Meet The Mavs: For Dallas Fan, It's Like Looking in a Mirror at Your Former Self

[elindholm]

Actually, Josh Howard is physically similar to Marion, and I am worried that he may give the Suns fits. I'm surprised he wasn't more of a factor against the Spurs.

But as far as quick PGs go, Barbosa is the quickest player in the league, and that's just a fact.

 

[M3Man]

Wow, I just went and read a few threads on that Mavs board and I'm just amazed at the way those dillusional fans look at this series. Yes, the Mavs most likely will win the series, but with the ease that they are talking? Insane.

Also, why the bitter hatred for Nash? The guy played his heart out for that team and when they wouldn't pony up for him, he moved on, then he destroyed them in the playoffs last year. Don't hate the guy just because you gave him up and now can't stop him.

After the way PHX destroyed us in the playoffs last year, I don't see how any Mavs fan could be overconfident. Yes, we are giddy over beating the Spurs. The Mavs have had 5 straight 50 win teams and never made it to the Finals, because somebody else always had the best player, be it Shaq or Kobe Or Duncan. So we finally climbed that mountain. But don't think Avery will let them over celebrate. He owns their brains and will control their emotions.

As for Nash, there are more fans who hate Cuban for letting him go, than hate Steve. He's just too lovable. Still, many are pissed he beat Dirk out for MVP. I think even Stevie thinks his buddy deserves it. There is some jealosy that Nash waited until he left to get serious about his game. You've all seen those pics of him and Dirk the summer before getting plastered. Our last memory of him as a Mav is getting blistered in the playoffs by Bibby, and the year before by the ancient Steve Kerr. We had to run zones to make up for his inability to cover. So when he left and became MVP... Theres something there for everybody to dislike. Oh Yeah, and then there's those 50 point games he had against us last year... that makes 3 straight years he killed us in the playoffs.

So while we all still love Steve in our hearts, everybody has 1 or 2 reasons to dislike him as well. At least when he's playing against us. I really loved it when they gave him the MVP trophy, and asked him if it the award went to the best player in the league, and he said no way, if thats what it was for, they wouldn't be giving it to me.

Some here think if he'd stayed, we'd have won it all by now. I think his defense was a major reason we never did, and we're better off without him. Who knew he'd blossom into some kind of desert magician, bringing dead careers back to life with the wave of a behind the back pass?

 

[SunsTzu]

I think Barbosa could be a big factor in this series. He had a difficult time with the Clippers guards posting him up, but he is really tough to beat off the dribble. I'm intrested in seeing if he and Harris lock horns.

Howard I think will be the key for the Mavs. Dirk is going to get his but Howard is capable of huge games as well. I think Bell may start off against him, but it will be a tough match-up for him. I wouldn't be suprised if the Suns have to move Marion off Dirk and onto Howard if he has big games early.

 

[Gaddabout]

Marion has been the primary defender on Dirk so far, and had some good games. Held him to 26 once this year, then gave up 36.

Indeed, but as you pointed, Dirk has raised the level of his game. Furthermore, Marion on Dirk made a lot more sense last year when Stoudemire was in the lineup. Now that Marion is obligated to score 20+ a game, the Suns can't afford that matchup.

 

[M3Man]

I'm home sick today and have time to banter and I'm enjoying the give and take.

There's not much disagreement here, really.

The only reason the SA series went to 7 games is because of Terry's suspension.We would have won at home easily. To beat the champs, when Duncan has his highest scroing playoffs with his best playoff game ever, in their house, in OT. That's huge. And certainly a challenge the Suns are glad they won't have to face.

The problem with the run and gun game is it depends on how well you shoot, and how well we defend the transition game, and those are 2 things that are impossible to predict. The Mavs do have the speed, but thats ony part of it. You'll notice we ran wild on SA at first, but in each game, the Spurs defense got better. The Mavs, however are versitile enough to grind it out and win.

Depth is an advantage for Dallas because we have different kinds of players, allowing us to play different styles. We have people who can run with PHX, and people who can body up Duncan, and even Shaq. Most teams go small against PHX and they can't rebound. When we go small, we still have 2 near 7 footers. We can put out a strong defensive team if need be, or put four 3 point shooters on the floor at once. And because we had so many injuroes, we have game tested depth.

Most coaches shorten the bench, because it gets weak after the 7th guy. Our normal 2nd five is Dampier, Marquis Daniels, Harris, Stackhouse and Keith Van Horn. Start that team in the East and they'd make the playoffs. Of course, so would that Wildcats team Terry started on way back when. Y'all got any love left for the Jet?

 

[Folster]

I love how everyone forgets that the Suns are missing two starters, one of which is possibly the most dominating big man in the game. The Mavs may be slightly better than a Suns team without Amare and KT. Let's take Dirk and Damp(Comparing KT and Damp is extremely generous of me) off the Mavs and see how they do.

 

[Gaddabout]

When we go small, we still have 2 near 7 footers.

