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MavsFanFinley · 05-07-2001, 11:12 PM

I tell you, I think Eisley should get some playing time AHEAD of Nash. Good God, I can't believe I just said that [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

Eisley looks fresh out there (all that time on the bench) and is doing things we usually see from Nash. I think he's gotten his shooting touch back and looks confident out there. When's the last time anyone could say that?

I know Nash is hampered by injuries and fatigue is full-blown but Eisley is stepping up and creating things, Nelson should trust him some more.

MFFL · 05-07-2001, 11:14 PM

Wow! Tough call. On one hand you should dance with the one who brung you, but on the other hand Eisley did look crisp tonite. Too close for me to call. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

djb · 05-07-2001, 11:14 PM

How about reverting back to the lineup used earlier in the season, with Nash and Eisley rounding out the backcourt? This was the same lineup used when the Mavs beat the Spurs I think. Buck is still a bit rusty in terms of conditioning I think, so I'd rather start Eisley since he seems to be re-gaining his confidence.

MavsFanFinley · 05-07-2001, 11:31 PM

Im for that DJ, using the original lineup. I don't mind Howard coming off the bench.

I just can't believe how good Eisley has looked in these 2 games, he must be stealing the food Bradley's been eating [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Buckner should of played more than 6 minutes tonight, that's for sure. What is up with that?

Although, he's not a popular player, I think Maxwell showed some energy in game 1 that should of allowed him to see some action.

I was sick and tired of watching the Spurs players hit 3 after 3 after 3. It was disgusting, let Duncan have his game. Enough of that double-teaming.

djb · 05-07-2001, 11:34 PM

Whatever they do, I just hope they wisen up and DON'T start Howard. I'm with you..why didn't Buck get more pt? He looked pretty good in Game 1. He's our defensive stopper so uhm let him go do his thang!

MavsFanFinley · 05-07-2001, 11:47 PM

Not only is he our best defender, did you see him going for rebounds? Especially on the offensive end? He only ended up with 1 because guys like Duncan and Robinson didn't have to jump to grab them and did a couple over the backs. But, it's the effort that is there.

DunkingDeutschman · 05-08-2001, 01:04 AM

Yeah, I definitely think Eisley and Buck need more time. The starters are just plain worn out. Did you see how flat they were in the 4th quarter? Every timeout they were wakling back to the bench with their hands on their hips and hands on their knees. These guys have played 40 minutes in 4 games in 7 nights and they were dead tired. I think Nellie definitely needs to start usuing the bench more to counteract the constant substituting of San Antonio's backcourt. Howard has looked really fresh lately and he's finally hitting his shots again. Buck continues to hustle and go for those rebounds all ove the place. I bet he's not quite back to game condtioning yet but he still should be able to play more than 6 minutes. And Howard sitting on the bench more would not be a bad thing. Maybe it's just the AlamoDome but he can't hit a thing this series. And he's nothing more than a speed bump for the Twin Towers on the defensive end. I can't believe Nellie kept him in there during the third quarter when he was matched up with Sean Elliot. He obviously couldn't keep up with him on the defensive end, and of course he was still missing his shots on the smaller Elliott. I was very disappointed that Nellie didn't put Buck in there to shore up the defense, because that was right during the Spurs 10-0 run that basically killed us.

Murphy3 · 05-08-2001, 08:22 AM

the mavs have to try something new.
and i think our weakest link (besides shooting) has been howard's play on the defensive end.
bring howard off of the bench when duncan isn't in the game.
maybe if they did start
eisley
nash,
finley
dirk
and bradley
the mavs could get up and down the court and get some more eash shots

TheKid · 05-08-2001, 09:06 AM

Right now, they shold Najera more time, any damn thing to shake things up. We can't do anything against this team.

LAM0015 · 05-08-2001, 02:33 PM

najera needs more time playing with wang

TheKid · 05-08-2001, 02:42 PM

WELL, WELL, WELL!!!! Welcome back.

