BDL’s 2014-15 Playoff Previews: Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks

RocketsFan0 · Apr 17, 2015

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...n-rockets-vs--dallas-mavericks-014016748.html

Lock if posted already.

"Prediction: Mavericks in 7."

Thoughts?

ShiniKashi · Apr 17, 2015

He did this cause he knew you would post it on Clutchfans lol

J Sizzle · Apr 17, 2015

I have no problem with anybody picking the Mavs, simply because why would they pick the Rockets until the Rockets, especially Harden, prove they can win playoff series?

If the Rockets play the way they're capable of, the series could be over in 5 games with us moving on. If they do their lazy 20+ turnover nights, missed free throws, Harden disappears, Howard gets in foul trouble, etc., then we'll have a problem, but I think the Rockets should be able to get it done.

Aleron · Apr 17, 2015

picking us in 5 or dallas in 7 means nothing

DudeWah · Apr 17, 2015

Honestly I wouldn't even be shocked if we lost to the Mavs. I can see them beating us. I hope that we will beat them easily though.

ilovehtownbb · Apr 17, 2015

DudeWah said: ↑

Honestly I wouldn't even be shocked if we lost to the Mavs. I can see them beating us. I hope that we will beat them easily though.
Click to expand...

i agree, dallas is tough

RedRedemption · Apr 17, 2015

ilovehtownbb said: ↑

i agree, dallas is tough
Click to expand...

Sadly they are the easiest matchup out of all the teams. At least we avoided the Spurs.

cmlmel77 · Apr 17, 2015

The idea that 50-win teams are 'no less title worthy' than 56-win teams is laughable.

daywalker02 · Apr 17, 2015

RedRedemption said: ↑

Sadly they are the easiest matchup out of all the teams. At least we avoided the Spurs.
Click to expand...

Blazers are injury riddled tho....I do not say those are easy prey but easier than last year I could imagine

Rookie34 · Apr 17, 2015

Series Preview: Rockets Vs. Mavericks

BY JONATHAN TJARKS
APR 16, 2015 4:28 PM

After an offseason full of barbs between Mark Cuban and Daryl Morey following the Dallas Mavericks' signing of Chandler Parsons, the 2 vs. 7 series between the two Texas rivals has to be one of the most anticipated of the first round. While the Rockets have a clear edge in terms of regular season performance as well as having two stars in the prime of their career, the season-ending injuries to Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas should give some hope to a Mavericks team with a lot of talent that hasn’t been able to get everything going this season. When you break down the match-ups, you can see how many moving parts there are for both teams, which should give Rick Carlisle a chance to work some of his postseason magic.

PG: Jason Terry vs. Rajon Rondo

I don’t think you will see all that much of Rondo on Terry, as the Mavs will likely give him the first crack on James Harden. With neither Pablo Prigioni nor Jason Terry capable of scaring a team at this point in their careers, this position should give the Mavs ample opportunity to hide a defensive sieve like Monta Ellis and allow him to save energy for offense. The one thing Terry does provide is spacing for James Harden since whoever guards the 37-year old sharpshooter will have to mark him all over the floor. The injury to Beverley makes this series even more important for Rondo because Houston will probably want to hide their worst perimeter defender on him rather than Ellis or Chandler Parsons. We’ve heard a lot about “Playoff Rondo” - if he wants to make some money in the offseason, it’s now or never.

SG: James Harden vs. Monta Ellis

Cross-switching is going to be the name of the game in this series so I don’t expect Rick Carlisle to give Monta many possessions on Harden. At only 6’3 185, Monta doesn’t have enough size to prevent Harden from getting to his spots and can’t really contest his jumper. The presence of The Beard should alter the Mavs backcourt rotations, as they typically like to play two smaller PG’s for most of the game. One guy who could be huge for Dallas is Al-Farouq Aminu - he’s exactly the type of long-armed defender that can give Harden trouble.

This is a put-up or shut-up series for Harden, who didn’t play all that well against Wesley Matthews in the Rockets loss to the Blazers last season. The Mavs don’t have much interior defense besides Tyson Chandler so if Harden can live at the rim and draw fouls on Chandler it will open up the game for the rest of the Rockets. One thing to watch is how Dallas handles the two-man game with Harden - they could slide Dirk Nowitzki off the PF position in order to minimize the number of times he has to guard Harden in space.

