Posted by Rob Mahoney on April 24, 2009 under Recaps | 
Photo by AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez.
Box Score — Play-By-Play — Shot Chart — GameFlow
“Of course life is bizarre, the more bizarre it gets, the more interesting it is. The only way to approach it is to make yourself some popcorn and enjoy the show.”
-Unknown
We’re 144 minutes into this series, and the Mavs have played catch-up to gut out a tough win, had their egos taken behind the barn and shot, and completely obliterated the entire Spurs roster. Three very different games, and three very different impressions that have all asserted one thing: we’ve learned nothing about this series that we didn’t know coming in.
But last night, that nothing sure was fun to watch.
It’s hard to expect the Mavs’ epic defensive performance to have any kind of staying power. The Spurs won’t be psychologically scarred by the thrashing they took last night; if anything, they’ll be as motivated as ever to control Game 4. But in a vacuum, playoff performances don’t get much more dominant than the thorough smackdown the Mavs laid down on the Spurs. Dallas held the lead throughout, and appeared focused on grooming that lead early. A five point lead wasn’t enough. An eight point lead wasn’t enough. A fifteen point lead wasn’t enough. And as the differential kept climbing and climbing, it was easy to see that Dallas’ weapon of choice wasn’t killer offensive execution, but rather a defense with fangs, claws, talons, horns, and fully automatic machine guns.
If you’d like a face for the Mavs’ exemplary defense, I’ll give you three: Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, and Erick Dampier. Tony Parker was obviously in the Mavs’ crosshairs, and they successfully held TP to 14 points on 5-14 shooting with 3 turnovers. If that surprised you, then brace yourself: that defense on Parker was keyed primarily by Jason Kidd. Kidd hardly guarded Parker exclusively, but he provided the groundwork and a point of reference for J.J. and Parker’s other defenders. He hustled to get into position, tried his damnedest to slow Parker even half a step, and used timing and hustle to irritate Tony into turnovers or misses. Essentially, Kidd succeeded in doing everything Barea had done previously, but the defense’s accomplishments were even more pronounced because of shot-blocking from the weak side. Enter Howard and Dampier. On Howard’s best nights, he’s a good on-ball defender and a great off-ball one. This was one of those nights. Howard played the passing lanes and forced his share of turnovers, but cemented the Mavs’ defensive gameplan by coming out of nowhere for huge blocks. Dampier followed suit, protecting the rim from Parker and Duncan (who finished with just 4 points and 2 rebounds while shooting 2-9 from the field) without fatally injuring anybody. Parker wasn’t knocked flat on his back, but he might as well have been. Also, Dampier was much improved in defending the screen and roll, showing strong on the screen to halt Parker’s progress and block the easy passing angle. It may not seem like much, but it means the world.
The best defensive strategy the Mavs employed all night was strictly a preventative one: run up the score as quickly and demonstratively as possible, and force Pop to start thinking about Saturday. The turnover between last night’s game and the game early on Saturday afternoon is shorter than you’d expect in the playoffs, and I’d wager Tim Duncan’s knees don’t much like the notion. As such, it seems perfectly reasonable for Gregg Poppovich to have an ear trained to the wailing of Timmy’s joints. With the game clearly out of reach, Duncan and Parker took a seat. Not only did that make their box score output look even dimmer, but it significantly curbed the risk of any San Antonio comeback. I am not afraid of Jacque Vaughn.
Maybe the point total doesn’t wow you, but Dallas’ offense was tremendous as well. J.J. Barea (13 points, 7 assists, just one turnover) got the start in place of Antoine Wright, and the Mavs reaped instant dividends with his 9 points and 2 assists in the first frame. Throwing Barea into the fire early not only helps facilitate the offense with a player who is a superior shooter and ball-handler to Wright, but also poses virtually no risk defensively with Roger Mason Jr. and Michael Finley on the floor. Barea also relieves Kidd and gives the Mavs another transition defender to pick-up Parker, a luxury that cannot be discounted. Carlisle made a big adjustment in giving Barea the start, and he deserves all the credit. One can only hope that the the adjustment’s impact mirrors Avery Johnson’s sub of Devin Harris into the starting lineup in 2006, a chess move that provided the basis for a Game 7 checkmate.