Mavinator · 05-08-2001, 06:56 PM

I don't think it's ever right to tinker with your starting lineup in the middle of a playoff series... Players need to have fairly defined roles within a team, they need to know if they're starting, how many minutes they're going to get, and approximately when they'll be getting those minutes, and rotating starting lineups right now will do us more harm than good. Do you guys really feel the need to crush what's left of Juwan's confidence by relegating him to the bench? Playing against the best defensive frontcourt in the league and constantly trying to post up 7-footers when you're 6-9 is no easy job, and Juwan is doing as best as he can.

No, I know what we need... and that's Mr. Bradley getting as many minutes guarding Tim Duncan as he can handle. Bradley is focused right now and his eight years of experience in defensive positioning and timing are shining through where his frontcourt mates are fading away... Bradley can actually thrive on heavy minutes, and with undersized Juwan and incredibly-foul-prone Booth as your only two alternatives, the big man is the way to go. Bradley Bradley Bradley... Booth is useless against the Twin Towers, and his minutes need to be limited against them.

Does anyone seriously still think Booth is the replacement for Bradley?

Fidel · 05-08-2001, 07:31 PM

Yeah I absolutely want to crush Howard. Right now he´s just bad for the team. In game 2 he had 7 RB early in the 2nd quarter (don´t know how he got those). Through the rest he had 4 RB and 4 points on 1-9 shooting. Finley at least had some energy (though he was shooting horrible), Dirk was getting to the line (also shooting horrible from the field).
So I say: Bench Howard! Play small, whatever.
Another thing. I find it really annoying that Finley just won´t stop to shoot even when he is layin brick. He´s almost like Iverson there. I hate that trying to be Da Man even when he´s totally off. In a situation like that Dirk reduces his shots and trys to go to the line (every good player does that, Jordan was great at it). So Finley must really stop to chuck up all those stupid fadeaways of which he´s hitting perhaps 1-5.
The Mavs in general aren´t good at that. Recognizing who should shoot the ball. Why not give a little more shots to Eisley, Nash, Bradley in game 2?
They were hitting them.

Mavinator · 05-08-2001, 08:02 PM

Oh my god, you're right, you've really hit on something there- if we don't look at the times when Juwan's played really well, then it's clear he's played crappy all through the season! 11 boards is terrible if you take away 7 of them! Ok, so the game plan for tomorrow night is bench Juwan, and force-feed the ball into our new main offensive weapons, Shawn Bradley and Howard Eisley, because the rest of our boys have had two off-games in a row? Y'know, Dirk's been playing bad defense and missing shots against San Antonio, too, and he hasn't been rebounding as well as Juwan... maybe we should bench him in favor of Calvin Booth?

MFFL · 05-08-2001, 10:59 PM

LOL mavinator - Lets see if I can use the same example. If Dirk hadn't of hit 11 free throws, he would have only scored 8 points. Obviously you have to ignore the positive to focus on the negative.

Murphy3 · 05-09-2001, 08:45 AM

bench howard.
even though he rebounded well last game, his terrible defense is killing the mavs.
the stats for duncan versus howard are much better than the stats for duncan versus dirk or bradley.
get howard on the bench and bring him off as the sixth man
there isn't a guy in the starting lineup that he can remotely guard

Fidel · 05-09-2001, 06:25 PM

Hahaha Mav,
just read it. I didn´t say anything about game 3. I just mentioned the fact that Finley kept shooting although he was hitting absolutely nothing. When he handles the point it´s even more important to recognize when his shot is off. He should have distributed the ball to other players.
And why not bench some players. If Dirk is playing awful I say: bench him. Same goes for everyone on the roster. And Howard was absolutely invisible for three quarters, so why not give someone else the chance to be productive. We were almost playing a 5 men rotation which is no good thing.

