Zen, Hack a Fu, & Bruised Ribs - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Bayliss · 02-03-2002, 02:58 PM

So far we are playing pretty well. Holding our own on the boards but can't let them have so many easy looks.

reeds · 02-03-2002, 03:32 PM

mavs 19-45 shooting in the first half. They need to improve on that. Besides, I took the Mavs +3.5!

reeds · 02-03-2002, 03:45 PM

and 1-13 from the three point line is killing them!

mick · 02-03-2002, 04:12 PM

We need to take it to the basket more to stay close until the 4th.

Bayliss · 02-03-2002, 05:01 PM

Well. We can't have Dirk, Nash & Finley struggle in the 2nd half and expect to win. And doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

Road Rage · 02-03-2002, 05:09 PM

Well, that sucked.

Quite obviously, more than anything else, a poor shooting night killed us. The 15% from 3 PT land was just painful to watch. I think on any other night, we win this game, or at the very least have a much better chance to win at the end.

If I'm going to take a moral victory away from this it would be that defensively, I think the Mavs did well. Shaq and Kobe got theirs (as the will 95% of the time), but Dallas did a good job of making LA take a lot of outside shots. Shaq and Kobe were 23/45 for 51%. The rest of the Lakers were 14/48 for 29%. Isn't this how everyone says you beat the Lakers? I think we did what we intended to do defensively, and we got the looks we wanted offensively but just couldn't hit the shots.

Also, I was pleased to see Juwan have another solid game: 19 pts, 8 reb, 4 asst.

mick · 02-03-2002, 05:24 PM

Howard had a good game, so did Wang and even Bradley while he was in the game. Nash and Dirk struggled but contributed on defense (Dirk had 15 boards I think). Finley is still missing.

I think we missed Najera even though we held them somewhat, but Eddie may have gotten a few RBs that went to LA.

Since he couldn't go, Nellie should have tried Harvey in there for RBs.

Road Rage · 02-03-2002, 05:26 PM

Agreed on Najera, mick.

MavsFanFinley · 02-03-2002, 07:50 PM

That sucked! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

Started out so well but no one showed up in the 2nd half.

Fin shoots 5-14 (35%) for only 11pts, but did grab 8 rebounds, dish 2 assists, block 2 shots and didn't turn the ball over. His defense wasn't bad in the first half, kept Fox quiet. 2nd half roles around and he's matched up with Kobe, who ran circles around him. Him and Nash looked REALLY confused on mis-matches.

Dirk shoots 6-17 (35%) for 19pts, grabs 15 rebounds, dishes 1 assist, steals the ball 3 times and only turns it over once. Also has a blocked shot. I don't remember his defense, he seemed invisable for the most part, but you can see the rebounds and steals.

Nash shoots 5-16 (31%) for 20pts, grabs 6 rebounds and dishes the ball out 6 times and only has 2 turnovers. When is Nelson going to understand that guards can shoot over Nash? It doesn't matter how in the face he is, Peja, MgGinnis and Kobe today can shoot right over the top of him.

Howard is the only player who could hit his shot...how often can that be said? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img] I really can't think of a bad thing to say about him. I guess you wished he had more than 8 rebounds.

I have to question Nelson on this game...Dirk took it to the hoop a couple times with good results in the first half, why was he hanging out behind the ark in the 2nd half?

Did anyone get tired of watching Nash dribble the ball? I swear he dribbled and dribbled, tried to penetrate here, nope run back out, try another route, no, oh shit, time is running out and pitched it to someone else to shoot.

Why did Fin attack the basket in the first half (not as good of results as Dirk but promising) and hang out at the 3 point line with Dirk in the 2nd half? Fin had the nice drive to the basket and got the dunk, also backed down Fisher (maybe Hunter, I forget) for the short fadaway. Only time I saw him do this in the 2nd half was against Fox and was double-teamed and pitched it out to the open man, which resulted in another miss 3. He was trying for the rebounds inside and had a couple missed layups. One was a missed put back off a Nash miss.

Another thing, WHY didn't we attack the basket when Shaq was out of the game? I couldn't believe my eyes. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] We just kept settling for the jumpshot. Yes, I know, we're primarily a jump shooting team, but that was unbelievable.

4-28 from down-town is just frightening, we just kept throwing up bricks. Problem was that most, if not all, were open looks. Griffin (0-3), Dirk (0-5), Finley (0-4), Nash (1-6), Hardaway (1-5) and Wang (2-5).

