PGT: Neal down Spurs, Mavericks on top of Southwest

[GermanDunk]

[FINtastic]

[FINtastic]

.

[AO41]

Great game...a lot of fun to watch.

Jet with a BIG game

VC also had a very nice game

Dirk with some good rebounding, but was cold on offense

Roddy had a decent game, but is still BAD IMO at running the offense and as we saw struggles getting the ball to Dirk

But a W is a W, which mean everyone did their part

GOOOOOOOO MAAAAAVVVSSSS

[GermanDunk]

That was close. I hope the Mavs learned their lesson.

[AO41]

Apparently even Jets muscles talk, as you can see by that reporter holding the mic./ recorder or w.e. that is right under his muscle.

[iella]

Doris Burke totally has the hots for JET. Always amusing when she calls a Mavs game.

[some1nw]

Nobody on our team could get Dirk going offensively but a win is a win no doubt.

jet was awesome tonight, hit some clutch shots
VC got the team going offensively early with his scoring ability (love that last defensive sequence)
Dirk did okay offensively but hes still not %100 himself. I was happy to see him on the boards though.
Roddy was okay too in general but he should look to distribute the ball more often, not look to score.
Marion did his thing, he was good too but didnt shoot the ball very well
Odom was doing okay, i dont know why he played only 14min
Cardinal was just amazing, no playing minutes for him

Anyways... The blood pressure was so high tonight, great win

[clutch#41]

Originally Posted by AO41

Great game...a lot of fun to watch.



Roddy had a decent game, but is still BAD IMO at running the offense and as we saw struggles getting the ball to Dirk

But a W is a W, which mean everyone did their part

GOOOOOOOO MAAAAAVVVSSSS

Good D.
played 36 mins with only 1 TO.
ill take that from roddy every game.

[deamon]

Mavs beat Terminators tonight.
Mavs are heroes!

[Dirkadirkastan]

Pretty insulting to be matched by a scrub unit on a rival team for over 20 minutes.

Ah well. Could have ended worse.

[AO41]

Originally Posted by clutch#41

Good D.
played 36 mins with only 1 TO.
ill take that from roddy every game.

I will too, but if he is the PG out there he needs to do more on offense...meaning passing and running plays.

[some1nw]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

Pretty insulting to be matched by a scrub unit on a rival team for over 20 minutes.

Ah well. Could have ended worse.

i dont think their starting unit could have played as well as 2nd unit.

[Rick41]

Almost losing to their backups is nothing to be proud about.

I'm glad we got the W, but this team needs to get their shit together.

[clutch#41]

Originally Posted by AO41

I will too, but if he is the PG out there he needs to do more on offense...meaning passing and running plays.

he led the team with 7 ast
i see your point though but what is he going to do when dirk had an awful shooting night like he did tonight?
marion 4-15
dirk 5-14
VC 8-15
kidd out
jet got 23 shots
i agree he needs to pass it a little bit more but sometimes i wouldnt mind a good look for him to shoot when hes open or has the chance to drain a shot.

[Bayliss]

Twenty games from now is anyone going to care they almost lost to the second team? Winning is the important thing

[Firnen]

at least they managed to comeback and win against this SA towel waivers...
tomorrow against the Suns should be a Win too, but after what the Mavs showed tonight I'm really scared about games scheduled for us next month

Would really be happy if they could go 8-6 in February... but the way they played the last games it could be 6-8 easily

[Underdog]

Dirk with the quietest double-double of his career - 10 points and 13 rebounds. Has he ever had more rebounds than points in a game?

[FINtastic]

Originally Posted by Rick41

Almost losing to their backups is nothing to be proud about.

I'm glad we got the W, but this team needs to get their shit together.

Tough crowd. The reason we were in position to lose to their scrubs is because we took care of their first teamers. It should be noted we held the Spurs to 39.1% 2pt FG% and only let them shoot 19 free throws in 53 minutes of play. That kind of thing should win you ballgames but then San Antonio's 2nd unit started hitting every three they put up. It happens.

Also, these aren't the Spurs of yesterday - they're a pretty deep team. Green, Splitter, and Bonner haven't exactly been spares this year.

[deamon]

Their second team? That was Terminators, their S5 just sat whole 4qtr and overtime on bench, because we were much better than them. Terminators were better than anyone, but we won.
I can stand one Terminator like Love, but Bonner, Splitter, Neal and Green in one time? It wasn't terrible game by Mavs. Spurs bench had a lot of luck.

[jthig32]

I don't even know how to approach analyzing this game. Jet was awesome, although he had stretches of being WAY too aggressive. Roddy had a solid game, but I thought his defense was a pretty big factor in the Spurs getting back in the game. Roddy also needs a lot of work running the pick and roll with Dirk, because right now it's not pretty.

Vince was just awesome. It's so huge to have a player with his offensive abilities on this roster while Dirk is struggling. Speaking of...Dirk was terrible offensively but the rebounding seems like a very good sign moving forward. I bet he's locked in before this week is over.

