Dallas Mavs Hoops
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How the Mavericks became contenders
In many ways, Dallas' 102-93 win over Phoenix to close out the series seemed like a microcosm of the Suns' entire playoff run: Starting strong, only to fizzle at the wire. If the Lakers knew how to beat Phoenix, they didn't have sufficient talent to get the job done. And if the Clippers had the talent, they lacked the necessary discipline. Dallas, on the other hand, had the total package — speed, depth, size, versatility, and Avery Johnson, the best young coach the NBA has seen since Red Auerbach was a pup. Here are some of the transformations wrought in Dallas by Johnson (and his underrated chief assistant, Del Harris): The Mavs used to be a joke — a bunch of high-scoring frat boys out to have a good time and to hell with playing defense. Now they play the entire game with serious intent, and are a certified championship contender. Give Johnson (and his staff) credit, too, for making incredibly effective adjustments in Game 6. Whereas Diop gave Phoenix trouble early in the series, Mike D'Antoni finally figured out how to nullify the big man's interior presence: Stationing Boris Diaw (the player DD was defending) on the high-post, and utilizing Diaw's superior quickness to repeatedly beat Diop to the hoop. Exit Diop, and enter Keith Van Horn. But Van Horn's defense is so profoundly inferior that Diaw also took him to school. Finally, Johnson yanked Van Horn, kept Diop glued to the bench, and played four smalls in tandem with Nowitzki. This was the combination that turned the game Dallas's way in the third quarter. What other new tricks did the Mavs showcase in Game 6? A resilience that kept them playing hard despite a blazing first quarter by the home team and their own failure to hit the ground running. So what does the future hold for Phoenix? A healthy season for Kurt Thomas will help some, but Crazy Eyes is also foul crazy, so his contributions won't put them over the top. Nash desperately needs a true playmaker to back him up. And, of course, Amare Stoudemire needs to return with his speed and quickness totally intact. But give D'Antoni and his team a standing ovation for making the most out of the least. And for delaying the inevitable for so long. And what's in store for the Mavericks? In order to capture the coveted gold rings, only two Herculean tasks remain: Short-circuiting The Flash, and climbing Mount Shaq.
Spurs took advantage of shorthanded Mavs
Several eventualities are possible whenever a star player misses a game because of injury, suspension, or whatever: His replacements flop, and his team falls. His surviving teammates circle the wagons, a lesser player steps up his game, and Mr. MIA isn't missed at all. Anticipating the impending hole in their opponent's game plan, the guys in the other uniforms get too cocky and can only bring their B-game. Here's how both teams responded to Jason Terry's enforced absence, and why the Spurs eked out a 91-86 win in Game 6. Jerry Stackhouse was one of the Mavs who was most directly impacted by Terry's unavailability, and the otherwise wily veteran failed to deliver: After hitting his initial three shots, Stackhouse was 1-of-12 for the duration. Normally, Stackhouse's role is to be the designated scorer off the bench, and as such he usually matches up against an opponent's second-stringer. Also, effective sixth men get used to watching the opening action from a sitting position, thereby giving themselves sufficient time and distance to understand exactly what's happening out there. Who's doing what, where, when, and exactly how? What new looks have the bad guys brought into the game on offense and defense? How much contact are the refs allowing? Is anybody in foul trouble? What about the pace? Absorbing all of these factors in a non-pressure situation helps a bench-player get his head into a game before he steps on the court. As a starter, however, everything happens in a rush. True, Stackhouse used to be a starter, but he's been a super-sub for the last four seasons. The sudden emersion into the frenzied action, plus Bruce Bowen's hounding defense, made Stackhouse all but useless as the game unfolded. Stackhouse's final stats included 4-of-15, 2-of-6 from 3-land, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, and 10 points. Devin Harris was the other Maverick most severely displaced by Terry's absence. Previously, Terry handled the point guard responsibilities, leaving Harris free to receive the ball on the wing and zip to the basket. The only passes that Harris needed to make were those forced on him whenever a rotating defender cut off his path (a rare happenstance). Without Terry, Harris had to assume the role of distributor and facilitator. Moreover, instead of attacking the hoop from a wing (where defenders were stationed only on one side of his driving lane), he now had to make most of