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Nash, Nowitzki heading in different directions
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Mike Kahn / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 38 minutes ago
Now we know.
Nobody was sure what to expect when it became apparent that the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns were on a collision course for the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
How would Suns point guard Steve Nash respond against his old teammates, just months after the Mavericks refused to match the Suns free agent contract?
How would Dirk Nowitzki play against Nash, his best friend and former teammate?
Both made first team All-NBA for the first time, with Nash named MVP, and Nowitzki third in the balloting.
Friday night, it all became crystal clear as the Mavericks blew all of a 16-point lead they held with four minutes left in the third quarter. Then the suns forced overtime and quickly took control for a 130-126 victory.
Give Nash credit for his brilliance and leadership.
We're still waiting to see it from Nowitzki.
Nash sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer, followed by Nowitzki skewering Mavs point guard Jason Terry coming off the floor for allowing Nash to fire a wide-open trey. He had a lot of nerve considering his own lack of defense.
This night belonged to the Suns. Coming off a 29-victory nightmare season a year ago, the Suns head home from Dallas and will meet the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Sunday. It's the first trip to the conference finals for the Suns since 1993, and the Mavs go home.
Never in this series did the Mavs resort to double-teaming Nash to force the ball out of his hands. The final three games of the series he was virtually unstoppable, averaging 40.3 points, 9.7 assists and 9.0 rebounds. He was one rebound shy Friday night of his second consecutive triple-double, pouring it on his old buddy for 39 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
Nowitzki did have 28 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, but he was completely out of control in overtime. He missed all five of his field goal attempts in overtime and 1-of-2 free throws after screaming at his teammates as the Suns took control of the game. It showed his lack of perspective considering Shawn Marion was eating him alive with 38 points and 16 rebounds.
Following these six games, we are left with no more questions about how these two guys would handle it.
Throughout the series, Nash was an irrefutable stud.
What we didn't expect was that Nowitzki would turn out to be such a dud.
The stud
Nash averaged 30 points, 12 assists and 6.5 rebounds to join Magic Johnson as the only two players to average at least 25 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in a playoff series. He put on one of the truly special playoff performances in recent history, enhancing his teammates while further establishing his own greatness, highlighted in Game 6 with eight points in the final minute of regulation, the second of two 3-pointers with just 10.5 seconds left.
The dud
Nowitkzi was embarrassing, screaming at his teammates for various reasons throughout the series, beginning with denigrating comments about Erick Dampier after Game 1 and it was all downhill from there. In particular, his screaming at Terry, who led the Mavs with 36 points, about defense, was despicable. Terry was fabulous and obviously struggled with Nash. But certainly no worse than Nowitzki, whom Marion burned for 38 points and 16 rebounds. What's more is that Nowitzki's was a portrait of embarrassingly poor leadership.
The quote
"There were so many big plays, so many little things," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Obviously, we had a few guys play great. I can't wait to see it on DVD so I can enjoy it."
Statpack
Suns guard Joe Johnson who fractured the orbital bone near his left eye in Game 2 against Dallas on May 11, did not play Friday night, but has been cleared to play. The swelling has reduced so much that the mask he was fitted with last week had to be refitted. But there is no indication of when he will feel up to playing again. ... Suns veteran guard Jim Jackson is on his 12th NBA team without having won a championship. Should the Suns win the title, it will break the old record of eight teams, held by Jaren Jackson (Spurs, 1999) and Greg Foster (Lakers, 2001). ... Amare Stoudemire fouled out for the second time in the series, but finished with 19 points and six rebounds.
If the Spurs win the championship, it will be the sixth title and third team for forward Robert Horry over the past 12 seasons. He got rings in 1994 and 1995 with the Rockets and 2000-02 with the Lakers. Until the Pistons won last season, the previous 10 titles had either included Horry or Steve Kerr (1996-98 with the Bulls and 1999 and 2003 with the Spurs. ... Pacers' retiring 39-year-old guard Reggie Miller had made just 38 percent of his shots the first five games of the series, but was 11-of-16 with 27 points in the conclusive Game 6 loss to the Pistons Thursday. ... Tony Parker's scoring in their six-game win over the Sonics began with 29 points, then dipped steadily to 22, 18, 12 and 11 before bouncing back with 14 in Game 6. ... The Pistons were 2-1 against the Heat this season, and held them to just 79.3 points a game. The Heat averaged 91.5 points against the rest of the league.
This and that
The Atlanta Hawks, who won just 13 games, will have a 75 percent chance of winning the draft lottery, which will be held Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. (EDT) at New York's Madison Square Garden. The New Orleans Hornets have the next best shot at 17.8 percent, followed by the Charlotte Bobcats (17.7), Utah Jazz (11.9), Portland Trail Blazers (8.8), Milwaukee Bucks (6.3), Toronto Raptors (3.6), New York Knicks (3.5), Golden State Warriors (1.4), Los Angeles Lakers (1.4), Orlando Magic (0.8), Los Angeles Clippers (0.7), Cleveland Cavaliers (0.6) and Minnesota Timberwolves (0.5).
Although several reports say merchandising sales in the NBA are down double-digits, it is interesting that Dwyane Wade's jersey is now the top seller. It will be interesting to see if last season's No. 5 pick overall continues to have a star that outshines the much more ballyhooed LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. ... The late games on TNT and ESPN and the games played on ABC in general continue to be an issue. The numbers drop dramatically in the second half of late games and Sunday's Pistons-Pacers Game 4 on ABC was down 37.5 percent in viewers ... following the trend of a 32.5 percent drop n the first round.
