Time for Finley to come up big - dfw.com - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

mavsfanforever · 04-20-2004, 07:17 AM

Time for Finley to come up big

By Gil Lebreton

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - As far as the Mavericks' Michael Finley was concerned, the box score said it all.

Especially the line that read, "Finley ... 38 minutes ... 4-for-13 field goals ... 4 rebounds ... 9 points."

"I think the first game was a terrible display for myself," Finley said on the eve of Game 2 of the Mavericks' playoff series against the Sacramento Kings.
"I didn't give the team a great opportunity to win in that first game. They basically got by for three quarters with me struggling."
In the fourth quarter Sunday, when the Kings sealed the Mavericks' fate, Finley went scoreless in six conspicuously invisible minutes.

It's supposed to be The Big Three.

"It's important," Finley agreed, "that we have at least a couple of guys to give Dirk [Nowitzki] some help."

With 32 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots, Nowitzki delivered as billed in Sunday's series opener.

Finley failed to answer the bell.

It raised questions again about the nine-year veteran's health. He was bothered in late March by a sprained calf muscle, and a week ago missed games with what were described as back spasms.

History tells the Mavericks that when Finley returns to the lineup, he does so gingerly.

"Sometimes when you talk about it, the worse it gets," coach Don Nelson said of Finley's progress. "That's been my history with Mike.

"The only thing you can do is continue to give him touches and set him up. He's got to feel that groove, and he hasn't done it yet."

A year ago, following a similar late-season injury, Finley seemed to play better as the playoffs progressed, finally hitting his stride in the San Antonio series.

"I'm not worried about him," guard Steve Nash said. "He'll be back. He's too good of a player not to be back."

As Nash and Finley both admitted Monday, however, Nowitzki can't be expected to shoulder the load alone. If Nellie expects to play his so-called "small ball," Finley has to come up big.

His contribution was huge when the Mavericks, after stumbling in the starting gate this season, righted themselves and set a winding path to 52 victories. It wasn't Finley's best season as a Maverick -- both his scoring and rebounding averages were down -- but his value to the franchise was again underlined.

"Absolutely, for our small lineup to be successful," Nelson said, "Mike has to play at a high level."

He may never be the ball-handler Nelson had hoped. Finley will never be the guy that boldly slashes his way to the basket. Dribbling isn't his thing, and on some nights, rebounding isn't his thing. And with any kind of defensive effort against Sacramento's Peja Stojakovic in Game 1, Sunday's fourth quarter might have looked a lot different.

But Finley is what he is, and often that's an NBA All-Star. Too many hands are wrung over what Michael Finley can't do, rather than applauding for what he does.

"We have to make the most of our opportunities, if we expect to win," Finley said at Monday's practice. "Last game we settled more for 3-point shots.

"I've got to mix up my game more, and, hopefully, that will get me going."

He was talking about rebounding, mostly. The players also seemed somewhat taken aback, after watching the game film, by how little resistance they offered the Kings on defense.

As Nelson said, his team shot enough and scored enough. But when it came to stopping the Kings, he said, "They cut us to pieces."

Finley has to help. But he was quick Monday not to use the recent (pick one) calf, back or rib injuries as his note from the doctor.

"I'm walking, breathing," he said, when asked about his health.

"I'm fine. The only thing that's bugging me is you guys asking me about what's bugging me.

"If I had played great on Sunday, the questions about this wouldn't have come up."

Instead, the box score unearthed a dilemma.

Michael Finley thinks he's ready to solve it. As a member of The Big Three, he has to.

nowitzki_prophecy · 04-20-2004, 08:34 AM

Quote:

"Last game we settled more for 3-point shots.

We?Mike attempted 8 three pointers from a total of 21... If it isn't your day,dont shoot.

mavsman55 · 04-20-2004, 02:27 PM

Quote:

The players also seemed somewhat taken aback, after watching the game film, by how little resistance they offered the Kings on defense.

As Nelson said, his team shot enough and scored enough. But when it came to stopping the Kings, he said, "They cut us to pieces."

I hope they were so embarrassed watching their performance on tape that they realize "holy crap, we sucked it up out there defensively". I hope they get so moved by their horrible defensive performance that they come out with barrels of energy and hold Sacto to under 80 points today.

Murphy3 · 04-20-2004, 03:01 PM

Quote:

"We have to make the most of our opportunities, if we expect to win," Finley said at Monday's practice. "Last game we settled more for 3-point shots.

The last time I checked, the team shot 8-21 from three point land. Fin was 1 for 8? Is that correct? That would mean the rest of the team 'settled' for shooting 7-13 from beyond the arc without Fin's contributions.