his moves from the top of the key (and into much heavier defensive traffic). These new duties and new attack-angles made the young player tentative and therefore confused. The Mavs' very first play of the game was an iso for Harris against Tony Parker, and resulted in a misdribble that gave the ball to San Antonio. A bad call by the Coach of the Year, Avery Johnson. Why put so much pressure on Harris so soon? Better to let him ease his way into his new responsibilities. In all, Harris missed five layups, one clutch free-throw, shot 3-of-14, had more turnovers (4) than assists (3), often over-handled the ball, and scored only 7 points. His self-confidence is undoubtedly wounded, and the maximum-pressure of the upcoming Game 7 will either kill him or cure him. Josh Howard had a nice game — 7-of-17, 3 TOs, 2 blocks, and 17 points. He destroyed Manu Ginobili twice in the low-post (this number should have been called more often), and was routinely able to create makeable shots with quick spins into the lane. DeSagna Diop picked up four fouls in six minutes in defense of Tim Duncan, so most of the center-time went to Erick Dampier—who did a creditable job. Adrian Griffin finally got some daylight (16 minutes), and, for some silly reason was even sent into the low-post to badly miss a turnaround-jumper. Johnson's primary idea, of course, was to have the taller, long-armed Griffin stifle Ginobili's offense. But Ginobili abused Griffith as much as did all of the other putative defenders the Mavs ran at him. Keith Van Horn hit a pair of treys in the second quarter, then turned a nifty entry pass from Dirk Nowitzki into a dunk. Otherwise, Van Horn missed a layup, had a shot blocked and, as always, was useless late in the game when every play was critical. Darrell Armstrong played all of 85 seconds and still managed to draw a charge on, and swipe a careless pass from, Tony Parker. Surely, Armstrong could have taken some of the load off young Harris had Johnson given him more time. Nowitzki was simply a powerhouse. Virtually everything good that took place when the Mavs had the ball was created by him. He received the ball mostly at (or near) a high-post position, or else on the right wing. The former, so that if he was doubled he'd be able to pass to open teammates to his left and to his right. The latter, so that he could drive the baseline if his incessant head-fakes failed to create open shots. Over the course of the game, Nowitzki was variously defended by Bowen, Finley, Ginobili, Barry, Horry, and Duncan. Against all comers he produced 9-of-16 from the field, 8-of-8 from the stripe, snared 21(!) rebounds, and finished with 26 points. However, in the fourth quarter Nowitzki was doubled on every touch — even on the high post — and was compelled to be a passer. (Credit him with 5 assists, and debit him for 3 turnovers.) Unfortunately for Dallas, by then the Spurs had their defensive rotation geared up, so most of Nowitzki's passes went for naught. For the Spurs, Parker seemed lost without Terry's face in front of his — 3-of-15, 3 TOs, and a mere 8 points. Robert Horry showed that his legs still worked — 1-of-2, 2 blocks, 1 steal, and 6 points. As ever, Brent Barry was rather reckless when he drove the lane — 2-of-2, 3 TOs, 5 points — but did score an important baseline drive in the endgame. Bowen missed his only shot attempt, but clamped down on Stackhouse. TD was mostly turned baseline by Dampier's husky defense (coupled with the Mavs showing help in the middle), and required 21 shots to score 24 points. Michael Finley — 6-of-10, 16 points — contributed earnest defense on Nowitzki, showed that he could still dunk in a crowd, and hit a killer 3-ball that put the Spurs ahead for good. Even so, the game's MVP was Ginobili — 8-of-14, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, one block, and a game-high 30 points. When Duncan was banished to the bench with early (and late) foul trouble, the Spurs mostly went with a 1-4 alignment that put the ball in Ginobili's hands above the key. From there, he either drove (both ways) or shot to great effect. Indeed, it was Ginobili's scoring heroics that kept the Spurs competitive while Duncan was bench-bound (TD only played 33 minutes). This was a hustling, resourceful effort by the Spurs, who successfully slowed the pace and took the ball out of Nowitzki's hands when the game was on the line. Speaking of which, an interesting situation occurred with 15 seconds left in the game and the Mavs trailing by 3. The only acceptable option was for Dallas to try to score a quick deuce for the following reasons: The Spurs would surely play minimal defense so as to avoid committing a foul and creating a 3-point play (in this kind of circumstance, the Mavs could expect any two-point shot to succeed at a 60 percent rate.) By reducing their deficit to a single point with, say, 10-12 seconds left, the Mavs could then foul somebody — and the