Just as important for Harden will be what he has to do on the defensive end of the floor. Without Beverley, the Rockets will need their best player to be locked in on both sides of the ball. Dallas has a 1-2 punch of Ellis and Parsons on the perimeter and they will probably attack the guy that Ariza is not guarding. Ellis is another guy with more regular season than playoff heroics on his resume and he’s playing for a chance at a new contract in the off-season. The Mavs best chance of pulling the upset is using Monta’s speed on Harden and then having Parsons shoot over the top of his former teammate. The only spot to really hide someone on defense in the Dallas starting line-up is at PG and the Rockets already have to keep Terry and Prigioni there.

SF: Trevor Ariza vs. Chandler Parsons

The bad news for Parsons in a series where all eyes will be on him is that he’s coming off a lingering knee injury that kept him out of the line-up for the last two weeks of the regular season. He will need to be at 100% for the Mavs to have any chance of making this a series as he’s the only perimeter player on Dallas who can A) stretch the floor B) play defense and C) initiate offense at the same time. Parsons is the glue that holds this rickety collection of players together so Ariza taking him out of this series would be a deathblow. The fact that the Rockets let Parsons walk in free agency and gave his job to Ariza only adds to the intrigue of this match-up.

One thing that stands out when looking at these match-ups is there are a lot of different places in Houston’s starting line-up to hide guys. The presence of a spot-up shooter like Ariza at SF has to be real tempting for Carlisle in terms of hiding Dirk Nowitzki there since the Mavs aging star has little chance of staying in front of the Rockets much younger and more athletic PF’s. That, in turn, could really step up the defensive pressure on Parsons, who may have to body Josh Smith and Terrence Jones in the post, keep them off the offensive glass and guard Harden when the Mavs switch the pick-and-roll. That’s why he makes twice as much money as Dirk - he has a lot of responsibility on this team and there’s no one else who can do his job.

PF: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Terrence Jones

Jones got a baptism by fire in his first playoff experience last season, when LaMarcus Aldridge dropped 40+ on him in the first two games and forced Kevin McHale to change match-ups on the fly and bring Omer Asik into the starting line-up. With Asik gone, the Rockets are going to need Jones to give Dirk a little more of a challenge this season, although once again it will be tough for the 6’9 combo forward to match up with a 7’0+ pure jump-shooter. The key for him is to get Dirk back on the other end of the floor - make him move laterally, get into his legs and challenge him at the front of the rim. The Mavs don’t have an obvious match-up for his combination of size and strength so a big series for Jones and Josh Smith is probably the Rockets best chance to put the underdog away early.

For Nowitzki, this could be one of the last chances he has on the biggest stage in the NBA. At his age there’s no telling how many years he has left. He has been playing possum for most of the season so Mavs fans have to hope he has something left in the tank come playoff time. Even 2-3 years ago, this would have been the match-up Carlisle would have ridden all the way to the upset. As it stands now, if the Mavs can get one or two vintage Dirk games in this series and then find a way to hide him on defense, they would count it as a win.

C: Dwight Howard vs. Tyson Chandler

Howard has been completely off the radar this season while recovering from a knee injury and has played in a little over 40 games. For a guy at this stage of his career, it’s all about the playoffs anyway. The Rockets need vintage Dwight Howard to have any chance at winning a championship and the series against the Mavs is a prime example. Posting up your C may not be all that efficient in the regular season but having the ability to get offense from that position and putting the other team’s primary rim protector in foul trouble can totally change the dynamic of a playoff series.

If Chandler isn’t on the floor, the Mavs already subpar defense becomes straight up pathetic. Dallas is going to need yeoman’s work from their C. He has to control Howard in the post, prevent Harden from living at the rim, do the work of 2-3 men on the defensive glass and provide an offensive spark rolling to the rim in the two-man game. If he isn’t at 35-40 minutes a night, Dallas is going to have a tough time staying in this series because any combination of Dirk, Amare or Charlie Villanueva at 5 will kill their defense and either Bernard “Sarge” James or Greg Smith at 5 will kill their offense.

Key bench players:

PG - Devin Harris

Harris has the speed and shooting ability to really take advantage of the lack of footspeed of the Rockets guards and the Mavs have played much better offensive basketball with him at the point as opposed to Rondo. Dallas is going to need their bench players to outplay an injury ravaged Houston 2nd unit and that starts with Harris being on his game. He may also get time on James Harden behind Rondo, depending on what Carlisle elects to do with Al-Farouq Aminu.

