Moving Pictures: The Collapse

Posted by Rob Mahoney on November 30, 2009 under Video | 26 Comments to Read

The Mavs’ game against the Warriors may seem like ancient history at this point, but there’s still plenty to glean from the loss. Despite all of their defensive improvements, the Mavs have shown two different shades of defensive failure against quick point guards (Monta Ellis, Chris Paul). Though other speedy guards have been contained, Ellis’ performance against the Mavs was a reminder that there’s still plenty of work to be done on the defensive end. In this installment of Moving Pictures, we’ll examine exactly what went wrong against the Warriors, point a few fingers on who’s to blame, and hopefully take away some possible adjustments for the future.

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  • http://projectvibe.net Boogie

    Very impressive my man… Keep it up!!!

  • http://projectvibe.net Boogie

    Oh, next time could you talk a little more clearly? The music sometimes overpowered your soft spokenness and made it difficult to hear you.

  • http://vittoriodezen.wordpress.com Vic De Zen

    So good, thanks.

  • http://twitter.com/max_in_missouri Max

    Good analysis. Can’t say I agree with the choice of music (very odd) or the somber tone, but the substance was there. Just remember, you’re analyzing basketball for an ESPN affiliate, not making an independent film that will be submitted at the Sundance Festival.

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  • Ted

    Good analysis, good video, but the music, although good, does not seem to fit. Its overly dramatic music, the type you would hear in the background of a video about a dramatic comeback, underdog story, or something generally emotional. Its “tear jerker” stuff. It just doesn’t seem to make sense in this context. Thats my only complaint.

  • Scotty

    Monta definitely had his way with Beaubois as well other than that one block. You definitely left out some of the video of him getting beat.

    Still makes me laugh thinking back on when a Mavs fan once told me Barea is better than Monta. Warriors lost the next night in San Antonio, but Monta was even deadlier that night.

  • Tim

    Haha that’s pretty funny, because I was already going to say how the mood of the video seems overly dramatic but it looks like I already got beat to it. But yeah, to boil it down good analysis but bad tone to the video.

  • joe

    Nice analysis. Only complaint other than the music was that it’s MonTay not MonTah.

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    • http://www.thetwomangame.com Rob Mahoney

      Thanks for all the feedback guys. Noted on the music, seems to be a general consensus there.

      @Scotty: Beaubois definitely wasn’t a cure-all on defense, and there’s even a clip or two of him getting beat on the screen and roll in the video. But when faced with the decision of putting Rodrigue or J.J. on Ellis, I’d take Beaubois. I respect what Barea has done against some of the league’s quicker points, but he was just out of sorts against Monta. Beaubois wouldn’t have been a perfect lockdown defender, but at some point you have to throw things to the wall to see what sticks.

  • brian

    The music is great. It makes the videos distinctive and a pleasure to watch, probably a big part of why Truehoop keeps linking to them. Wouldn’t change a thing.

  • Owen

    Explosions in the Sky are one of the best soundtrack options out there but I agree it’s not quite appropriate here.

    Maybe if the Mavericks were charging into the Valley of Death at Balaclava, in slow motion…

    Really it’s completely weird, so weird in fact that I find it strangely cool, really everything is cool with EITS in the background…

  • http://postingandtoasting.com stingy d

    i don’t i’ve ever seen anything more insidiously annoying than this.

    i’m supposed to cry or something? grow a pair, dallas.

  • Tony

    I disagree about the music. This was a somber video that called for somber music. Keep up the great work, Rob.

  • http://web.me.com/dhansen/Site/Welcome.html Dan Hansen

    I also thought the music was fine and well sync’ed to the flow of the video. Good analysis as always. Continues to be best-of-breed.

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  • BigMac

    well it wasnt just the Mavs not having their way on defence, dont forget that Monta followed this up by scoring 42 on the spurs in san antonio, only other person to do that in the popovich(not going to pretend i know how to spell that) era was Jordan, check the research in you want, the the fact remains that Ellis can go around anyone, anytime, anyplace, he can do it at will.

    • http://www.thetwomangame.com Rob Mahoney

      @BigMac: When Ellis is rolling, I’ll agree, he’s close to unstoppable. His combination of speed and midrange touch is just deadly.

      And for the record, Jordan never dropped 40 on Pop’s Spurs…but plenty of other players did. Here’s a list of everyone to drop 40+ (in the regular season) on the Spurs since Pop took over in ’96-’97: Iverson (46), LeBron (44), Amare (44), Kobe (44), Kobe (43), Arenas (43), Vince Carter (43), Stephon Marbury (43), Kobe (42), Ellis (42), Iverson (42), Nowitzki (41), Iverson (40).

  • http://www.relicpro.com Portland Photographer

    Wow, and I thought fans here in Portland were obsessive… you take pointless over-analyzing to a whole new level. It was a loss. They got eaten up by the Warriors. Again. Just accept it.

  • http://basetballforbeginners.blogspot.com BJ

    ^The Moving Pictures help me understand the game and my team better; they’re not pointless.

  • calvin

    i think the music fits because you’re already slowing the video down to both show the defensive lapses more clearly and have enough time to speak

  • rayinrok

    It’s funny how Golden State still brings out the worst in Mavs fans. Breathe in, breathe out. Let the pain go as you exhale. Repeat. Really. There’s nothing special about losing to the Warriors. Sometimes other teams do it, too.

  • charlie

    you guys are fucking brilliant. keep it up. mad support.

  • http://thewomangame miss

    this website isn’t everything but still is something

  • Crawford

    Video was great. Music was totally fine.

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