I agree with that in a way. However, our D was so smothering, I'd rather see the mavs make just a few shots sprinkled in there. The FT's kept them close, but you're right, they never had much of a rhythm.
Dirk is going to go post. They are going to try to drive more. I remember when they did beat us..they beat us by penetrating and making midrange jumpers or attakcing basket..drawing fouls making layups. I think we can stop them. Dirk posting up..we can stop this too..by fronting him and then getting Yao or Dikembe or Padgett or whoever to come and help out. We can deny the pass..just harrass him and not let him in. Or if he starts out in perimeter and backs his way in..we can double..just bump him and stuff..I dont' think he's 100% healthy..not very strong looking. I remember yesterday being mad that refs were being so crappy. I wanted to put Braggs, Baker, and Spoon in to "send them a message (Chaney)"..even though Braggs is on injured list I really hope we can win tomorrow!!!!! GO ROCKETS
Dirk is going to the basket; how about Spoon, he is difficult to move. Braggs might be a surprise move. Can he brought off IR during the playoffs?
Well, you can expect Dallas to do several things. 1. run 2. Post Dirk 3. Pick and Roll Dirk on Yao 4. Double T-Mac 5. Leave Bowen Open If you know what adjustment they are going to make you can counter. 1. Same as before. Get back and make shots. Dallas can;t run if we do both as well as game 1. 2. Double with Yao late. Dirk usually backs down and won't see Yao leaning in to alter shot. I wouldn't double hard, just enough to get a hand in dirks view. He's not a great post up player anyway. He'd rather face. I think we will pack lane more too but probably not a good idea unless Van Horn is the one left open. 3. Not much you can do, but I'd jump Dirk and leave Dampiere open. If Dampiere can go off for 30 I'd be shocked. It's not in him. It's not in Dallas. They will lose if they contrinue to feed him on pick and roll. 4. Like we haven't seen this before. IT worked well for them in 2nd half. But T-Mac can pass out of double so it's not a big deal. We'll get open shots. 5. Bowen is just gonna have to make shots. He appears capable. But he's gonna have to step up.
Since Avery is probably going to emphazize Dirk in a low post game, I think JVG should throw the start Deke at center curveball, let Deke establish defensive presence in the paint at the very beginning. JVG also needs to get Spoon some playing time, playing T-Mac 47 minutes with one less man in the rotation is not ideal.
I love across110thstreet lol so many exciting motivational statements But anyways. I think playoff rosters are set. I would love to put Braggs in if Dirk is successful in posting up..Braggs could surprise us..but I don't think he can come off. Weatherspoon has been okay but pretty sad/disappointing..just vertically challenged and just a little slow..but who knows he has played well at times and he could! Dikembe and Yao will be awesome displaying the great skills of our centers Isn't it weird to see Yao guarding Josh Howard? JVG probably has plans already. The PnR worries me.
Dallas isn't dumb tho'. They wuold adjust to Spoon or Mutombo before the 1st play. Bowen will be the man all series until he gets utterly abused for 50.
Terrible idea. JVG's game plan was brilliant precisely because he kept Deke and Yao from ever matching up directly with Dirk. That was the matchup that killed us in the regular season, and it was the one thing I was scared of going into yesterday's game. This concept that Dirk is going to start destroying us in the low post tomorrow is overblown. Dirk is an improved post player, but he is not a great one. Ryan Bowen is physical enough to displace him a few feet from the low block, and T-Mac is athletic enough to front him and make the entry passes difficuly. As JVG would say, you don't try to reinvent yourself each game of the playoffs. We've got a solid gameplan; it comes down to sticking to it and executing it well.
The problem is that if the defender is smaller, the bigger post player will get the foul call. We saw Dirk, KVH, and Stack do it yesterday. Just back your man down, turn towards the basket and throw the ball towards the hoop. Doesn't matter if Wesley just holds his ground, or if Stack uses his off arm on the shotblocker, it will be a foul. Maybe only Tmac has the kind of clout to not get called for stuff like that.