And yeah I like Dirk, but I don´t think I´m biased. I mentioned his poor shooting so what do you guys want?? And it´s not about takin away 7 of Howards rebounds. Everyone can have a bad quarter, but Howard had a very bad game exept the first quarter, thats all I wanted to say, so Nellie should have reacted.

By the way your arrogant attitude wasn´t nessesary but i think I can deal with it. You are just lucky that english isn´t my first language...

Mavinator · 05-09-2001, 06:48 PM

It's one thing to bench someone when they're having a bad game; it's wholly another to remove them from the starting lineup altogether. Look at how Isiah Thomas's Pacers have struggled through this season despite still having one of the most talented teams in the east- teams need some standardization of rotations to be successful. We don't need to tinker with starting lineups in the middle of the Mavs postseason run and mess with our players' heads- it's just not worth it.

So if Juwan has a GREAT first quarter and three bad quarters, doesn't that equate to an only slightly subpar game, and while being paired against the best power forward in the league, a guy three inches taller than Juwan and with quite a lot more bulk? Dirk has been playing just as bad defense as Juwan, he's been making just as few shots, and he hasn't been rebounding as well as Juwan, so why aren't people talking about removing him from the starting lineup? It's a double-standard. But for the people who aren't talking about removing ANYONE from the starting lineup, in the middle of the Mavs' first postseason run since the eighties, and in the middle of a second-round series against the best team in league, it's just common sense. Don't mess up a team that's been successful all year by destroying their confidence.

And YOU were the one telling me there wasn't enough trash talk in here...

Fidel · 05-09-2001, 07:23 PM

Ok I appreciate some trash talk as long as someoneone who starts it won´t bitch about it afterwards (which happens here). I know you won´t do that so thats ok. Hell I even like you for the way you admire Bradley. I like people that don´t always go after the popular opinion.
I think you missunderstood me there. I wasn´t about changing the starting lineup, just make adjustements during a game. It was more about shot selection etc.
The other thing I guess is just natural. I like Nash, Dirk, Bradley better than Finley, Howard (oh but hell no not because they are white!!!) so I´m going to defend them. But!! I always try to be objective, and when Dirk plays poor I will tell you (I did so in game 1 and 2 threads).
And about the playoff run. Hmmm, sometimes I think it´s better to see the long term and to expriment. Nellie got anxious there because he nows everyone is watching. But why not play Wang or Buckner when things aren´t good. They would work their butts off if given a chance.
Sometimes benchplayers change a game through sheer motivation, it also hurts the other teams gameplan. I know that probably won´t help against the spurs, but why not give it a shot.
Remember when Phil Jackson started 4 bench players at the beginning of the 4th quarter in the 92 finals. the bulls were down 15 and Hanson emediatly hit a 3 out of the corner. The bulls won that game ( was it game 5?) and you know the rest. (thats why I like Phil, because he pulls of that kind of things)

Mavinator · 05-09-2001, 07:28 PM

Ah hah... see, everyone on this thread has been talking about taking Nash and/or Juwan out of the starting lineup, and I assumed you were taking the same position. I generally agree with you on your other points...

Buckner is very deserving of minutes, but a bit rusty after being gone so long so I can understand Nellie's limiting his playing time. Wang is VERY VERY raw though, with (at the moment) limited offensive game, nonexistent defensive game, and actually little in the way of hustle... I don't believe he should be getting non-garbage time minutes under any circumstances.

Murphy3 · 05-09-2001, 07:47 PM

the reason i say bench howard is because i don't think there is any way that he's a starter on a maverick's team that reaches the conference finals...ever.
i think he's a sixth man. he can't play good enough interior defense to start on a team that is going to challenge for the championship

wang, very raw right now. he should only be playing in a blow out...or maybe if he's not covering anyone that can hurt them offensively.
but i don't see that happening

MFFL · 05-09-2001, 07:59 PM

murph - I think I'd respect your opinion on Juwan more if you could get one article from any source that criticizes Juwan's defense. Anything from anywhere in the last couple of months. I read a lot of NBA articles every day and I've yet to hear anyone who has a job either covering the NBA or working for the NBA criticizing Juwan's defense. I recognize that you are very aware of basketball and good at analyzing games. But I would just like to see you back up your opinion.

