They also really depend on defenses keying on Nowitzki and him swinging the ball all over the court and guys getting penetration off of that, but they haven't really been getting him the ball where he needs it. The Warriors have had a good game plan for him and know all his moves, but he needs to post up in the high post and start shooting those fadeaways, and guys cutting off of him. But instead they're just standing around.
[GSW/DAL] "We're going to go like hell."
- Thread starter Mr. S£im Citrus
- Start date
Agreed. This game started off with Dirk on fire from the outside, and the other guys other than Josh Howard not getting anything going (and Howard needed 10 shots to get 8 or 10 points at that). In the second quarter they just kept firing from the perimeter without hitting anything, and GSW started hitting shots (in part, imho, because they are playing at home in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a game in the state of CA (wow!)). The Mavs haven't adjusted properly, and then in the 3rd quarter consequently lost their focus --- they did the same thing that GSW did in the second game (and got chided for).
I'll be interested to hear the fall out from this game on the Mavs side of things.
I'll be interested to hear the fall out from this game on the Mavs side of things.
It's a simple formula for disaster. Golden State is fast enough to cut off all of Dallas's driving lanes, and Dallas has no post threat to make them pay for playing small-ball.
Dallas simply drew the one team that can make them look this bad, and the one coach that knows exactly how to play against them.
IMO, if Dirk wins the MVP and loses this series, he should give it back.
A 7-foot MVP power forward has no excuse for not being able to post up 6'5" Stephen Jackson. NONE.
Even Bird could back guys down in the paint and shoot over the top of them, or make teams pay by passing out of a double-team.
Dirk can do neither. He is either going to learn how-fast-or he's going to go down as the biggest fraud MVP of all time.
Dallas simply drew the one team that can make them look this bad, and the one coach that knows exactly how to play against them.
IMO, if Dirk wins the MVP and loses this series, he should give it back.
A 7-foot MVP power forward has no excuse for not being able to post up 6'5" Stephen Jackson. NONE.
Even Bird could back guys down in the paint and shoot over the top of them, or make teams pay by passing out of a double-team.
Dirk can do neither. He is either going to learn how-fast-or he's going to go down as the biggest fraud MVP of all time.
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But see, fast break basketball isn't necessarily the same as small-ball... At least Phoenix has a guy that they can give the ball to in a half-court game and count on him to create in the post. Golden State doesn't have anything remotely like that; that's true small-ball, and loathe isn't strong enough a word...
I don't necessarily disagree with this, even though the MVP award is a regular season award.
Just to play contrarian, Dirk is a PF in position only, and not in skill set (other than defensive rebounding). And the GSW defense is preventing him from backing anyone down by running a double at him almost immediately whenever he catches the withn 20 feet of the basket. It's not as if GSW is just leaving Jackson (or whoever is guarding him) out on an island.
And, I think it's an insult to those 80s Celtics teams to compare the players that Bird passed to to the guys on the Mavs --- they aren't slouches, but I'd be surprised if any of them other than JHo can even be considered for the HOF at the end of their careers.
Just to play contrarian, Dirk is a PF in position only, and not in skill set (other than defensive rebounding). And the GSW defense is preventing him from backing anyone down by running a double at him almost immediately whenever he catches the withn 20 feet of the basket. It's not as if GSW is just leaving Jackson (or whoever is guarding him) out on an island.
And, I think it's an insult to those 80s Celtics teams to compare the players that Bird passed to to the guys on the Mavs --- they aren't slouches, but I'd be surprised if any of them other than JHo can even be considered for the HOF at the end of their careers.
It's an insult to give Dirk the MVP if he can't find a way to beat a 6'5" player in the post or beat two 6'5" guys by finding the open man.
Terry, Howard, Stackhouse and Harris aren't chopped liver, either. Dirk has teammates, he's just incapable of using them to his advantage.
This is the same thing we rip on Kobe for: not making the rest of your team better.
If an MVP can't defeat a simple double-team, then he isn't an MVP. Period.
Terry, Howard, Stackhouse and Harris aren't chopped liver, either. Dirk has teammates, he's just incapable of using them to his advantage.
This is the same thing we rip on Kobe for: not making the rest of your team better.
If an MVP can't defeat a simple double-team, then he isn't an MVP. Period.
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You're right, his teammates are pretty solid. But they were settling for jumpers off of Dirk's passes tonight, and outside of Dirk (who shot a middling 7 for 16), the rest of his team shot 24-64.
I agree that Dirk isn't the passer that Bird was, but he's not terrible. Tonight his teammates just decided to settle for jumpers (for whatever reason, be it a conscious decision or the offensive sets), and they couldn't hit many.
I agree that Dirk isn't the passer that Bird was, but he's not terrible. Tonight his teammates just decided to settle for jumpers (for whatever reason, be it a conscious decision or the offensive sets), and they couldn't hit many.
Hey, I'm not saying that anybody else has to agree with me; I'm just saying that it irritates me, personally. Just like Sir Charles, I hate midget ball.
And no, Kstat, my frustration isn't misplaced; if I ruled the NBA, I'd disqualify the Mavericks AND the Warriors. But at least on the Mavericks, I can name two players I actually like.
I wasn't aware that being able to create in the post had become synonymous with being a great post player. Hell, Baron Davis can create in the post.
And you're not likely to find a stat that indicates that Stoudemire creates his own offense, because Phoenix doesn't run half-court sets until their backs are against the wall... but that doesn't mean he CAN'T do it.
And no, Kstat, my frustration isn't misplaced; if I ruled the NBA, I'd disqualify the Mavericks AND the Warriors. But at least on the Mavericks, I can name two players I actually like.
I wasn't aware that being able to create in the post had become synonymous with being a great post player. Hell, Baron Davis can create in the post.
And you're not likely to find a stat that indicates that Stoudemire creates his own offense, because Phoenix doesn't run half-court sets until their backs are against the wall... but that doesn't mean he CAN'T do it.
I hate seeing my team try to play small ball with a team that's better at it than we are. Rick Adelman got out-small-balled against the Mavs over and over again, and still wouldn't just stick with the guns like he should have.
The Mavs aren't making any adjustments on offense, and they are going to find themselves between a rock and a hard place pretty soon, if they aren't already there.
And I would love to see the Warriors beat the Mavs. Especially if Dirk gets the MVP.
The Mavs aren't making any adjustments on offense, and they are going to find themselves between a rock and a hard place pretty soon, if they aren't already there.
And I would love to see the Warriors beat the Mavs. Especially if Dirk gets the MVP.
If you replaced Amare with Dirk on this Mavs team, do you think he'd dominate in the paint without Nash and PHX's offensive system?
My point was that I don't think a guy like Amare would make too much of a difference since he's not a back-to-the-basket guy, which is where I think GSW's main defensive weakness is. I don't watch many PHX games, but I've never really seen him display many actual post moves. He may, in fact, be able to do it, but if he could, then I think PHX would want to take advantage of it more often when their backs are against the wall.
I do think his athleticism would be more beneficial that Dirk's dead-eye shooting ability against GSW.
My point was that I don't think a guy like Amare would make too much of a difference since he's not a back-to-the-basket guy, which is where I think GSW's main defensive weakness is. I don't watch many PHX games, but I've never really seen him display many actual post moves. He may, in fact, be able to do it, but if he could, then I think PHX would want to take advantage of it more often when their backs are against the wall.
I do think his athleticism would be more beneficial that Dirk's dead-eye shooting ability against GSW.