As Barea goes, apparently so too does Brandon Bass (10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks). Both were instrumental in the Mavs’ victories, lending further legitimacy to the thought that this battle won’t be won in the stars, but in the trenches.
It needs to be said that the Spurs shot atrociously. Part of that was a renewed interest in defense from the Mavs, but even the best D can’t force a team into shooting 2 of 17 from three. But with the way the Spurs were shooting, it only made defending Tony Parker that much easier. Parker’s drive always come with the threat of a kick-out to the corner, but with those threats neutralized by sound defense and an off night to balance SanAn’s white hot shooting in Game 1, the Spurs best playmaker developed a bit of tunnelvision. All the easier to block, my pretty.
Dirk Nowitzki (20 points on 8-12 FG, 7 rebounds) has officially arrived at the 2009 Playoffs. Welcome aboard, buddy. His numbers are far from daunting, but Dirk put on a dominant shooting performance that gave us a taste of things to come. Don’t expect 67% shooting every night, but you can’t count on Dirk to be more of an offensive factor from here on out. Book it.
Closing thoughts:
- The Spurs’ 67 points was the all-time low allowed by a Maverick playoff opponent. Booyah.
- If the bright side of the blowout for the Spurs was getting Tony Parker and Tim Duncan plenty of rest, then the Mavs have their benefits eclipsed. Not only did the Mavs put together a completely dominant two-way performance on their home court and build up their confidence, but Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Kidd all had comfy seats on the bench for the entire fourth quarter, and Jason Terry played just 24 minutes in the entire game.
- Jason Terry (10 points, 4-9 FG, 2 assists, 3 turnovers) is facing some brutal traps whenever he and Dirk start up the two man game (name drop!). It’s frustrating, but Terry’s not forcing it and is generally getting the ball to his open teammates. I’d love for Terry to get open looks, but if trapping JET means a wide open Dirk is waiting at the free throw line, I think I’ll find a way to cope.
- Josh Howard has added a great wrinkle to his game: passing to dive cutters after drawing extra attention. Old Josh pulls up and lets the shot fly, regardless of the fact that its heavily contested. But since his return, Josh has shown a willingness to dish to that wide open cutter, creating an easy as ABC bucket for Erick Dampier or Brandon Bass.
- If you watched tape of Dirk dealing with double teams in 2007 and today, you’d see two completely different players. The Spurs continued to throw doubles at Dirk from a variety of angles, and occasionally even attempt to play the angles on the swing pass to the perimeter. Dirk was having none of that, and either hoisted a clear look, found Kidd to reset the play, or bypassed the passing lane pressure to find a wide open shooter in the corner. Tremendous.
GOLD STAR OF THE NIGHT: The Gold Star of the Night goes to Rick Carlisle (0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists…but 0 turnovers). Moving J.J. into the starting lineup seemed like an obvious move, but only because of Rick’s willingness to adjust and compromise his previous strategy in order to meet situational needs. Carlisle is neither too proud nor too stubborn to make the big adjustment, a trait which the greatest coaches share and the tragic coaches lack. This team came out ready to roll offensively, and the defensive strategy was completely overhauled. The execution on both ends was spectacular, and there won’t be a whisper of motivational issues on Friday. That’s obviously not all Carlisle, but it certainly starts with Rick and his staff. Kudos.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on April 23, 2009 under Previews |
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under xOther |
Photo by the Garbage Time All-Stars, via Ball Don’t Lie.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under Commentary |
The Mavs have to find a way to make Tony Parker work defensively. The Mavs also have to keep Jason Kidd on the floor. Put the two together, and you have a little bit of a problem.
J-Kidd isn’t the type to aggressively drive the lane with the intent to score, and he’s not a talented enough finisher to warrant that thought process. He’s also not a pull-up jumpshooter, meaning his ability to score off the dribble is about on-par with Erick Dampier. Kidd’s true offensive strengths lie in his ability to make the passes no one else on this team can make, perfectly place the dishes that seem routine, and nail his spot-up looks. But at 6′4” - 210, there is one other significant weapon at Kidd’s disposal: the post-up game.