Story Tools: Print Email
Mike Kahn / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 38 minutes ago
Now we know.
Nobody was sure what to expect when it became apparent that the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns were on a collision course for the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
How would Suns point guard Steve Nash respond against his old teammates, just months after the Mavericks refused to match the Suns free agent contract?
How would Dirk Nowitzki play against Nash, his best friend and former teammate?
Both made first team All-NBA for the first time, with Nash named MVP, and Nowitzki third in the balloting.
Friday night, it all became crystal clear as the Mavericks blew all of a 16-point lead they held with four minutes left in the third quarter. Then the suns forced overtime and quickly took control for a 130-126 victory.
Give Nash credit for his brilliance and leadership.
We're still waiting to see it from Nowitzki.
Nash sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer, followed by Nowitzki skewering Mavs point guard Jason Terry coming off the floor for allowing Nash to fire a wide-open trey. He had a lot of nerve considering his own lack of defense.
This night belonged to the Suns. Coming off a 29-victory nightmare season a year ago, the Suns head home from Dallas and will meet the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Sunday. It's the first trip to the conference finals for the Suns since 1993, and the Mavs go home.
Never in this series did the Mavs resort to double-teaming Nash to force the ball out of his hands. The final three games of the series he was virtually unstoppable, averaging 40.3 points, 9.7 assists and 9.0 rebounds. He was one rebound shy Friday night of his second consecutive triple-double, pouring it on his old buddy for 39 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
Nowitzki did have 28 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, but he was completely out of control in overtime. He missed all five of his field goal attempts in overtime and 1-of-2 free throws after screaming at his teammates as the Suns took control of the game. It showed his lack of perspective considering Shawn Marion was eating him alive with 38 points and 16 rebounds.
Following these six games, we are left with no more questions about how these two guys would handle it.
Throughout the series, Nash was an irrefutable stud.
What we didn't expect was that Nowitzki would turn out to be such a dud.
The stud
Nash averaged 30 points, 12 assists and 6.5 rebounds to join Magic Johnson as the only two players to average at least 25 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in a playoff series. He put on one of the truly special playoff performances in recent history, enhancing his teammates while further establishing his own greatness, highlighted in Game 6 with eight points in the final minute of regulation, the second of two 3-pointers with just 10.5 seconds left.
The dud
Nowitkzi was embarrassing, screaming at his teammates for various reasons throughout the series, beginning with denigrating comments about Erick Dampier after Game 1 and it was all downhill from there. In particular, his screaming at Terry, who led the Mavs with 36 points, about defense, was despicable. Terry was fabulous and obviously struggled with Nash. But certainly no worse than Nowitzki, whom Marion burned for 38 points and 16 rebounds. What's more is that Nowitzki's was a portrait of embarrassingly poor leadership.
The quote
"There were so many big plays, so many little things," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Obviously, we had a few guys play great. I can't wait to see it on DVD so I can enjoy it."
Statpack
Suns guard Joe Johnson who fractured the orbital bone near his left eye in Game 2 against Dallas on May 11, did not play Friday night, but has been cleared to play. The swelling has reduced so much that the mask he was fitted with last week had to be refitted. But there is no indication of when he will feel up to playing again. ... Suns veteran guard Jim Jackson is on his 12th NBA team without having won a championship. Should the Suns win the title, it will break the old record of eight teams, held by Jaren Jackson (Spurs, 1999) and Greg Foster (Lakers, 2001). ... Amare Stoudemire fouled out for the second time in the series, but finished with 19 points and six rebounds.
If the Spurs win the championship, it will be the sixth title and third team for forward Robert Horry over the past 12 seasons. He got rings in 1994 and 1995 with the Rockets and 2000-02 with the Lakers. Until the Pistons won last season, the previous 10 titles had either included Horry or Steve Kerr (1996-98 with the Bulls and 1999 and 2003 with the Spurs. ... Pacers' retiring 39-year-old guard Reggie Miller had made just 38 percent of his shots the first five games of the series, but was 11-of-16 with 27 points in the conclusive Game 6 loss to the Pistons Thursday. ... Tony Parker's scoring in their six-game win over the Sonics began with 29 points, then dipped steadily to 22, 18, 12 and 11 before bouncing back with 14 in Game 6. ... The Pistons were 2-1 against the Heat this season, and held them to just 79.3 points a game. The Heat averaged 91.5 points against the rest of the league.
This and that
The Atlanta Hawks, who won just 13 games, will have a 75 percent chance of winning the draft lottery, which will be held Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. (EDT) at New York's Madison Square Garden. The New Orleans Hornets have the next best shot at 17.8 percent, followed by the Charlotte Bobcats (17.7), Utah Jazz (11.9), Portland Trail Blazers (8.8), Milwaukee Bucks (6.3), Toronto Raptors (3.6), New York Knicks (3.5), Golden State Warriors (1.4), Los Angeles Lakers (1.4), Orlando Magic (0.8), Los Angeles Clippers (0.7), Cleveland Cavaliers (0.6) and Minnesota Timberwolves (0.5).
Although several reports say merchandising sales in the NBA are down double-digits, it is interesting that Dwyane Wade's jersey is now the top seller. It will be interesting to see if last season's No. 5 pick overall continues to have a star that outshines the much more ballyhooed LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. ... The late games on TNT and ESPN and the games played on ABC in general continue to be an issue. The numbers drop dramatically in the second half of late games and Sunday's Pistons-Pacers Game 4 on ABC was down 37.5 percent in viewers ... following the trend of a 32.5 percent drop n the first round.