And what happened to the let Shaq get his and keep the others quiet? Instead, we had guys like Richmond and Fisher killing us. And that's to mention Kobe ending up with his.

This is a game we could have really used Najera (rebounding and hustle), Buckner (defense on Kobe) and Eschmeyer (any inside toughness), but all are hurting.

Finally, did anyone get the feeling that there weren't any set plays, especially in the 4th?

Hoopsmeister · 02-03-2002, 09:31 PM

So much to criticize, I'm not even going to start. Instead, I'm going to comment on the ONLY good things I can think of.

a) Dirk had a great first half.
b) Howard had a good game. He didn't rebound/block out as well as I might have wished, but he had a right to go into the locker room and light into the rest of the team.
c) Wang and Bradley played well. If we could get Wang for a full pre-season he could be an effective starting center for us.

jules88 · 02-03-2002, 09:38 PM

I talked to Wang's girlfriend a little at the Houston game, and I asked her if Wang had to go back to China during the summer and she told me NO. So, he will be staying and working out during the off-season in Dallas.

reeds · 02-03-2002, 11:05 PM

I cant think of many good things to say about that game. That was a huge "statement game" for Dallas, and they totally laid an egg. At home, it was a prime spot to show LA they are for real. BUT- they are not. Im not trying to make enemies, its just my opinion. If they cant get up for that game and beat LA at home, forget about it. Ok- so maybe im a bit bitter because I lost money on them today, but I still feel this was the time to step up, and NO one did. They were broke. Wang is the only guy who really kinda surprised me- he is better than I thought he was.

And a side note- Nash trying to fix his damn hair everytime the camera was on him made him look like a fool. Cut the shit off or something...

Bayliss · 02-03-2002, 11:31 PM

This game against LA is what frustrates me and gives me hope.

We were right there. The entire game. Down by 11 at one point but quickly went on a 7-0 run at the end of the 3rd to close within 4. But we just couldn't get over the hump. We had them nailed if Dirk, Nash or Finley were clicking. (Btw, could they get a better guy to call the game then PJ Carlisimo? Now I know why Spewell choked the guy.)

But until someone from the Mavs (Dirk, I'm looking at you) pulls an Edward Norton from Primal Fear telling Richard Gere, "It was me, boy! It was me!" then the Mavs will always come a little short.

Hoopsmeister · 02-03-2002, 11:49 PM

<< Im not trying to make enemies, its just my opinion. If they cant get up for that game and beat LA at home, forget about it. >>

No enemies, you're right. The Mavericks had every opportunity to win this game, and they blew it. Dirk had 16 points in the 1st half. He scores that in the second half and they win the game. Nash was 5-16, 1-6 from 3 with 6 assists. He shoots his average and they are right in the game--better yet, he takes fewer of those 3-pointers and and he and Nellie spends more time running plays to get it into the post where the Mavs made a good living and they win this game.

David · 02-04-2002, 06:57 AM

Do the Mavs get stage fright against the Lakers? They had them in the last game in LA and then choked in the 4th.

To me the Lakers are the only team that intimidates the Mavs. They believe they can beat everybody else.

TheKid · 02-04-2002, 10:14 AM

The thing that gets frustrating for me is this the Mavs are suppose to be one of the elite teams in the league now, so I'm through with this saying, "we were right there and if etc. etc. we would have wone." Bull, it's time for us to start winning these games. The only two people that came to play yesterday in my mind was Juwan and Wang... They were the only two that did a consistently good job while they were on the court yesterday. This stuff about Dirk had a good half, or if Nash took fewer jumpshots or Fin should have done this... Whatever, we LOST!!! That game was going to say a lot to me as a Mavericks fan and they did it again for the second time this year.

Now if this game was in LA, I guess I wouldn't be as upset as I am, but it was on the Mavericks HOME COURT and they laid an egg. I don't know how we do it, but we need to find a way to beat the Lakers. Now the Mavs have found a way to beat the Spurs from time to time, but they haven't found a way to beat the Lakers consistently and if they don't, then well we're spinning our wheels right now.

Murphy3 · 02-04-2002, 06:47 PM

the mavs do get up for the lakers...
maybe too much.
you get too much energy and anticipate too much..sometimes it affects your game..
is that what happened?..or are the mavs just cooling off a bit?