This isn’t a novel concept. Kidd has the strength and size to, in theory, punish the smaller quicker buggers that try to man up him. That’s just the perk of being the only PG this side of Chauncey Billups with the build to get the job done. But, what’s being overlooked in the assessment of Kidd’s frame is one, tiny, tiny issue: Kidd can’t score in the post. He has exactly one post move, and that’s a little turnaround jumper that is far from automatic. Most point guards, even those with ideal frames, have so much to focus on that they ignore the possibility of a post-up game. It’s clear that Kidd’s inside moves are far from polished. But unsurprisingly, he’s an incredible passer out of the low post, creating for cutters and shooters camped out on the perimeter.
Yes, posting up Kidd worked brilliantly against the Suns late in the regular season. But unless Tony Parker channels his inner Steve Nash, the low post game won’t be a valuable scoring option for Kidd. However, just because Kidd can’t actually score in the post doesn’t mean that he can’t at least create the illusion of being the threat. When facing the bear, Kidd needs to wave his arms, jump up and down, and generally make his inside game look much bigger and stronger than it really is. Threat construction is often more important than real danger, and it’s exactly the kind of misdirection that could open up the Mavs’ scorers. It’s one thing for Parker to have the notion that Kidd’s interior scoring is a non-threat, but it’s another entirely for the entire defense to be aware and not succumb to the temptation of doubling Kidd. Easier said than done.
Forcing Tony Parker to guard Kidd down low won’t wear him out like chasing J.J. Barea, but it will make him do a little work. If Kidd can back Parker down and make himself look a bit dangerous, Dallas could simultaneously find a method to tire out Tony and a catalyst for their offense.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under Commentary |
Maybe the Mavs are no longer true contenders, but for the first time in a long while, they’re themselves. With Avery and with the meltdowns went the Mavs’ identity as mini-Spurs, and the Mavericks were finally forced to decide who they really are. Bethlehem Shoals explains:
…But with the series headed back to Dallas, tied 1-1, the Mavs should be feeling pretty darn good about themselves right about now. Not because they stole one from San Antonio on the road, thus giving them some mathematically encouraging chance of advancing. No, the Mavericks should be relieved that they’re back where they belong in the order of the universe: feisty, possibly crazy, underdogs staring down their own imminent death. With that one win, the Mavs went from failed empire to lovable insurgents. Just like things used to be.
That trip to the Finals, the upset at the hands of Nellie and his banshee Warriors, last season’s unceremonious loss to a Hornets team they were expected to unmask … all this was a bad dream, an attempt to be something this franchise never could be. Think about the wild ride that preceded it: A tech zillionaire purchases one of the most benighted franchises in all of pro sports. He enlists the services of the most certifiably weird head coach the league has ever seen. And then, together with a giant jump-shooting German, an alt-rock Canadian point guard, a stoic swingman left over from the Perot years, and anyone else the owner felt like throwing money at, they set out to conquer the league. They had some epic shoot-outs with the Kings, another arriviste squad with some weird ideas about style. Cuban continued to be, depending on how you saw it, the most entertaining or the most meddlesome owner this side of Jerry Jones. It was like Three J’s never happened.
Click over and read the full post immediately at Inside Corner.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under Commentary |
Made using wordle.net, which I’ve been aching to use since I saw it on the DMN Mavs blog.
A few sentences from the normally silent Erick Dampier, and the entire basketball world gets bent out of shape.
“Every time he drives the lane, we have to put him on his back,” Dampier said, according to The Dallas Morning News. “The first foul has to tell him he’s in for a long night.”…”My first foul Thursday night is going to put him on his back,” Dampier said. “I guarantee it.”
Dampier had every right to be upset in himself and his teammates after their performance in Game 2. I’d challenge you to find me any professional athlete who wouldn’t be a little peeved after the way Tony Parker emasculated the Mavs’ defenders. It was embarassing, and the players expect more of themselves on this level. But what makes this quote newsworthy: the fact that Dampier is obviously apalled at team’s play and intends to play physically, or that he openly explained his intentions to knock Parker to the hardwood?