Spurs are not a terribly terrific free-throw shooting team. Dallas still had a time out available, so even if a Spur made both of his subsequent free-throws, the home team would have another chance to launch a 3-ball that would knot the score. Obviously, a 1-of-2 or 0-2 sequence from the stripe would put the Mavs in a much better position to either tie or win the game. The overriding principle was to extend the game for as long as possible, and give Dallas multiple opportunities to find some way to catch up. But Johnson blinked. He called for Nowitzki to launch a 3-pointer (turned out to be an air-ball, but that's beside the point.) In other words, Johnson's call speeded up, instead of slowed down the game, and created a do-or-die situation with 15 ticks yet to be tocked. Johnson's decision would have been appropriate had there been five or so seconds left, and the Mavs were bereft of their time-outs. Another bad call. Game 7, here we come! One of three to be played over the course of two days! What more could a Basketball Jones wish for?
Mavericks Cruise Past Spurs; Even Series
Sparked by speedy Devin Harris starting at point guard and showing more aggressiveness on both ends of the court, the Dallas Mavericks charged to a 21-point lead before halftime and cruised past the defending champion San Antonio Spurs 113-91 Tuesday night to even their second-round series at one game apiece. "I think we came out real focused, trying to pick the tempo up a little bit," said Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse, who went from missing a potential winning shot in the opener to hitting two 3-pointers during the game-breaking stretch. "Last game, the pace was a little more to the Spurs' liking. Tonight, it was more to our liking." Dallas broke things open with a 15-3 run in the second quarter. San Antonio let things get out of hand by not making a basket the last 6:59 of the period, missing its final nine shots. "We knew they were going to play aggressive," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. "For whatever reason, we couldn't match it." About the only good news for the Spurs is finally getting some rest. With Game 3 not until Saturday, San Antonio will be able to recover from three games in five days. Coach Gregg Popovich was expected to give his players the day off Wednesday. Josh Howard epitomized Dallas' take-it-to-the-rim approach and led the team with 27 points. The Mavericks are now 20-0 when he scores 20 points. Dirk Nowitzki scored 21, but took a lesser role in the offense. Harris scored 20, while Jason Terry, who started at shooting guard, had 11. Stackhouse scored 19. "A lot of that," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said, "had to do with Devin being out there." Tim Duncan scored 16 of his 28 points in the first half, but didn't dominate the way he did with his 20 first-half points in the opener. Half of these came from the line as Dallas sent two and sometimes three defenders at him. Parker, who scored 15 points while playing with a thick pad wrapped around his bruised left thigh, had 15. Manu Ginobili was 1-for-5 in the brutal first half and wound up with 13 points. While nobody expected any routs in this conference finals-caliber matchup, one would've seemed more likely in Game 1, when the Spurs came in worn out and Dallas was well rested. Instead, the Spurs won by two points and Johnson accused them of smothering his team with "bear-hug defense." He clarified it Monday, saying he meant his players turned passive. He challenged them to come out as if they were playing on a playground and a loss meant they'd have to wait an hour for another try. Then the NBA's coach of the year shook things up, injecting Harris to juice up the offense, sending defensive-oriented Adrian Griffin to the bench. It was his biggest gamble since moving DeSagana Diop into the starting lineup in place of Erick Dampier in January. That move sparked a 13-game winning streak. This one led to Dallas' second win in its last seven games in San Antonio and only the fourth win in the last 11 meetings overall. "We're not 20 points better than the Spurs," Johnson said. "They're the champions, they're still the champions. One win by a team in the Western Conference semifinals doesn't mean anything has been taken away from them." Harris and Howard went right at Duncan and the heart of San Antonio's defense from the start. Seven of the Mavs' first nine baskets came at or around the rim and they finished the quarter with 26 points, double what they had in the final period of the opener. Early in the second quarter, Dallas was on the right end of a series of questionable calls and non-calls by the officials. The Mavericks benefited more by how much it annoyed the Spurs and their fans. San Antonio guard Nick Van Exel got two technical fouls in a short span, leading to his ejection with 7:30 left in the second quarter. Dallas already was up by