I will pit our Keith Van Horn against your KVH anyday. Let's just put Tim Thomas and KVH in a one-on-one to 21 for all the Western Conference marbles. Because the Mavs are obviously counting on going small and winning ... and if so, it will come down to whose "small bigs" can produce more.

What's really funny is when we signed TT, yours truly called him a "more athletic Keith Van Horn." Elindholm then pointed out that TT and KVH had been involved in two trade exchanges. I'm afraid if they bang each other, it may open up a tear in the time/space continuum to an alternate universe where spot-up shooters are worshipped.

Or am I just thinking of European basketball? It is kind of ironic that both TT and KVH never played overseas. They could have been almost as good as Mike D'Antoni.

 

[Gaddabout]

I love how everyone forgets that the Suns are missing two starters, one of which is possibly the most dominating big man in the game. The Mavs may be slightly better than a Suns team without Amare and KT. Let's take Dirk and Damp(Comparing KT and Damp is extremely generous of me) off the Mavs and see how they do.

But at this point in the season, that's nothing more than a bad excuse for the Suns. The Suns didn't get here with Amare, and KT hasn't played a single playoff game. The Suns will have to show they merit their lofty position based on who's playing right now.

If we lose, no excuses.

 

[elindholm]

Our normal 2nd five is Dampier, Marquis Daniels, Harris, Stackhouse and Keith Van Horn. Start that team in the East and they'd make the playoffs.

Uh, yeah, if the season could be shortened to seven games so that they'd all be healthy enough to get through it.

 

[scotsman13]

first of all how are the mavs better then they were last year? last year they couldnt stop nash. besides getting hype dirk isnt a better player then he was last year when the suns beat mavs in 6. last year the suns last joe johnson in game one, this year we have easily replaced him in bell, barbosa and diaw. as it stands now the only thing that adds to help the mavs is that amare isnt there. all year long we have heard that the suns cant do anything this season well guess what we are in the WCF and i wouldnt say that we have a good chance against the mavs.

 

[SirStefan32]

Welcome to the board man!

Nice to have a fan of the oposing team who is not a troll.

Again, welcome.

 

[jbeecham]

The problem with the run and gun game is it depends on how well you shoot, and how well we defend the transition game, and those are 2 things that are impossible to predict. The Mavs do have the speed, but thats ony part of it. You'll notice we ran wild on SA at first, but in each game, the Spurs defense got better. The Mavs, however are versitile enough to grind it out and win.

Depth is an advantage for Dallas because we have different kinds of players, allowing us to play different styles. We have people who can run with PHX, and people who can body up Duncan, and even Shaq. Most teams go small against PHX and they can't rebound. When we go small, we still have 2 near 7 footers. We can put out a strong defensive team if need be, or put four 3 point shooters on the floor at once. And because we had so many injuroes, we have game tested depth.

Most coaches shorten the bench, because it gets weak after the 7th guy. Our normal 2nd five is Dampier, Marquis Daniels, Harris, Stackhouse and Keith Van Horn. Start that team in the East and they'd make the playoffs. Of course, so would that Wildcats team Terry started on way back when. Y'all got any love left for the Jet?

The Suns won't change their style or slow the game down, so Dallas will either have to force the tempo to allow all 10 of thier rotation to play or they will be forced to shorten their bench to 7-8 players, which will negate the bench depth advantage during the series. If they try to cover Tim Thomas, Diaw or Marion with Diop, Dampier or Mbenga then the Suns players should dominate them on the offensive end and none of those 3 Mavs players are big offensive threats (although all can score in the post).

 

[Gaddabout]

besides getting hype dirk isnt a better player then he was last year when the suns beat mavs in 6.

I'd have to disagree with that statement, solely for the fact he seems motivated to play both ends of the floor this year. He's also a much better player with his back to the basket ... skills I'm sure he's had for years, just never a coach who saw the need to use them.

 

[elindholm]

If Kurt Thomas can contribute, the Suns have eight players. That's plenty. They could use another guard, but oh well.

 

[playstation]

...

m3man,

awesome post bro, makes absolute sense to me. i think you're on point on most things, and only disagree with little snippets that don't really contribute to your main point (the dj benga thing for one).

3 things:

-Don't look at what happens this year as a sign of things in the future. remember, amare is out, and he will be back next year. if we're able to give you a fight without a top 3 big man, that doesn't bode well for you when he's healthy.

-During the year, you had no answer for Diaw. We'll see how good Avery is at adjusting. Very hard to prepare for a player like him.

-Ahmad Rashad interviewed Jordan in 1998 before he won his final title. Asked him where he was still superior to the competition. he said, he wasn't faster, stronger, or in some cases even smarter than the opposition. he said, the one thing he had going for him was his will. in order to beat MJ, you had to bend his will, and he felt that at that point, it really wasn't possible. he was right.

like many have mentioned already, there is no reason to believe the suns win this, except that i see in nash that same will, specifically with regard to playing his former team. its very hard to put a finger on why, and really carries no merit in a logical discussion, yet there it is anyways. i just can't see Nash at this point in his career letting Cuban get the best of him. He is going to play out of his mind again. remember, last year, same guys guarding him he gets 30/13/7 for the series. we'll see if that's enough.