Throughout Erick Dampier’s career, there have been calls for him to play with more physicality and with more intensity. We see passion when he throws down a tip dunk, but rarely see that inspiration when he’s fighting for his defensive position or boxing out. I do believe the effort is there, but Damp’s inability to find consistent success in this league stems from that missing inspiration. In theory, I see these comments as an outlet of sorts for the type of emotional investment that has long been demanded from Dampier. He isn’t a thug. If anything, Damp is frequently accused of the opposite; he’s just a big cuddly teddy bear.
That’s why the underlying sentiment hasn’t been critiqued so much as Damp’s methods. The comments themselves were a bit uncalled for, if only because they served no purpose aside from macho posturing. Telling Tony Parker you’re going to floor him won’t make him shake in his boots, not in a league where the offensive player is traditionally protected. As useless as his comments were, Dampier provided the Spurs with a little something for the bulletin board, and he provided the league office with a telescope focused on solely him. Every move that Dampier makes will be scrutinized, and even the most meaningless of hard fouls may be blown out of proportion due to a thoughtless blown fuse.
I thought Damp’s intentions were pretty clear: don’t allow any easy buckets. Apparently, his quote actually reads as an emotional breakdown in which he openly threatens Parker’s personal safety, that of his loved ones, and possibly the national security at large. The playoff hype machine took this one and ran with it. Yesterday at practice, Damp had a chance to clarify what was said, and he did so without compromising his intent to defend with a little more tenacity:
“It’s just the game of basketball,” Dampier said after practice today. “It wasn’t said with the intent to go out and hurt anyone. Fouls happen in the game of basketball. We want to shut down the lane and not give him any easy layups.”
Nothing personal there. Nothing malicious. Hell, there isn’t even any action. All of this commotion over words, words, words. Just think about that. Maybe Dampier goes through with his threat (unlikely), or maybe he doesn’t. But can’t we wait until the game comes and goes before we make our judgements, hurl our accusations, and mount our high horses?
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under The Grapevine |
- David Moore of the Dallas Morning News: “Parker is playing in a different stratosphere. Those are Carlisle’s words, not mine. The Mavericks must throw everything at him in Game 3. Traps. Zones. Blitz him from different spots the moment he puts the ball on the floor. ‘We know how great he is,’ Carlisle said. ‘We’re going to have to be a lot better with our team defense. I don’t know if anybody ever stops a guy like Parker. He’s so good and so fast. But we’re going to have to do better on him.’ The coaching staff rarely consults me on these matters. OK, never is a better word to use than rarely. But here’s my suggestion. Open the game in a zone and start Jason Terry. The zone impedes Parker’s great straight-line speed. The pick-and-roll between Parker and Tim Duncan is also a little easier to defend out of the zone. Terry’s value is on offense. The Mavericks must attack Parker on defense. They can’t allow him to catch his breath against Jason Kidd or Antoine Wright. Parker would open on Kidd, not Terry. But the Mavericks can force Parker to switch off the pick-and-roll and bounce him off a few Dampier screens, something they have a better chance of doing with Terry than Wright.” I couldn’t agree more. The Mavs need a kick in the pants offensively and defensively, and the combination of the zone and the JET cover both fronts. Eventually, the Mavs will need to show some accountability with their man defense, but hopefully the zone can slow Parker to a mortal point total.
- Erick Dampier’s comments about Tony Parker don’t seem to bother the Spurs too much.
- Graydon Gordian of 48 Minutes of Hell, in response to my thoughts about Dirk’s mini-slump: “…Dirk Nowitzki is not Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, or even Chris Paul. My reaction has never been, ‘he’ll get his points; let’s shut down everyone else.’ I believe we can control the scope of the damage he causes. In order to do so the intensity of our defensive effort needs to be more than sophisticated; it needs to be ceaseless.” I hope we can say the same of the Mavs’ defense of Tony Parker.
- Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News continues in a similar vein: “Guarding Nowitzki is not a one-man job. The Spurs have found success in crowding him on the catch, with players as disparate as Bonner and Bruce Bowen, then running other defenders at him on the dribble. The object is to coax Nowitzki to try tough jumpers from the perimeter or, better yet, give up the ball. Even then, the Spurs acknowledge there is only so much a defense can do against a 7-footer with 3-point range. ‘All we can do is make it difficult,’ Bonner said. ‘You can’t completely shut him down. You can only make him work for what he gets.’ The tactic of using a small army to hector Nowitzki isn’t exactly a reinvention of basketball strategy. The Mavericks deal with this close to 82 times a season. What is novel, in this series, is where some of the double-teams are coming from. The Spurs have been particularly aggressive in doubling Nowitzki at the high post, sometimes bringing an extra defender from under the basket. ‘I’ve never seen anybody do that,’ Nowitzki said.”
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News: “The Mavericks, after reviewing the film of Game 2, know they didn’t have the pep in that game to keep pace with the Spurs. And as well as the Spurs played, it may not have mattered. San Antonio was outstanding. But whether or not the Spurs repeat that execution and effort, the Mavericks know they must upgrade theirs. ‘When we rebound, we’re in the game,’ Kidd said. ‘It doesn’t mean we’re going to win every game, but when you’re not rebounding – giving those guys second opportunities – they’re going to kill you. You could tell they were ready to play from the start and we were a little relaxed. We’ve got to get back to being aggressive.’”
- Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News: “Bottom line: These guys know Erick Dampier. They play basketball with him. And he is not the mouth that roared Monday. ‘Nobody’s trying to hurt anybody, and Damp certainly doesn’t have the reputation of being a dirty player,’ Nowitzki said, leading him to conjure an example of a dirty player, which he provided, unprovoked. ‘They got one,’ he said of the Spurs. ‘We don’t.’…Meanwhile, the Mavs must play out of character a little bit. They must at least attempt to look tough. Get in someone’s way, for heaven’s sake. Maybe even make a Spur pay for taking advantage of their good nature. The Mavs just can’t afford to announce their intentions beforehand, no matter how much fun it was to read about it.”
- The Morning News has Q&A’s with Mark Cuban and Team President Terdema Ussery. Both are wonderful reminders that regardless of you think of the Mavs as a team, they really are a top-notch franchise. Cuban claims to have only made a profit in two seasons of his ownership, and yet the interviews are littered with talk of winning over profit, constant improvement of the fan experience, and building/maintaining the organization’s image.
- It’s easy to forget, but this is Roger Mason’s first “serious” playoff team. I’m not even sure what that means.
- Kate Hairopoulos of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Trying to get Dirk Nowitzki on track, point guard Jason Kidd said he won’t go out of his way to get him the ball. ‘I look for him less,’ Kidd said. ‘We’re not going to force it to him. There are other guys on the floor who can score. Work him into the game. He’s a veteran. He understands what he has to do.’ Nowitzki admitted having trouble with the high-post double-teams — with the Spurs essentially leaving the basket to help guard him — which he said he hasn’t seen before with the Spurs. He’s averaging just 16.5 points against San Antonio. ‘For a 7-footer, who’s non-athletic, it’s pretty hard to beat a double-team,’ he said. ‘I just have to take what’s there. … I think I’m going to have a few opportunities. But when I have them, I have to make sure I make the best out of them.’”
Posted by Rob Mahoney on April 22, 2009 under Commentary |
Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images.
Over the course of his evolution as a basketball player, Dirk Nowitzki has become a bit of a Spurs killer. His height was too much for Bruce Bowen to overcome, and his array of fakes and spins has always been an odd match for the defensive talents of Tim Duncan. Forever stuck in the no-man’s land of basketball interpositionality, Dirk seemed immune to San Antonio’s defensive genius.
In these past two games, you never would have guessed.