Loved what Haywood gave the team when he was in. Sure wish he could rediscover his FT stroke from a few years ago. There's a noticeable drop off on defense when he's not on the court in crunch time.

Odom was pretty invisible again. I continue to fear that he's going to be relegated to nothing but backup PF by the end of the season (if he's still here). And even at the level he's playing at now, there's nothing wrong with a backup PF of that caliber. But he was supposed to be so much more.

The Dom Jones appearance makes me feel like even Rick thought the game was over too early. I continue to view DJones as a non-NBA player.

Oh, and Delonte was terrible on both ends of the floor. I wonder if the hammy was still a bit sore, but he played through it with Kidd out.

[iella]

Five Spurs 3s in just over 3 minutes? I call BS on the universe.

[jthig32]

This is awesome.

[b_o_r]

Originally Posted by AO41

I will too, but if he is the PG out there he needs to do more on offense...meaning passing and running plays.

You need to show some patience. You do realize the man has played 23 games totaling 323 minutes as PG in whole professional basketball career. He is learning his position at the highest level in the world. It's not going to be pretty at times, but he did a bang up job for the team late in the 4th and into the OT.

[rabbitproof]

Originally Posted by jthig32

This is awesome.

I will need to keep the rep move it moving but so full of win. Thanks for posting.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by Bayliss

Twenty games from now is anyone going to care they almost lost to the second team? Winning is the important thing

This really depends on what you're looking for. If you're worried about standings, then you're correct. If you're worried about how the team is playing, you couldn't be more wrong.

[FINtastic]

Originally Posted by b_o_r

You need to show some patience. You do realize the man has played 23 games totaling 323 minutes as PG in whole professional basketball career. He is learning his position at the highest level in the world. It's not going to be pretty at times, but he did a bang up job for the team late in the 4th and into the OT.

I will say that he doesn't seem to have a clue how to get the ball to Dirk. He had one post entry pass (in the third quarter I think?) that was a complete head-scratcher. This could be a problem moving forward.

I thought he had a pretty rough first three quarters, but I was pretty proud that he fought through all that and came up huge towards the end of the fourth. Those late layups where he just sliced through the Spurs D as well as that late block of Neal were vital. It seemed like one of those games where Roddy grew up.

[Skywalker]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf03U4HOgAU&hd=1

[b_o_r]

Originally Posted by FINtastic

I will say that he doesn't seem to have a clue how to get the ball to Dirk. He had one post entry pass (in the third quarter I think?) that was a complete head-scratcher. This could be a problem moving forward.

I thought he had a pretty rough first three quarters, but I was pretty proud that he fought through all that and came up huge towards the end of the fourth. Those late layups where he just sliced through the Spurs D as well as that late block of Neal were vital. It seemed like one of those games where Roddy grew up.

Even West and Barea in the past has shown an inability to get the ball to Dirk in the post. The key the majority of the time is to make the pass before Dirk actually sets up (when he is coming off the screen). There has to be a lot of trust between the players.

[dude1394]

Roddy was okay tonight, an nba player for sure. Only that one p**** attempt at a layup like he was scared. I hope team and the coach rag him for that. He either has to try and make the thing, draw the foul or pull it out. A backwards flip over his head so he won't get hit will not cut it.

Vince it's so great to have a shooting guard.

Haywood owns timmah.

Oh roddy gave Parker all he wanted. He thought devin was tough, roddy is going to be in his nightmares before it is over.

Shawn...man you can NOT foul on that layup.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by clutch#41

Good D.
played 36 mins with only 1 TO.
ill take that from roddy every game.

Let's not forget his biggest play was going coast to coast for a quick layup with 29 seconds left in regulation, allowing the Mavs to play defense instead of fouling.

[Bayliss]

This really depends on what you're looking for. If you're worried about standings, then you're correct. If you're worried about how the team is playing, you couldn't be more wrong.

Jthig, this game will be no indication of how the Mavs will be playing 20 games from now. 5% of a stretch will not be an indicator one way or another with how a team is playing, especially if it is the first 5%.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by Bayliss

Jthig, this game will be no indication of how the Mavs will be playing 20 games from now. 5% of a stretch will not be an indicator one way or another with how a team is playing, especially if it is the first 5%.

Is it not an indicator of how they're playing now, though? Is it not an indicator that they have issues with letting up too soon, with letting teams go on big runs?

I'm not saying we need to hit a panic button or anything, but I just don't agree at all that "winning is the important thing" at this point of the season.

[Bayliss]

Well, that is one major reason why Kidd plays. He can pass the ball to Dirk. Sounds retarded, but he is the only Maverick capable of feeding Dirk in the post consistently. And he is the only Maverick who can feed Dirk on backdoor cuts if the opponent is fronting or denying Dirk the ball.

