Yes I am loving the D. Jalen Rose held to what 5 points.... good stuff. Cato is a beast. And this is without A/E Griffen our 2 better defensive players
we'll see about that... they(the Mavs) have already shown that a powerful defense can throw them off their game severely, and when the Rox are hitting on all cylinders like in their two wins...they are a powerful defense. I predict we hold the Mavs way(10-15 points) below their normal offensive output in 3 of the 4 games we play them in. I know that is a strong statement, but I think they arent even as good on D as they can achieve this year. VGseems to be drilling that into their heads, and they are athletic enough to make it happen.
I don't know why you guy are happy so early? Denver, Mem and bulls are horrible shooting teams, check out their shooting stats: Denver shooting 37.6% so far, Mem 39.6% and bulls 33.5% They are shooting poorly facing every team, not just Rox. Best test coming tomorrow. Should be interesting.
The D was X-cellent, and I also like that Pike and A-Griff are returning. When they do return, though: Cat/JJ/Boki/Pike/A-Griff/Steve gonna split time at the 2/3? *cough* trade *cough*
we are so happy because the improvement in defensive intensity is something that can be seen...it isnt all about what the stats show. If you have watched the game with an eye towards the whole court, you see it in every play...in every attempted or actiual steal, in every harried shooter that finds themselves with people intheir faces while they are shooting.. with the flatout defensive hustle that the team has shown. it is the stuff that successful playoff teams have. yes, the bigger test will be against the better teams....but the improvement is there to be seen if you just look...and that bodes well for the rest of the season.
Hurst, I will agree that Dirk will give us problems but Walker is a baby stepping, jack-up artist that we will have no problem with. Dallass is the run and shoot for bball...no championships. Walker SUCKS! They will never win the western conference with the ole' defense.
I've got to say I loved the defensive intensity tonight. I was on the phone with someone with about 15-20 seconds left in the game and had to interrupt them because the Rox were STILL playing strong defense and forcing turnovers! JVG was STILL standing up coaching them, DAMN I can only hope they will put forth this kind of effort the entire season, I know JVG will. Not defense related, but did anyone notice a play in the second half where Cuttino was calmly walking the ball upcourt, and then you could hear JVG yell something at him. Immediately Cuttino got off his ass and got the ball up court. I hate that new McDonalds slogan, but "I'm lovin it"
Rox can not compare to Laker neither D nor O. Mavs's only lost was at Laker's home court till now. BTW, no one in Rox can shut down Finley, he was the Rox killer last year. I predict he will keep the role this year unless Jam Jackson can do something. I see Rox has better chance to beat Spurs this year. Mavs still dominate us. 4-0 or 3-1.
I think what separates a good team and an average team is the commitment to defense. Look at the Spurs, they lost Duncan against the Grizz. and eventually lost the game, but they still played hard D. I think we are on our way there, judging from the game with Grizz. While our offence was not clicking, the players still play good D to possibly edge out a win.
All I gotta say is that our Midwest Division rivals are shaking in their boots at the mention of the name Rockets.
Anybody who thinks we cannot play d on Dall is crazy. This defense is not a simply one. It has super quick and leaping guards; it has height and bulk down low including Braggs and I am still waiting for Ame; and it has great positioning with alot of "funneling" to the big. That positioning also helps with rebounding and help defense. Dall will beat us if they are shooting lights out from the outside. The exact same way LA beat them we can beat them, and I believe our d is better than LA's.