eight; the ensuing free throw started the spurt that sent the Mavericks into halftime leading 58-38. The officials were booed loudly as they walked to the locker room _ and even more loudly when they came back out. While Popovich said the officiating "had nothing to do with it," Duncan wasn't that politically correct. "The whistle was going crazy left and right," he said of the second quarter. San Antonio's 38-point half matched the lowest Dallas has ever allowed in a playoff game. It also happened against the Spurs in Game 3 of the 2003 conference finals, a game San Antonio rallied to win. Not this time. The Spurs got within 15 three times in the third quarter, then 14 on a 3-pointer by Brent Barry with 7:32 left. Popovich conceded with 4:12 left, pulling Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. Notes:@ The game was tense at first, with the first foul called 12 seconds in and both coaches getting technical fouls for arguing before the game was four minutes old. ... After only eight assists in the opener, Dallas had 12. ... Spurs C Nazr Mohammed, who's gone from starter to seldom-used reserve, played 12 minutes. He played a total of four the two previous games.
Mavericks did enough to beat Memphis
If there was a statement to be made, by the middle of the third quarter, the procrastinating Dallas Mavericks were still formulating one. OK, so it wasn't going to be the scorched-earth march through the NBA playoffs like the San Antonio Spurs seem bent upon. Through the opening 36 minutes on Sunday, the Mavericks had dominated on the boards, cluttered the area near their foe's basket and held the visiting Memphis Grizzlies' best player to no first-half field goals. Yet, as the fourth quarter began, they still had Memphis in their rear-view mirrors. In their playoff opener Saturday, the Mavs' ultimate speed bump, the Spurs, had thrashed Sacramento by 34 points. San Antonio took no prisoners. In their playoff opener Sunday, the Mavericks were doing everything for the enemy but passing out soup. A fourth-quarter surge made it look like the rout it never was - Mavericks 103, Grizzlies 93. The home crowd sounded pleased. The home team moved one victory closer to its second-round showdown with the Spurs. But clearly, the home team probably did little to sway the postseason thinking of a learned NBA observer like, say, Charles Barkley. And that's too bad, because this wasn't the typical Mavs' playoff victory. You know - jump shots raining, nets burning, Dirk Nowitski scores 31 . . . and gives up 30. No, this much-needed win was more blue-collar than designer collar. Coach Avery Johnson's handprints, if anyone's, were all over this. A Mavericks team, winning a playoff game with defense? Indeed, and rebounding, too. During the regular season, no team in the NBA surrendered fewer points than the Memphis Grizzlies. Coach Mike Fratello's team was in the top six both in lowest 2-point and 3-point field goals allowed. It was destined, therefore, to be the kind of game that Johnson likes. A statement game? Avery had one for everyone after the game. "Anybody who thought that this was going to be an easy series for any team," the Mavs coach said, "you are definitely wrong about that." Johnson pronounced his team "happy" to leave the building with a win. Of course, he didn't look happy. "I guess we've got to be pleased with the results," Avery conceded. "On the other hand, we looked like a team that hadn't played together in a lot of situations. We were not crisp. We seemed a little unsure of ourselves in some situations." An NBA playoff game, if anything, is a battle of attrition. In that regard, the Mavs won that battle over the first two periods, when they flustered the Grizzlies' big man, Pau Gasol, and gave Memphis little opportunity to carve into the home team's nine-point lead. As Johnson pointed out afterward, Memphis shot 60.7 percent in the first half. But the Grizzlies had to work for more baskets than not. Gasol, tag-teamed by DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier, was 0-for-5 from the floor. The Mavericks, meanwhile, made the most of their second-chance opportunities - and they needed them. Their halftime rebounding edge - 24-6, with Memphis getting only one offensive rebound - was probably the most telling statistic of the night. When Fratello's team did get going offensively in the third quarter, the grind from behind seemed to tire it. Johnson, as he does, found the holes in his cheese. "We were fortunate to get this win," he said. "We'll take the win, but there's a lot of things that we definitely have to work on." It probably isn't fair to compare game for game, victory margin for margin, with the defending champion Spurs. But this is the playoff road that's been laid out for the Mavericks. On Saturday, the Spurs made a statement. On Sunday, the Mavericks answered unconvincingly. They'll need to be louder, longer, come Wednesday night.