The Mavs will try to post Dirk up for sure. But JVG will just send double teams from all angles. Combine that with a fronting defense that Dirk had a hard time handling in Game 1 and I'm not worried about Dirk on the block. What I am worried about is the pick and roll. The Rox have consistently shown a difficulty in defending the p/r. Brand got over half of his 30+ points the other night on p/r plays. I don't know why AJ doesn't seem to want to play Dirk at the 5. Try and get Yao on him and p/r the Rox to death. On defense double Yao hard. Of course JVG will end up putting Yao on KVH or Howard, but that's the name of the playoff game, Adjustments.
sad that Yao doesn't get those calls! If we put Deke on Dirk, which I think could be good sometimes, Dirk will go back outside. But Mutombo is pretty good at shuffling feet and keeping up. Bowen and Tmac still primary..maybe Spoon and Padgett too. I'm not impressed with Dirk. When he shoots lights out though..uhh then he's crazy. I think people like Amare are more of a threat to us than Dirk..but we can do well against Amare too GO ROCKETS!!!
No problem with your first statement. I'm a big JVG fan, and whatever he decides on is OK by me. As to your second sentance, if you wait for people to catch up, they usually will. I say anticipate their next move and stay one step ahead. My guess is right now they are working on posting Dirk up. Let's get on that now.
JVG is probably going to give the ball to McGrady again. His 'system' quotes were great. Unlike most posters here, he seems to understand how overrated coaching is in the NBA.
Priority One: Get Yao Involved and Out of Foul Trouble I think priority one for Gundy will be to sit Yao down and talk to him about managing his fouls and staying involved. As much as I like Deke, Yao is still the better center to be having out there in most departments with the exception of rebounding. A lot of Yao's fouls from Game one were also ticky tack fouls on the defense. Dallas would penetrate and just run into Yao where lack of footspeed would have Yao caught flatfooted and flailing with his arms. That is perhaps the easiest call for refs to make against a big like Yao. The other glaring issue I saw was the number of times Yao flopped. There's no time for flopping Yao! Save those for Vlade. In the playoffs, Yao needs to play BIGGER and forget taking the charge. Yao needn't even challenge every shot. Instead, his focus should be on getting in the right place at the right time AHEAD of the incoming Maverick. On the offensive glass, it's the same thing. Yao doesn' commit offensive fouls per se b/c he didnt' have the ball but he does get called for many ticky tack fouls as we've seen throughout the season. Yao will go for the ball and get called for 'over-the-top' or a 'push' here and there. Yao needs to box out and play bigger like we all know he can. Use that big torso of his with arms withdrawn. Lastly, I think had it not been for this Dirk mismatch problem, we'd be throwing our foul allotment with Spoon or Bowen toward helping Yao on the offensive glass. Since Bowen is 100% committed to Dirk, that leaves Yao alone underneath for defensive rebounds on one end and also offensive rebounds on the other. If Yao can estabilsh a stronger presence against Dampier then we can neutralize this issue which stronger favors Dallas in the boards department. If I were Gundy, I'd tell Yao to be aggressive but don't be stupid with committing ticky tack fouls. And the opportunity to be aggressive and to dictate the officiating biases will be on the offensive side when Yao works the post. theSAGE
true. DIrk may score more next game..but Yao will score too. It's not just scoring..but Rockets have better defense and well they nee dto stop our offense..LET'S GO ROCKETS
What he was doing was downplaying the issue. Not nullifying the importance of coaching. (Fans and ESPN tend to hype things a bit) Coaching is a necessary part of the team. It lays the ground work for all players to know their roles and and how to execute the plays. So, it's not as simple as just "give the ball to McGrady." McGrady still has to be trusted to make plays, as well as know where his teammate will be on those implemented plays (as opposed to Francis). If a game plan is not working, adjustments will be made. Some of those tiny adjustments could mean the difference between winning and losing. I know it's hard for you to give Jeff any credit. Oh well...
When can we expect you to come to that realization? Or is ISO'g Olajuwan in the low block and having him kick the ball out when tripled teamed more of what coaching genius is made of?
Exactly. For example, on that near the end of game play when TMac drove to the basket then whipped that long pass to Jon Barry for a three. Does anybody think it was random chace that JB was there. Or that TMac at the last second "found" JB open. Struck me as a critical play. It didn't just happen. Lot of design, practice and repitition went into that.
