Dallas is still a damn good team but they are a different type of team than in previous years. They do not pass or share the ball all that well. Still a bunch of good scores but with out Nash they just do not move the ball as well. Their defense is better and they have good one on one defenders but they are still learning how to play defense as a team. Nellie just did not put the same value on defense as AJ or Van Gundy. As a result the Mavs while improved are just not in the same league as Houston definsively. Houstons offense is based on discipline, passing, the inside offense of Yao Ming, the creativity of T-Mac and the outside shooting of everyone else. The Rockets players have very clearly defined roles and Jon Berry, Mike James, Scott Padget, Ryan Bowen, David Wesley and Slim Shady all play their roles to a tee. Throw in Deke as a serious defensive presence when Yao goes out and the Rockets are a case where the whole is much greater than the individual. Dalls is a very formidable team that could win it all but they do not, IMHO have the same chemistry as Houston and their bench players just do not have as clearly defined roles as Houston's bench players.
I thought our biggest weakness is the lack of rebounding when Yao or Mutombo goes for a block (or their man takes the shot). Howard wasn't a great rebounder, but he could get the board in that situation. Bowen gets beat too often for it. You want your shot blockers to be free to go for the block. Even more, you want them to be able to play defense without knowing that if they don't get the ensuing rebound, nobody will. The lack of a 2nd rebounder at any given time hurts.
Good assessment, DavidS, about the Mavs having more "scorers" and the Rox having more "shooters." Scorers tend to be more athletic guys , who can drive it to the hole or finish on the break better than pure "shooters." Every good team needs at least 2 scorers (McGrady, James; Clyde, Cassell) to break down a defense. The problem is that when a team has too many scorers they become redundant. In fact, mediocre scorers can sometimes have almost no value at all. Some recent cases in point: Flip Murray. Desmond Mason. Caron Butler. Ricky Davis (esp. when he was on the Cavs). The Mavs are a team filled with these mediocre scorers. You know the profile -- big numbers when they've been on a bad team, but never quite good enough to make their team GOOD. Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Terry, Keith Van Horn, Michael Finley. My guess is in at least one (maybe 2) games this series, one of the Mavs secondary guys is gonna explode for a big game. The press is gonna have a field day, talking about all the Mavs "weapons." But then in the next game, whoever explodes is gonna follow up his 14-25 shooting day with 6-18. These guys just don't have the talent/will to have a good game every night.
i think we can count on tmac to have similar games. although we need to give him more rest because by the end of the game he was getting worn out. however yao is the key. next game he has to have a great game because even if bowen is the bbs's pick for dpoy dirk is going to get his 30. yao needs to counter-act that. and dampier is prone to getting in foul trouble and he can have his way against bradley. they'll have to put nowitski on yao and that'll make nowitski play some D and get fouls.
The Rockets are Simply a More Balanced Team than Dallas Team defense and a passing emphasis on offense. This is the kind of philosophy that wins ball games consistently. Among the Dallas weaknesses that I saw in Game 1, the most notable one is probably their lack of team D in favor of one-on-one D. This was the same issue back with our Rox not too long ago where we insisted on playing man-to-man b/c of our (over)confidence in our guards and forwards. Dallas, IMHO, is better suited playing Zone given that their forwards aren't as fast as they're cracked up to be, IMHO. Of course, T-Mac has the capacity to break down the zone but I think Dallas would be less exposed on defense had they played zone instead of man-to-man. Dallas also has a plethora of great scorers as intergalactic says and it's b/c they are all scorers that they actually become ineffiienct and unbalanced. Every Dallas player is "needy." But as there is only one ball, no player with the possible exception of Nowitski will have their opportunity to shine every night. This is where I think Dallas also really misses Steve Nash. Fundamentally, they are NOT a good passing team. With Nash, at least they had a distributor who could find the open man and help get the entire team involved. Without Nash, it's more one on one situations that I see with Dallas and a dependence on individual talent. The Rox have talent but unlike T-Mac's old team, the Magic, or even the Rockets teams of recent memory, if you don't include Yao and his low post work, we don't have to really as much on individual talent and one-on-one iso situations. The two focal ponits of our team are also well set with T-Mac and Yao unlike Dallas who has so many options that it actually hurts them in some respects. i.e. after Dirk, who ought to be getting the ball? The second Rox weakness is rebounding. Somehow, somewhere, we're going to need to replace the 8 or so rebounds that Juwon got for us when he was healthy. Of all the bigs we have, Deke is by far the best rebounder, but at the 4, that title would have to go with Spoon. Thus, whatever we gain in footspeed and D against Dirk with Bowen, we lose in rebounding with Spoon. Somebody else (maybe Yao, maybe even Sura) has to come up consistently big for us in the boards department. theSAGE
I find it ironic that one the critical factors of the game ... taking Nowitizki off his game ... was what was used extensively on Yao early in the season with some effectiveness. A seven-footer's dribble is higher, thus takes longer, thus is more prone to quick hands.
Did anybody see the John Lopez column in Saturday nights Chronicle? Basically he said that the Rockets management did a good job of getting rid of people who needed to go. He named Mo Taylor and Jim Jackson as players who are not as good as they think they are. They demanded the ball enough that it negativly effected the team. They were replaced by true role players who do not need the ball and are willing to put the team needs ahead of their own. It was weird. I saw it Saturday night and posted it here. About 5 minutes later I could not find it. Today it was no longer in the Chronicle.
