will be a lot of downward revisions.

I truly hope that there's a real reason behind it...

One thing that I wanted to add too: just a hunch, but I think it's one of the major reasons behind the lower shooting %'s that we've been seeing.
1)We seem a lot less focused.
2)The Run and Gun seems to get us easier baskets

Just wonder if Nellie is getting them used to a playoff type of pace ?

And I do agree, I'd like to see Shawn get more PT...that may very well happen...he gives us the best chance at C right now.

Nash13 · 12-24-2002, 01:33 AM

<<

<< Jeesh, this is the second straight game where dirk is played ALL 48 minutes. >>

Nellie can't keep this up very long without fatigue starting to take affect on Dirk. Dirk played great, but even he needs a breather now and then. Then bench needs to step up more and make it easier for Nellie to rest the big 3. >>

He probably played Dirk that much b/c he knows that they don't have to play again until Thursday.

LRB · 12-24-2002, 01:47 AM

<< He probably played Dirk that much b/c he knows that they don't have to play again until Thursday. >>

Yea, and I think someone said he was playing the whole game because his ankle stiffened up when he came out. Still, I don't want to see this become a trend with Dirk or any of the Big 3. Even with 2 days rest between games, playing very many 48 minute games with hard work on both ends of the court will wear down and make on Dirk or whoever is playing those minutes and will make them a less effective player in the playoffs. The best way to get the Big 3 rest is for the bench to play bigger allowing Nellie to rest the starters without fear of losing.

I think we are fine short term, so I'm not overly alarmed now. However if this continues over the next 2 weeks I might start to get a little concerned.

ÜberDirk · 12-24-2002, 02:17 AM

yea, that was me who posted that about the ankle. And yes, its official, that is the reason. Just heard Nellie's postgame recap, he said....

"It's not the playing that's been hurting Dirk's ankle, it's when he comes out for his normal rest. So I said 'hey, I have a solution, play all 48 minutes baby', so that's why."

David · 12-24-2002, 09:23 AM

<<
And my cursing wasn't immature, i was simply angry and showing emotion, mabye you don't get emotional during our games, I do. >>

I beg to differ. I saw that and quit reading the thread. Basically, there is ONE person making post after post, talking to himself, and justing blowing off like an out of control teenager, pitching a fit. What you call "showing emotion", I call being immature. MY opinion. Go back and read it AFTER you settle down and you might see what the rest of us see.

dude1394 · 12-24-2002, 12:00 PM

<<

<< Disliked: Walking the ball up the court so much. >>

OP: that is one trend that I see a lot of in our "ugly" games of late. Bob Ortegal kept harping on it the whole game tonight. I would really like to see the Mavs bring the ball up faster even after made baskets. I'm convinced that the slow walk works against us, and that we play better both offensively and defensively when we are constantly pushing it even if we have to pull the ball out and go into a half court set. Even when we push, not all of the players are running the court. We need at least 4 guys to run the court not just 2 or 3. I hope that they can shake whatever is making them so lathargic and soon. Still it was nice to see them gut this one out. >>

I agree we do seem to be walking the ball up the court a lot. I've been trying to figure out if that is because we are doing this on purpose or if it is a side-effect of our poor fg shooting. Especially the 3pt shooting. I looked up last night and noticed that washington had taken more 3pts than we had (made a higher percentage as well), 3-13 last night.

I think that our running game runs best when we feel confident that a kick-out to the 3pt line will be successful, when we don't, we tend to want to pull it back and get a better shot. I'm not sure that is a bad thing. Also it seems that teams are REALLY getting back on us well, so maybe it is a side-effect of the opposing team. Of course for some people (sometimes me) this may be nirvana as everything is going through dirk. We should be careful what we ask for we may get it.

We've been averaging at least 20 3pts per game, so last night was pretty low.

Bayliss · 12-24-2002, 12:04 PM

Last night's game was perfect. We shot horrible. But we rode our star in the 4th quarter. We played good D. We rebounded the ball.

That is the blueprint for success in the playoffs. If only Nellie will listen.

dude1394 · 12-24-2002, 12:10 PM

If we shoot like that in the playoffs our a** is grass. We need to be able to get stops but if that is our offense we will be one and done. That was NOT sacremento we were playing last night.

Bayliss · 12-24-2002, 12:22 PM

<< If we shoot like that in the playoffs our a** is grass. We need to be able to get stops but if that is our offense we will be one and done. That was NOT sacremento we were playing last night. >>

True that it wasn't Sacramento. But then again, I don't recall the Kings walking it up the court or playing a half court game like Washington did last night.

And on the flipside to that... our shooting isn't that important. If the Mavs hold **anyone** in the playoffs to 39% shooting (like we held Washington) then we will most of the time. Dude, don't think offense, think defense. After all, that is our downfall. If the opponent can't score, they can't win. And Dallas has to think: keep them from scoring instead of we have to score.

dude1394 · 12-24-2002, 12:31 PM

I hear what you are saying bayliss but a cheetah can't automatically turn into some sort of brute lion. The mavs are really,really good at putting the ball in the basket and their offense will be what gets them jewelry. Their defense has to be adequate. Their rebounding has to be adequate.

I'm just not sure what you were seeing last night, if we shoot at 39% and 3-13 from the 3pt line we WILL get beat by good teams. We need to be able to make stops and make it difficult for the other team (especially on the boards) but we are not miami or san antonio and to try and fashion ourselves after them would be to diminish our strengths, that I don't buy.

Bayliss · 12-24-2002, 12:48 PM

Well we don't have to be Miami or SA in the playoffs. But if we

Rebound (outrebounded Washington by 10+)
Hold opponents FG% under 43% (Washington was 39%)
Ride our star (Dirk got 23 + 14 FT attempts)

We should win 80% of the time. And if we want to win in the playoffs then Nellie should keep this game in his memory bank. Because we played very good defense and did exactly what we are supposed to do in the half court game: feed Dirk.

ÜberDirk · 12-24-2002, 02:23 PM

Amen Bayliss!

OutletPass · 12-24-2002, 02:55 PM

Interesting approach Bayliss...I happened to notice the other day on ESPN that the Mavs were 3rd in the league in opponents field goal %. Our opponents are shooting something like .420. We're right behind the Spurs and Nets and right ahead of the Kings. We're tied for 4th in the league in shooting percentage.

We're also 1st in "least turnovers" and 6th in causing opponents turnovers. The Mavs are also 1st in 3 point shooting % and 11th in opponents 3 pt %.

We're 8th in the league in rebounding, but an unfortunate dead last in allowing opponents to get rebounds; and 23rd in rebound differential.

Pretty illustrative of where our defensive strengths and weaknesses lie (statistically speaking).

1) We shoot very well while our opponents don't.

2) We're best in the league at protecting the ball and force turnovers equally well.

3) BUT , we get KILLED on the boards. How can you be 8th in rebounds collected and still lose by a HUGE differential ? Looks to me like we're "one shot and out" on the offense and giving up too many 2nd and 3rd chances on defense.

Does this seem familiar to anyone else ?

dude1394 · 12-24-2002, 03:46 PM

I can't remember exactly the statistic but it had something to do with rebounding efficiency I think. It was something like our number of rebounds versus our opponents. I think in that one we may have been dead last.

To that end last night was very good in the rebounding department. Both nick and steve went to the boards, I would love to get at least 5-8 from our point guard combos, that would help a ton.