SF - Al-Farouq Aminu

Aminu is the Mavs glue guy on defense, capable of guarding almost every player 1-5 in the Rockets rotation. He makes them much longer and more athletic whenever he is on the floor and he’s one of the only players on their roster with any chance of holding his own on the glass. The key for Aminu will be how he’s used and whether the Mavs can find him minutes in a way where his lack of shooting doesn’t destroy their spacing on the offensive side of the ball.

PF - Josh Smith

One of the most maligned players in the NBA has found a second life in Houston, where he has thrived as a 6th man and 3rd big man off the bench. This is where the Rockets have the biggest edge over Dallas - even without Motiejunas, the three-man rotation of Smith, Jones and Howard gives Houston a ton of athleticism and two-play upfront for 48 minutes, something the Mavs older rotation of one-way bigs really can’t match. Smith’s versatility on both sides of the ball could be invaluable for Kevin McHale in this series and if he’s making 3’s it will put Dallas in an unpleasant quandary.

Prediction: Rockets in 6
Click to expand...

http://basketball.realgm.com/analysis/237447/Series-Preview-Rockets-Vs-Mavericks

daywalker02 · Apr 17, 2015

Could have used a promising PG from Dleague or so.... harhar

banzai · Apr 17, 2015

I'm gonna throw this out there. If the give clint a chance at key points during the game for defensive purposes, he could be an x factor in rim/paint protection. We saw it all in the Jazz game. Prior to (spurs games) opponents were waltzing into the paint at will. He is quick enough to flash on the pnr and get back in time to pick up the roller. He will have to make people shoot over him to stay out of foul trouble. He has a far higher reach than Howard at this point.

AFS · Apr 17, 2015

I'd prefer for the media to pick the Mavs. Rockets need to feel like they are the underdog and have something to prove. We don't need to underestimate the Mavs like we did last year with the Blazers.

Rocket2008 · Apr 17, 2015

Some analyses are just baffling, the part about Parsons vs. Ariza and not including Brewer as key players off the bench shows you all you need to know: people do not do their homework.

TheRealAllpro · Apr 17, 2015

Only two seeds in twenty years have lost to 7 seeds.

HeWhoIsLunchbox · Apr 17, 2015

Predictions are pointless.

RayRay10 · Apr 17, 2015

Rocket2008 said: ↑

Some analyses are just baffling, the part about Parsons vs. Ariza and not including Brewer as key players off the bench shows you all you need to know: people do not do their homework.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Suggesting using Nowitzki on Ariza at this stage of his career is laughable as well as that will mean Jones/Smith defended by Parsons/Jefferson. Rockets will tear that up. Carlisle isn't stupid.

The BDL one is obvious that they just want to pick The Mavs; no real analysis, just a bunch of facts thrown out. Stating that Harden is the only offensive force for the Rockets is ridiculous and that Howard & Chandler are comparable is just not trying. There are reasons to pick the Mavs, but they were not presented in the article.

SilentAssassin · Apr 17, 2015

No mention of Brewer? I guess he's an insignicant non-factor?

solid · Apr 17, 2015

Whoever plays better will win. It is always the same issues: turnovers, shooting percentage, rebounds, fouls, and foul shooting. Wrap all that up in desire and intensity and you have the outcome. I will be upset if the Rockets don't play with FIRE in their eyes. There was too much lackadaisical play against Portland last season. They seemed to at times lack focus. Can't happen in the playoffs. All out, all the time.

ZNB · Apr 17, 2015

I agree that we will get more respect once we actually advance, I have no problem with people being hesitant to pick us until we prove it.

Forums

BDL’s 2014-15 Playoff Previews: Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks

RocketsFan0 Member

ShiniKashi Member

J Sizzle Member

Aleron Contributing Member

DudeWah Member

ilovehtownbb Member

RedRedemption Contributing Member

cmlmel77 Up all Night Watching Houston Sports

daywalker02 Member

Rookie34 Member

daywalker02 Member

banzai Contributing Member

AFS Member

Rocket2008 Member

TheRealAllpro Morey only fan

HeWhoIsLunchbox Contributing Member

RayRay10 Houstonian

SilentAssassin Member

solid Contributing Member

ZNB Contributing Member

Share This Page

About ClutchFans

Rockets Content

Support ClutchFans!