In Game 1, Dirk was limited by foul trouble and swamped with double teams. He finished the night shooting a reasonable 7 for 15, totalling 19 points and 8 rebounds. In Game 2, Dirk seemed to have the gameplan down: he spun away from the double team for good looks, and went straight to the basket for the finish or the whistle. Dirk’s desire to get in the lane have rarely been more evident than in the first half of Game 2, and it’s the only reason that Dirk even broke 10 points; Dirk made just one jumpshot. 14 points, 3 of 14 shooting, and just 6 rebounds. When you get that kind of production out of your best player and your most effective scorer, there’s bound to be trouble.
The big question remains: were Dirk’s two flub games products of vicious defense, bad luck, or supernatural intervention?
Previous experience seems to indicate some combination of the latter, not that San Antonio’s defense hasn’t been strong. Everything that the Spurs are doing is everything that they’ve always done: occasional stints of Bowen, hard double teams to force the ball out of Dirk’s hands, and one-on-one looks against defenders that just aren’t suited to be guarding seven footers with range. Matt Bonner has had some occasional success, but he’s also been a complete defensive liability at times.
Tim MacMahon of the DMN Mavs Blog breaks down every scoring opportunity Dirk had in the first two games, and Tim’s conclusion is the same as mine:
…Dirk will put up close to his normal point production during these games in Dallas if he keeps getting the same kind of looks. The Spurs made it tough for Dirk, but if he had a hot hand, he could have been in his typical 25-point range either night.
On some possessions, the Spurs are just playing damn good defense. They get up in Dirk’s chest, draw an offensive foul, or push him out of his comfort zones. That’s to be expected from a premier defensive outfit like San Antonio. But Dirk’s struggles go beyond that; he’s flat-out missing shots that he normally makes. Elbow jumpers really do fall with the ease of layups for Dirk, and he’s missing both his trademark fallaway shots as well as wide open looks. A wide open jumper from mid-range, and Dirk throws up a brick. That’s not good defense, that’s just a matter of a shooter doing what shooters do: have off nights.
Dirk was far worse shooting-wise in Game 2 than in Game 1, and it may be easy to point to Dirk’s tender ankle and jammed thumb as the culprits. I’m not so convinced. Dirk’s shooting troubles started long before his in-game injuries went down. Credit to Nowitzki for getting into the lane and, in turn, to the line, but all the drives and free throws in the world couldn’t disguise the fact that the jumpers just weren’t falling. If you’re the type to see that as an indictment of Dirk’s game, then so be it. But even the greatest of players and the greatest of shooters have bad days at the office, and Dirk is no exception.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under The Grapevine |
- A hardy welcome to Beyond Bowie, the newest blog of the TrueHoop Network. Beyond Bowie is another one of them Blazer blogs, and it’s penned by Max Handelman and Erik Barmack.
- Once upon a time, the Spurs wanted Jason Kidd over Tony Parker.
- Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News: “After 96 minutes of basketball, we don’t know a thing.”
- If Dampier planned to intimidate Tony Parker with his words, it doesn’t seem to be working. If Dampier planned to intimidate Tony Parker with a body slam, it could very well be met with a suspension. Isn’t this whole situation just lovely?
- Thanks to everyone who stopped by the chat yesterday. For those who missed out, the game plan is to have another chat after Game 5, during the next travel days. Save the date.
- And again, more congratulations to the JET for nabbing Sixth Man honors. It’s a pretty arbitrary award, but it’s more of a validation for a great player and teammate who put his ego aside for the team’s best interests.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under News |
Photo by Tim Heitman/NBAE via Getty Images.
Reports are indicating that Jason Terry is indeed the winner of the league’s Sixth Man Award.
In my mind, there was no debate. But I have to admit, I had my doubts after hearing the outrageous support for Lamar Odom. Odom’s plenty talented, but to claim he’s had the same impact that Terry has had is preposterous in its own right, and on top of it, he started 21 more games than JET did.
What’s done is done, and it looks as though Terry will snag the honors. Congrats to the JET.
Terry, dishing out his thanks, via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News:
“Coach Carlisle, what he’s set up and how he caters to me when I come off the bench in terms of getting me involved right away, that’s big,” Terry said late in the season. “And Jason Kidd’s alertness, obviously, being able to find me. It’s a team award, for sure.”