Mavs, Kings collide with playoff positions in mind
The Dallas Mavericks are hoping to improve their postseason position while the Sacramento Kings look to hold off their challengers for a playoff spot when the two meet Tuesday.
Iverson won't be invited to 2008 Olympic Games
Allen Iverson was, in many ways, the face of the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 2004. He wanted to be there. He played hard, and he played well. Now, he's not even in the picture for the 2008 Games in Beijing. Contracts from the U.S. Olympic Committee to 22 NBA players, two college players and one high school player went out in the mail about 10 days ago. Two sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that Iverson, a four-time scoring champion in his 10th season with the 76ers, was not in that group. Before Monday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks, Iverson said he had not personally received notice, but that he was aware of the situation. His response? "Thanks for considering me," he said. "Now, I get to spend time with my kids in the summer." Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said, "That comes as a surprise to me." One source confirmed that Iverson, who had said he very much wanted to be part of the 2008 team, was on a list of players who had made a commitment to Jerry Colangelo, the managing director for USA Basketball's senior men's team, but received a letter thanking them for their interest. Iverson had met with Colangelo on Jan. 4, when the Sixers were in Phoenix. Afterward, Colangelo told reporters, "I liked the look in his eye. He looked me right in the eye and said it really would be an honor for him." Iverson was easily the MVP of the U.S. team that won the 2003 World Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was far and away the most popular U.S. player. The Americans, though, had to settle for a third-place finish in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. "I had a good experience in 2004, but we won the bronze," Iverson said in Phoenix. "I really want to win a gold medal." Some of the younger players who made commitments but were not selected will be kept in the USA Basketball pipeline as prospective candidates for the 2012 Olympics, and could become part of a Select team that would spend time training together. "We tried to make the letters as appreciative and professional as possible," one of the sources said. "The idea was to try and bring people down softly." Colangelo and U.S. head coach Mike Krzyzewski, of Duke, will formally announce the 25 invitees on Sunday on ABC. An eventual team of 12 players will participate in the world championships this summer in Japan. If the U.S. team does not qualify for the 2008 Olympics there, it would have another opportunity in the 2007 Pre-Olympic Tournament. With the world championships expanded from 16 to 24 teams, the United States has been placed in a preliminary round group with Puerto Rico, Slovenia, Italy, China and Senegal. The Americans will open Aug. 19 against Puerto Rico, the team that stunned the Americans, 92-73, in the opener of the 2004 Olympics.
Spurs, Mavericks set for Texas-sized showdown
The San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks will have a few days to prepare for their Western Conference showdown. “We're trying to get to the point where we were last year, so this is a great matchup,” he said. “It's a great time for us to let the world know that we're still a team to be reckoned with.” “It was a lob, I was going for the ball and I landed on Griff's foot,” Nowitzki said. “It was a little stiff and I got it re-taped. I felt all right in the fourth quarter.” |
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