Please don't insult my intelligence by telling me what you observe. You are obviously biased and thus cannot give an unbiased view. I watch the same game and get a completely different impression. Of course I could just be an idiot. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

giostar · 05-09-2001, 08:03 PM

MFFL... I dont have anything to back me up either, but I have to back up Murphy here. In my opinion... I just can see that Juwan really isnt that good defensively. Average at best.

MFFL · 05-09-2001, 08:13 PM

Average I can accept. I can back up average. Nellie has had quotes after Mavs games complimenting Juwan on his defense. USUALLY the coach only does that to give a pat on the back to an average player who has had a good night. But murph acts like Juwan couldn't guard a 6th grader.

Murphy3 · 05-10-2001, 10:59 AM

of course nellie is going to pat juwan on the back.
what are you thinking mffl, juwan and finley are close friends. nellie has to do everything possible to keep finley happy so that the mavs can resign finley.

TheKid · 05-10-2001, 11:46 AM

Finley and Juwan are not THAT close of friends. They are both from Chicago and they work out with each other in the summer. However Antoine Walker, Randy Brown, Pete Meyers AND Ron Harper, that doesn't mean they're all CLOSE FRIENDS!!

Murphy3 · 05-10-2001, 03:47 PM

they're very close based upon anything that anyone and everyone has said since he's arrived.
but, well, maybe i'm wrong, i guess maybe you run in very tight and select circles with juwan and finley

TheKid · 05-10-2001, 04:46 PM

No I don't but I'm based out of Chicago and where they normally play during the summers I go watch a lot of the games. I NEVER see them come or leave with each other. I actually watched them all work out one time with Jordan's trainer, that's probably the most time they spend with each other. However I've seen both of them out and about during the summer at alot of the clubs and I've seen them at the same place ONCE and they weren't even talking. So you figure if they are that tight, I would see them ALL THE TIME with each other. However, they could have become closer since Juwan is now in Dallas. We'll see.

MFFL · 05-10-2001, 04:52 PM

That's good info Kid. I always assumed Finley and Howard were friends like Dirk and Nash.

Murphy3 · 05-10-2001, 04:54 PM

from everything i've heard, they are relatively good friends.
possibly close enough to influence one another's decisions.
i'm not saying they are best friends, but they could be close enough to influence each other.
we don't know that.

Fidel · 05-10-2001, 06:57 PM

As long as there is a Shaq and a Tim Duncan in the league and they don´t wear a Mavs uni nothing really matters. Perhaps KG or Webber would help, but I don´t think so.

Fidel · 05-10-2001, 06:58 PM

Uh Oh
wrong thread...(kind of)

MFFL · 05-11-2001, 10:45 PM

As far as the Finley contract, the person who will have the most influence on the deal will be his agent (the bloodsucking vermin).

Murphy3 · 05-12-2001, 07:14 AM

good point mffl, and i do realize that.
but just know this, the dallas mavericks are saying all the right things to finley right now and that's partially because they do want to resign him

Murphy3 · 05-12-2001, 07:14 AM

and that's what they should be doing

MFFL · 05-12-2001, 07:44 AM

I don't even want to imagine what the team would be like if we couldn't resign Finley. I guess the Kings fans feel the same way about Webber.

Murphy3 · 05-13-2001, 08:29 AM

they'd be in the playoffs next year

TheKid · 05-13-2001, 06:10 PM

I'm sure you said that for shock value Murph, but that's ok, I'm not taking that bait.

Murphy3 · 05-13-2001, 11:38 PM

actually, i believe they would be in the playoffs next year without finley.
i think the west will be weaker.
well, maybe not weaker, but not as many solid teams next year.

TheKid · 05-14-2001, 08:48 AM

What makes you believe the west is going to be weaker next year?