DearRock, if Dallas puts out this lineup on the floor: Nash, Delk, Finley, Walker and Dirk (which is the lineup they are currently using now) then who guards Dirk? Now I know conversly you can say who guards Yao but I am mainly talking about our DEFENSE here. Who guards Dirk? Can we put out a Cato/Yao front line here with Dirk and Walker being that quick and versitile? Seems like this is exactly the type of situation where it would be nice to have Eddie back. I am unsure of what the Rockets are going to do against Dallas. Is Braggs quick enough to follow Dirk around? I can't see Yao or Cato doing it. Perhaps Padgett or Nachbar?
Deuce, it is a good question that probably can only be answered when they actually play. However, I do feel that we have the horses to keep up with the Dallas frontline and I am putting or requiring EG to be in that group. If I was to coach the rocks in that game then part of my defense would be to engage Dirk extensively when we are on offense. Then Cato, Ming, EG will all get their chances to defend him. He is not going to post these guys up extensively and with our help defense he is going to have less room to operate. I have seen this defense work now for 8 games, not 3. Nobody, including Duncan looked good playing it and the only person I have doubts about at this point is Shaq. Pardon me but I do not see Walker as a factor. They are a team that can score a lot but we will see if it can score alot of the type of defense we are playing. This is a throw back defense we are playing and one would have to think that it will only get better with The Griffins coming back. The most critical area in basketball is the paint and low post and I do not see Dall having an advantage on us in that area. In fact it is a competitive disadvantage to them at the moment. In terms of who can impose their will on the other, I like our chances simply based on our control of the paint.
My 2 cents... Remember how boring JVG defensive basketball was supposed to have been? DEN - ROY candidate, Camby is healthy, neither of their starting guards from last season are in the league this year, and they've beaten SA and SAC. Yes, I know...no Parker or Webber, but would you have taken the Nuggs before the game? MEM - Boston is kicking butt in the EC and needed a last second shot to be the only loss on the Grizz's record. Whether we admit to it or not, Hubie has done a nice job putting together the right blend of pieces and getting Jason Williams to buy in. Who here is not pleased by Cato's D on Gasol? Should 2 of 3 of SEA, UTAH, or POR falter, I could easily see the Grizz as the 8th seed. CHI - OK, OK...we have a better starting lineup and more talent. But the 2nd unit played 98 of the 240 minutes (40.8%) and still there was no let up in the defensive intensity. DAL - Although the Mavs and Nets have vastly different types of personnel, the one thing they both share is early offense which puts pressure on the opponents transition D. If the Rox are truly learning Van Gundy's scheme, it should show up vs NJ. IMHO, stopping Dirk in transition is the key to containing Dallas. If we look good at that tonight, I'm optimistic. Especially since parallels could be drawn between Kidd and Nash in transition.
firstly... I never said one word about the Laker offense. Not a one. Our defensive intensity easilt equals that of the Fakers..our help D is actually better than theirs.(not by much tho) I could not explain why I feel that our D can stand up to Dallas any better than Dearrock put it...read his post carerfully and then honestly think about it. They only have 2 positions that I feel will be a real challenge to defend. Dirk being one of them.. but look at it this way..if Dirk is the only Mav that is allowed to get his....and our offense can do their job, we will win. the Mavs can not defend against our team when they are playing the JVG way. they flat-out do not have the defensive capabilities to stop most of our team. Yao.....no way SF......no JJ....no Cat.....no they will spend so much time tryin to stop Yao,SF and Cat..that it will open up the rest of the team for open shots. Especailly if they try to contain Yao, then he can easily pass out for others to score. IF we fail to play as well against them as I think, then you can feel free to bring this back up and rub it in my face......but I don't think that will happen. I stand by my suggestion that we can win 3.....I would be happy if we split the series...but will stick with 3 as my prediction.
Remember when we were promised an emphasis on defense last year and then it disappeared? Remember the Chronicle article, the interviews, the promises? I love JVG, and I know he will keep the pressure on, but I don't trust this group to be consistent. I am taking a wait and see attitude. Good to see you on the board again; haven't seen you in a while.
I don't think we will see Braggs guarding Dirk. If I were JVG, I'd put him on Walker, who would be the other low post presense in the Dallas lineup. You bring up a good point about who will guard Dirk. It's going to have to be Yao or Cato. I would still stick with the starting lineup we've thrown out there for the first 3 games and see where it gets us in the first few minutes.
Thanks, I was not posting in the GARM, just in the D&D and hangout areas. In the offseason the innane trade scenarios bore me. DD
The most critical area in basketball is the paint and low post and I do not see Dall having an advantage on us in that area. In fact it is a competitive disadvantage to them at the moment. In terms of who can impose their will on the other, I like our chances simply based on our control of the paint. [/B][/QUOTE] I couldn't have said it better myself.
When we play Dallas maybe we might use some more zone in that case. I think it will be a man to man offense initially, but I think it will be a loose man to man offense with Yao drifting. We might gamble at the beginning to see how their perimeter shooting is. I have a feeling though that the defensive scheme will be to try and get Dirk into foul trouble so he will have to come out. Sometimes the best defense might be a good offense.
Exactly Sam !!! Our defense is leading the way, whilst our offense finds it's rythmn. I am feeling very good about this team right now. DD
Our defense gives a chance of winning any game... Even one when we are turning the ball over like crazy and not shooting well for three quartes. That's why we were able to pull it out in the fourth. That and Francis snapped out of his funk in a major way, and put an end the Nets hopes.
What puzzles me is that Francis is averaging more TO's than assists, or very very close, I believe. We're generally low on assists and high on TO's. However, I believe some jelling, some yelling, and Pike will improve that substantially. Hopefully, our defense stays at this level. I just love the defense. Our offense has NOT been exactly "on", but since the teams were weak, our defense has been enough. Last year, we relied on whether or not our ofense would be on. This year, the defense is always on, so if the offense is on, we're unstoppable, and if it's not, we're still rpetty famn good.
Yep, Francis is averaging a career low 4.8 assists per game along with a career high 4.8 TO per game. So does that mean this team still has dramatic room for improvement with AG, Pike and Griffin coming back, plus Mobley improving with his role, and Francis' numbers down everywhere except FG%? It's looking more and more like we can be the surprise team this season and snatch the #5 seed.