 

[jbeecham]

Last year's playoff matchup and this years aren't even comparible. Obviously Amare is missing this year, but we've also improved our team overall and removed Q Richardson who was a huge zero in last years playoffs (yet still played starters minutes). I don't see the Mavs big men playing many minutes during the series (about as many as Kaman could get) so the lack of KT won't be as big of a factor. It would be great to have him for 10-15 minutes per game to guard Dampier/Diop, but we may have more of an advantage on the offensive end by having Dampier/Diop trying to guard TT or Diaw.

 

[elindholm]

Wow, I had actually forgotten about Richardson. Bell is so much better than him it's not even funny.

 

[SunsTzu]

Wow, I had actually forgotten about Richardson. Bell is so much better than him it's not even funny.

If you want a laugh look at their salaries.

 

[Djaughe]

Welcome M3Man!

 

[dbUNIT16]

Here are some factors I don't think you took into account...

1) We don't care about Dirk. Just like we don't care about Brand or Kobe. They get their points and it's fine. We always seem to knock off the teams with 1 superstar, 1 is not enough, it will come down to stackhouse and the rest of the supporting cast.

2) Backcourt. Steve Nash and Raja Bell have far more experience and poise than Harris and Terry. This is critical down the stretch, ie Game 7.

3) While Diop might be an OK center, he is hardly a tranistion player, you take him out of the lineup and who's garding Thomas and Diaw, because they will be in the lineup as both can run.

4) Who's putting the clamps on Marion?

Suns fans, I think we can expect to see Eddie House this series, he matches up alot better against Dallas than he did against either LA team. Hopefully he can be an X factor for us this series.

 

[dbUNIT16]

Oh yeah... and James Jones is alive!

 

[jbeecham]

I don't care if James Jones even hits a shot as long as he hustles for rebounds and plays good defense. His help defense was excellent in game 5 against the Clips with blocks and rebounds. Any offense Jones give us is gravy as long as he brings that defensive energy and allows us to get rest for TT, Diaw & Marion.

 

[M3Man]

Here are some factors I don't think you took into account...

1) We don't care about Dirk. Just like we don't care about Brand or Kobe. They get their points and it's fine. We always seem to knock off the teams with 1 superstar, 1 is not enough, it will come down to stackhouse and the rest of the supporting cast.

2) Backcourt. Steve Nash and Raja Bell have far more experience and poise than Harris and Terry. This is critical down the stretch, ie Game 7.

3) While Diop might be an OK center, he is hardly a tranistion player, you take him out of the lineup and who's garding Thomas and Diaw, because they will be in the lineup as both can run.

4) Who's putting the clamps on Marion?

Suns fans, I think we can expect to see Eddie House this series, he matches up alot better against Dallas than he did against either LA team. Hopefully he can be an X factor for us this series.

Ok folks, I'm not gonna spend a lot of time arguing who's team is better. We'll know that in 6 or 7 games. Let me address a few issues.

If Amare comes back healthy, PHX will be incredibly difficult to beat. I look at this as a chance to eek out a ring before he and LeBron take over the league. Fortunatley for the rest of us, Steve can't have too many good years left. We'll need significantly more firepower to keep up. But that's next year.

Someone spoke of Steve's will. If you don't know what that looks like, get a replay of Dirk whirling past Bowen to tie game 7. Same look. Except Dirk is the guy who just led a mediocre German national team to the European Finals this year and was player of the year. The 2 best foriegn players, best friends-playoff enemies. It doesn't get any better than this.

Forget Dirk at your own peril. He has intangibles Kobe and Brand don't have. A. he's not a jerk, and B. He's been through some playoff wars, and just beat the NBA Champs with Duncan, Ginobli, Bowen and Parker all playing their best ball all year. That's 3 big time NBA stars and the runner up defensive player of the year.

Back court experience. Terry has his mental farts and Harris is immature. Advantage PHX. But the Mavs this year have a defenssive system. Their rotations are pretty solid. Their team defense has been a constantly improving work in progress. We didn't have Terry for game 6 and Harris took off game 7. Still beat the champs. You have great guards, but are they really better than Parker and Ginobli?

Josh Howard will cover Marion. Shawn will have to work for his points.

I do know this. Avery has been thinking about how to cover the PHX pick and roll for about 355 days. He was embarrased by it before. And that's whats different about this years Mavs. Its not the players. It's the personality transplant from a hard nosed rookie coach who, as a player, once got cut on Christmas eve, who later hit the championship winning shot. WHat the Spurs just learned is that the Mavs are now as tough as their old teammate. That's why in Dallas, we believe.

 

[playstation]

cut on christmas eve? you gotta be a nazi to do that!

 

[arthurracoon]

Forget Dirk at your own peril. He has intangibles Kobe and Brand don't have. A. he's not a jerk

Well, Brand didnt come off as a jerk in the last series, but I do usually root for dirk (except now) because I dont hate him (unlike Kobe)