I'm sorry, but 7-13 from the rest of the team is more than acceptable. At least in this area, it falls firmly on Fin's shoulders.

dirno2000 · 04-20-2004, 03:12 PM

hahaha...that's a hilarious quote...Fin recognizes it's a team game so he wants to share the blame with his teammates...good job Fin.

As bad as Marquis played in the 2nd half, I have to give him credit for realizing that he wasn't hot. He passed up a number of long-range jump shots to go to the hole. Unfortunately he made bad decisions and didn't finish when he got there, but he had the right idea.

FilthyFinMavs · 04-20-2004, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Murphy3

Quote:

"We have to make the most of our opportunities, if we expect to win," Finley said at Monday's practice. "Last game we settled more for 3-point shots.

The last time I checked, the team shot 8-21 from three point land. Fin was 1 for 8? Is that correct? That would mean the rest of the team 'settled' for shooting 7-13 from beyond the arc without Fin's contributions.

I'm sorry, but 7-13 from the rest of the team is more than acceptable. At least in this area, it follows firmly on Fin's shoulders.

What follows on Fin's shoulders? The loss? Shooting 8-21 from the 3 is not why we lost the game. Fin's out best 3 point shooter. He should be one of the only ones shooting the 3.

FilthyFinMavs · 04-20-2004, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: nowitzki_prophecy

Quote:

"Last game we settled more for 3-point shots.

We?Mike attempted 8 three pointers from a total of 21... If it isn't your day,dont shoot.

You don't tell one of your best scorers to stop shooting. Especially with 13 shots.

FilthyFinMavs · 04-20-2004, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: dirno2000
hahaha...that's a hilarious quote...Fin recognizes it's a team game so he wants to share the blame with his teammates...good job Fin.

As bad as Marquis played in the 2nd half, I have to give him credit for realizing that he wasn't hot. He passed up a number of long-range jump shots to go to the hole. Unfortunately he made bad decisions and didn't finish when he got there, but he had the right idea.

He and Dirk had the right idea. The rest of the team stunk it up.

MavsFanFinley · 04-20-2004, 04:49 PM

Both the DMN and FWST ran the same stories basically. This one sucked and I'm not surprised that folks jumped on the one quote from Finley and made no reference to the DMN story where he blamed himself. And how if he would have had a good game, no one would be bringing up fatigue and injuries.

Drbio · 04-20-2004, 04:55 PM

You know FFM...we disagree on a lot of topics, but Finley is not one of them.

Why is it that people liketo bash Fin here when things go wrong, but we don't see the same amount of praise when he goes off? All the guy does is play with heart.

MavsFanFinley · 04-20-2004, 05:02 PM

The guy only took 13 shots. If he were to have missed all layups instead of 3's, we'd still be hearing how he shot too much and should be benched when he's cold.

It's nothing new Doc.

EricaLubarsky · 04-20-2004, 05:02 PM

we will not win a championship without Finley. Period.

Drbio · 04-20-2004, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: EricaLubarsky
we will not win a championship without Finley. Period.

Couldn't. Agree. More.

Drbio · 04-20-2004, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley
The guy only took 13 shots. If he were to have missed all layups instead of 3's, we'd still be hearing how he shot too much and should be benched when he's cold.

It's nothing new Doc.

I'm on record as saying he will bust out tonight.

Bayliss · 04-20-2004, 05:33 PM

It wasn't the shots, but the time in the game. Fin at least two or three times just "pulled up" for a 3 without having any rythym. It wasn't a "heat check" shot but it was a shot trying to get himself going. And it killed momentum.

FilthyFinMavs · 04-20-2004, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Drbio
You know FFM...we disagree on a lot of topics, but Finley is not one of them.

Why is it that people liketo bash Fin here when things go wrong, but we don't see the same amount of praise when he goes off? All the guy does is play with heart.

It's good to see someone else agrees. I'm not even taking up for Fin's play however I get the impression that people are saying Fin didn't try to play and he is the reason why we lost and that's what ticks me off at times.

FilthyFinMavs · 04-20-2004, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Bayliss
It wasn't the shots, but the time in the game. Fin at least two or three times just "pulled up" for a 3 without having any rythym. It wasn't a "heat check" shot but it was a shot trying to get himself going. And it killed momentum.

I remember when Fin did that but I only remember 1 time but i'm sure there are more. However, not to point fingers at other players but there were times when Walker and Dirk both had opprotunitys for the Mavs to cut a lead and the goofed up. This isn't a problem until it happens with a team who isn't stopping the opponent from scoring. When we had our goof ups Peeler or Peja would hit a 3. I agree that Fin at times killed momentum but when does he shoot? When we get a bigger lead? I don't think we get a big lead without his shooting.