[j0Shi]

Statistical observations:

Game:

• @dallasmavs beat Spurs 105.70 to 104.66 pp100. Mavs have now allowed at least 100 pp100 in all of last 3 and 5 of their last 7
• As you can see in the gameflow chart, Mavs hold Spurs to <90 Eff most of the game and then their bench happened.
• Spurs ended up with a 154.61 Offensive Efficiency in the 4th, but it was well over 200 for a good chunk of it.
• Still not the worst 4th quarter collapse this year in terms of Efficiency Differential. Today -51.54, at Minnesota: -60.73
• Mavs end up with an assists rate of 34.09% which is the worst for a game this season. Block rate of 12.77% is season best.
• Spurs did good job of cutting down the driving lanes. Mavs took their average 2-point shot from 12.19 feet, also a season-worst.

Lineups:

• The great run by San Antonio came against the Terry, West backcourt in the second half, outscored them 10-23 on 179.31.
• But it really was relaxing from everybody. Jones wasn't into it, Dirk looked completely lost in closing out Bonner.
• Starting lineup ends up getting outscored 13-16 on 83.03 DefEff, best combo tonight Terry/Roddy: outscored Spurs 50-39 on 95.00 DefEff
• With both Terry & Roddy, Mavs assisted on 60.00% and shot 59.72%
• Lineups with Ian had slight edge for today, DefEff 102.10, TRB% 52.94. With Haywood: 113.59 and 48.94%

Players:

• Terry grabs +/- at +38.11. Well deserved. Dirk, Roddy trail. West, Ian, Marion on bottom here.
• Might be the stat of the night: When Roddy wasn't on the floor, Mavs assisted on 6.67% of their FGs and shot 39.47% eFG. With: 48.28%/50.00%
• Terry (4th Q PER 37.60) & Roddy (43.06) saved the game for Mavs. Esp Roddy /w two blocks, 2 assists bailed out Dirk (PER -1.73) on both ends
• Roddy and Terry score the last 18 points of the game in the 4th to reach OT.
• Most love in advanced metrics (WS48/WP48/PER...) for Terry, Carter. Statistically all but West and Jones contributed to the win.
• Actually first Clutch minutes for Roddy this season, not bad to post a Clutch-PER of 43.76 then. Terry 39, Carter 33, Dirk 12 for season.
• Best rebounder was Dirk with 17.8% TRB. Have to say didn't "feel" like it watching the game.
• Haywood leads Ian in WinShares, PER and stuff. Also Mavs played +4.21pp100 with Wood, -13.43 /w Ian.

Ranking:

• Mavs remain 3rd in DefEff (98.44) despite late struggles, now 8th in Points off FTs and in the Paint (58.49 pp100) and 7th in eFG% (46.04)
• But rebounding and giving up FTs remains general concern: Drop to 11th in DRB% (74.92) and are 23rd in giving up fouls and AND1s.
• Offense still in the bottom half of league

Short version: Terry and Roddy saved our asses tonight.
Dirk has to get back to full whatever.

[Bayliss]

Is it not an indicator of how they're playing now, though? Is it not an indicator that they have issues with letting up too soon, with letting teams go on big runs?

I'm not saying we need to hit a panic button or anything, but I just don't agree at all that "winning is the important thing" at this point of the season.

Winning isn't the only important thing. But the Mavs winning this game was the most important thing that came from this game.

And 20 games from now, no one is going to go back and look and see that the 1 point win came from beating the Spurs second unit. The regular season this year is going to be quirky. Too many games, no rest, coaches playing makeshift lineups, etc etc...

[JHT]

Originally Posted by AO41

Roddy had a decent game, but is still BAD IMO at running the offense and as we saw struggles getting the ball to Dirk

7 assists 1 turnover, several pretty spectacular passes...

So I guess you're just trolling? Because this statement is factually incorrect.

Roddy controlled the game as a PG. Kidd couldn't have done much better.

[JHT]

Originally Posted by jthig32

Roddy also needs a lot of work running the pick and roll with Dirk, because right now it's not pretty.

There were definitely problems on this... but how much of this was just the result of the refs allowing the Spurs to basically mug Dirk? I don't know how even Kidd could have gotten him the ball in some of those situations. Blair just shoved, fouled, and grabbed Dirk to keep him from getting the ball and the refs did nothing.

[j0Shi]

Kidd would have gotten the ball to Dirk better, but Dirk was 3-for-12 outside six feet so why exactly do you want him to get even more touches? The refs were adding to the whole mess in allowing Blair, well, everything?

As said, much on not getting the ball was on him, because he couldn't outbattle Blair. Late game vs. Splitter it was much better, because Splitter wasn't that aggressive.

[JHT]

Originally Posted by j0Shi

As said, much on not getting the ball was on him, because he couldn't outbattle Blair. Late game vs. Splitter it was much better, because Splitter wasn't that aggressive.

I hate to blame Dirk for it any more than Roddy though... I'm not sure how he could have outbattled him without basically committing a flagrant.

It was pretty disgusting what the refs were letting Blair do, and the only way to out battle him would be to take the whole thing up another notch... and the next step from where they were at was a Flagrant 1.