Hmm no. But nice report Good riddance ..well great trades!!!!! I love our team And great analysis DavidS
I agree with the majority consensus that Jeff initiated here with one exception. Dallas does not share the ball very well in the half-court but they are real good at sharing it in transition. By making their shots, not turning the ball over and being active on the offensive boards, the Rockets severly limit the Mavs ability to get out and run. It's been discussed on multiple occassions in the GARM that the Rockets soft-trap man to man team defense has an Achilles' Heel in quick ball movement back to the weakside perimeter. Let's see if the Mavs try to use this method to attack in the half-court. One last comment about a defense that negates penetration combined with an offense that emphasizes sharing the ball. Of the 16 teams in the playoffs, 10 have a plus in +/- assists. The 6 that don't? IND, BOS, PHI, WAS, SEA and DAL.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/lopez/3148661 Basically, JVG and CD needed to get rid of any players that mentally did not commit to T-Mac and Yao being the focal point of this team. Every player had to be on the same page as to who this team belongs to. JVG eventually saw which players did not mesh well with T-Mac and marked them to be ousted. JVG made sure every teammate he gets into the team T-Mac is comfortable with. Great article by JL and pretty much answers why JJ was ousted. He just did not mesh well with T-Mac and that spelled his trade out of here.
Yep.... Ricky Davis is the antithesis of a mediocre scorer. He's like a Poorman's Mobley. An athletic scorer without the outside range. An unwillingness to pass. And is in-love with the dunk. Uhg... At least Mobley learned to hit the 3 and play defense. But anytime I see a player in the mold of Ricky Davis, I cringe. I just don't like those type of players. Spreewell, is kinda the same, except more talented (athletically). I'd say that the only way I would take those type of players is if we had a ton of shooters/team-players already. And I'd make sure that I would use him in limited minutes off the bench. Daniels and Howard (Mavs) are similar, except they seem to be better suited to post offense/rebounds. They really aren't face-up-ISO type scorers (like Davis). They prefer to be in the post, active around the boards, put-backs, and are very good in the fast-break. Those two guys remind me of Pipppen. If I was to pick one, I'd pick Daniels. But like you said. I'd only have ONE of those guys, and then the rest would be guys like Barry/Westley/Padget. And McGrady would be our main scorer/playmaker. I'd have to make sure that Daniels knew this first hand!
GATER, PhiSlammaJamma and others have mentioned why the Mavs didn't use the PnR more... I feel that the PnR will work better for Dirk than the post/fadeaway as well as their other guards/fowards. I was wondering too why they weren't using it more. But what I want to know is this... Will that work over a 7-game series? I'm talking about the odds. Taking our chances. Should we just let them take those shots and "pray" they miss sooner or later. I'm not saying that we just let them shot wide open shots. We'd still try to defend the PnR. But sooner or later a few of those shots will go in from Dirk and role players. I just wonder if they can't keep that up when we will be shutting down the middle. One thing I always look for is a hot Mavs team from the outside...and then wait for them to cool off in the 2nd half. I mean, usually all it takes is one or two misses before they start to "think about it." I belive religating the Mavs as a jumpshooting team (PnR or not) is the best way to go. Our defensive mantra should be *no layups, no dunks*. For example...here's what the Rockets want... 1) Easy lay-ups/dunks by execution of the PnR and some ISO from Tmac 2) Easy jump-hooks by Yao's post play 3) Wide open 3-pt shots from our inside-outside kick-out 4) Last, would be outside shots from the PnR/ISO from the role players; Sura, Westley, and James 5) Fast-break points from steals, blocks and rebounds Seem like the Rockets play a higher percentage type of basketball. For example...here's what the Mavs "want" or will do... 1) Wide open 2pt shots from the PnR/ISO from Dirk and role players 2) Wide open 3pt shots from the PnR/ISO from Dirk and role players 3) Fast-break points from steals, blocks and rebounds (We defend this, by the way) 4) Easy lay-ups/dunks by execution of PnR Dirk and Stackhouse, Daniels/Howard 5) Last, would be easy jump-hooks by Van Horn, Dampier and Bradley's post play Seem like the Mavs play a lower percentage type of basketball. Not just in concept, but in practice too because the Rockets will be defending this. The Mavs don't play the Spurs/Heat/Pistons/Rockets every night. I'd have to believe they have success against teams that don't defend their style very well.
Actually, Rick Bucher on ESPN picked Houston because he said he didn't trust the Mav's point guards, Jason Terry and Devin Harris.
The difference is that we are better with ONE basketball than they are. They might be better with five balls.
in game 2 you will see the mavs post up Dirk.... what will the Rocks do to counter? put Yao? and guess what will happen then?!... he will foul out as usual.... i thought the whole Mavs team seemed kind of nervous.... they have way too many weapons on the team to lose to a team with no PF(not one) and no true point guard....T-Jac is a superstar....but Yao has a ways to go before he learns to play with Dampier or brad
Did you even bother to watch Game 1? To answer your question, Rox will counter with T-Mac on Dirk. The Mavs were very nervous, they ought to be when they are faceing a team that is just as good as they are (if not slightly better). It's true we don't have a true PG, but neither does Dallas. Yao had a bad game but he will play better in game 2 to counter Dirk's improvement. Needless to say, I can't wait for Game 2 to start.