Murphy3 · 04-20-2004, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley
The guy only took 13 shots. If he were to have missed all layups instead of 3's, we'd still be hearing how he shot too much and should be benched when he's cold.

It's nothing new Doc.

It's not about bashing fin. I don't want to see him benched or anything else. I found it comical that he would say 'we settled' for three point shots when he took just 5 less than the rest of the players on the team combined.

Take fin out of the equation, and the team hit a great percentage of their threes.

It's not about knocking fin's performance. It's just rather comical when he references the team as doing something incorrectly whenever the point in question should fall firmly on his shoulders.

It's like a QB saying 'we turned the ball over too many times' when the team turns the ball over 4 times and they are all interceptions on poorly thrown passes.

The team shot great from beyond the arc if you take out fin. So, it's just not right for Fin to indict the whole team when it wasn't a team wide issue.

I don't mind fin taking open threes at all. That is not remotely the issue in my mind. There is no 'real' issue other than the comedic relief that fin's statement has provided.

Bayliss · 04-20-2004, 05:52 PM

This "we" business reminds me of Leon and his 4 fumbles.

Murphy3 · 04-20-2004, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Bayliss
This "we" business reminds me of Leon and his 4 fumbles.

That is exactly what I was thinking about. I just couldn't remember his name in the commercial.

kingrex · 04-20-2004, 06:01 PM

I think the point of the article is to say that when you're one of the Big 3, then ya' gotta step up.

I think Nash needed to do a bit more too. Both guys, I feel, didn't really provide much scoring support for Dirk especially in the 4th quarter.

It's not Fin-bashing, but as the Captain of this team more should be expected from him than what he delivered in Game 1.

I, too, will go on record as to say that the Fin-dog will play with more aggressiveness in tonight's game.

Max Power · 04-20-2004, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Drbio
You know FFM...we disagree on a lot of topics, but Finley is not one of them.

Why is it that people liketo bash Fin here when things go wrong, but we don't see the same amount of praise when he goes off? All the guy does is play with heart.

Dallas fans LOVE to have a reason to bash Finley. Excuses are always made for poor games by Nash or Dirk but Finley always gets the shaft.

I still hope he's traded to a team that will appreciate him - it would be especially cool to see him win a championship while the Dallas fans look on with envy.

madape · 04-21-2004, 12:32 AM

Finley stood up tonight, and took a crap down his leg.

Max Power · 04-21-2004, 12:33 AM

What an awful situation for Finley to get stuck with. Nobody is going to remember Nash's missed 3's or Daniels REPEATED blown bunnies - all they are going to remember is Finley fumbling away the final shot.

I really, REAAALLLLLY hope that Finley is traded.

Evilmav2 · 04-21-2004, 12:48 AM

Great job tonight Fin. I have always loved watching you work through your traditional Fin-injury-recovery-period-shit-breaks, especially when they help us lose critical playoff games...

Bayliss · 04-21-2004, 12:49 AM

Max... it wasn't the last shot that was terrible. It was his entire game. He had 2 rebounds and 10 points (while shooting horribly).

That is a dissapointing stat line of a so called all-star.

You know that billboard in Atlanta that says Where's Fin? Lots of people are wondering that. He has sucked the last two games.

mavsfanforever · 04-21-2004, 12:55 AM

It was utterly stupid of Nellie to Run a play thru Finley when he was obviously struggling. I am not sure why Nellie tries to be oversmart and falls on his butt everytime. Dirk has to have the ball. Sac struggled all game long to stop Dirk.

Max Power · 04-21-2004, 01:02 AM

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HeatFan7 · 04-21-2004, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Max Power
What an awful situation for Finley to get stuck with. Nobody is going to remember Nash's missed 3's or Daniels REPEATED blown bunnies - all they are going to remember is Finley fumbling away the final shot.

I really, REAAALLLLLY hope that Finley is traded.

What about the FT Nash Missed? What about the 3 Dirk missed at the end that wouldve brought you to within 1 with them at the line. And you still have a chance to tie at the very least? What about him slipping on the possesion before when Nash missed the 3, and Daniels missing the short J in the lane? Dirk needs some new shoes or something, because in crunch time hes slipping(golden state game) and on defense he cant seem to stop guys from shooting layups. sure he had some blocks or contests, but he has to be the worst, last line of defense i have ever seen. i mean, i seen to many layups and dunks over this guy tonight. if hes going to be the last line of defense, he has to step up and play better. his offensive numbers look good, but its nothing more than some of the lesser PFs has done against the lousy D of the big men from Sacramento.