Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Game 2 in a Nutshell



Suggesting that the Mavericks are in a tough spot now is like suggesting Iraq is not a very appealing place to vacation right now. I cannot articulate all of the troubling trends that are in this series, because there are too many.

I also cannot fathom this series turning on a dime in the Mavericks favor as this series moves to Houston. I would very much love to be wrong (it would not be the first time), but the Mavericks look like a confused bunch of guys who need their confidence back.

Frankly, this is very bad. Dirk was mostly absent for the first 3 quarters last night. Finley looks really, really old. Bradley looks like Bradley.

Avery looks like a coach in his first playoff series.

This is very, very bad. It could all be over Saturday if they don’t find the team we watched all season quickly.

Somewhere Steve Nash is smiling. Don Nelson is smirking.

Now, the most disturbing question of them all; if they get bounced quickly this year, what would they possibly do this summer? Would they turn over their roster again? Would they make some trades? Would they try to acquire defense?

I have an idea – say goodbye to Shawn Bradley once and for all.

Links:

Rockets/Mavs Game 2

Sefko

Colishaw

Moore

Reevo

John Lopez



Above, Keith Van Horn watches T-Mac win another game. Nice D, Keith.

Other Links:

Galloway on the Cowboys Draft

Aaron Glenn to the Cowboys? …We welcome another Aggie…


Houston is expected to release veteran cornerback Aaron Glenn, perhaps as soon as today, according to published reports. Glenn became expendable when the Texans traded draft picks to Oakland for cornerback Phillip Buchanon last week.

Glenn had 63 tackles and five interceptions as a starter for Houston last season,
has three years remaining on his contract and was scheduled to earn $4 million this season.

Three sources said the Cowboys would have interest in signing the 11-year veteran out of Texas A&M. His agent, Jimmy Sexton, who represents several Cowboys and coach Bill Parcells, could not be reached for comment.

Glenn played for Parcells and secondary coach Todd Bowles with the Jets.


Coverage of the Eagles Cheerleader tryouts

Liverpool prepares for tomorrow’s match at Chelsea

Packer tickets or Jail Time

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not-so-knee-jerk reaction to last night's game:

Rockets sweep and we get to hear Bob& Dan talk about how we should've traded Dirk for Shaq because Dirk can't take the team to the next level!

Hope BaD radio is getting their bits ready to fill segments since it looks like the Mavs won't be playing much longer.

Anonymous said...

After two playoff games, can we now admit FINALLY that it is not the coaching scheme but the players who are responsible for horrible defense? If Van Gundy or Phil Jackson were here, would Dirk, Fin, Bradley, Terry, etc. all of a sudden be great defenders?

Houston has only two really good scoring threats, and even with a guy on the court just to guard Dirk who doesn't know how to even take a shot they score at will every time down the court!!!

I think we have to swallow our collective Mav's pride and see that to win at this time of year takes more than the same old "focus on defense" - it's the players.

Anonymous said...

Bob,

As soon as I saw that Cuban posted on his blog the Mavs' record since 2002 with all active NBA referees, I knew the Mavs were doomed. Below are records before last night.

Dan Crawford (0-6)
Marc Wunderlich (1-3)
Greg Willard (1-3)

Next time you talk to Mark on BaD ask him what the Mavs' record is after he publicly bitches about the refs. I know there at least 0-1. The jack-ass will NEVER learn to keep his mouth shut.

Mark

Anonymous said...

What a bitter, bitter pill.

Here's my take on the Dirk aspect of this: Everyone in the national media expected him to miss Nash this year, but he made up for not having Nash and the pick and roll by being aggressive and going to the hoop.

Well he's not doing that now, probably because he's getting fewer calls. So if Dirk's not going to drive, we need to decide once and for all what he is. If he's truly a dominant big man, then put his ass in the post and let him work.

If he's a great shooter then run his ass off pick after pick until he's open for a shot.

It's got to be one or the other, because he's proving he doesn't have the ability or the desire to drive around people and get a high percentage shot.

I have never been more disappointed in my own team, and more hurt my favorite player. I would be fine if Dirk struggled offensively last night, but let's make no mistake about it, he played like a pussy for the second straight night last night.

There was no fire, there was no heart, there were no rebounds, there was no defense. Damp showed more freaking emotion than Dirk last night. I just don't understand.

The worst part of all of this is it makes next year's regular season meaningless. How can anyone get excited about anything the Mavs do next year until the playoffs get here?

Anonymous said...

I sincerely hope the Rocket's defensive set dictacted why Michael Finley got the final shot, not because Avery Johnson designed that play for him. I can't remember a single play in Game 2 where he made any impact at all before that brick he laid out there. Of course that preceding statement applies to all the Mavs whose names aren't Erick Dampier, Josh Howard, and Keith Van Horn. (Yeah, I'm nuts, at least Keith had the gumption to drive it to the hoop on a regular basis, had he done on the 2nd-to-last possession things may have changed)

This Rockets team is reminding me too much of the Kings of a few years ago. The analogy is fair at first, then I realize that means I'm equating the 3-Point Sharpshooters the Kings' had in the early 00's to Bob Sura and Jon Barry. Say that pair of names to yourselves a few times. Note the irrelevancy that comes with that duo. Then realize that pair of nobodies is what is putting the nail in the coffin of this season if things progress the way they look to be.

A season where there was legitimate discussion at its end about winning to get Homecourt over the Miami Heat is on its way out the door in demoralizing fashion by Bob Sura and Jon Barry. Unreal.

Anonymous said...

What the hell do they do now ??? Barring a miracle-esqe come back, adjustments need to be made...but how, and more importanly who.

Does salvation lie in a 20 yr old rotting in basketball hell...Cleveland.

I think I finnally have succumbed to the realization that as long as Fin and Bradley are anywhere near the court, no good will ever come to my beloved Mavs.

Anonymous said...

It really comes down to which superstar wants that championship now. Dirk has proved that he has no big desire for it just yet. TMac has proved that he is ready, and hungry for it.

Really, this team feeds off of Dirk, and as Dirk goes, so goes the team. Yes, they put a lot of nice pieces, such as Dampier, around him this year, and it worked out pretty good. But unless Dirk is hungry enough to win a championship, this team obviously goes nowhere at playoff time.

Don't we miss that Steve Nash hungriness right now?

Anonymous said...

Dirk was di"r"kless last night. Two rebounds and every time he took a shoot outside 15 feet you just knew it wasn't going down. The only Dallas offensive player I liked last night was Van Horn. He was 6 of 7 with that horrible up fake of his which everyone on Houston would bite on leaving him an open lane that he would lay it up. Nice agressive moves to the basket. However, not much of a defensive presence and got into foul trouble. He only logged 11 minutes last night.
The first quarter or so I couldn't believe how scared Dallas seemed. Was Houston's defense THAT overwhelming? Their passing was horrible in the first half. They got six quick turnovers within the first few minutes. There is no one on this team who can pass when any kind of confidence or fluidity. Even those passes to Dampier underneath that he finished with those great slams were not as good as they should have been. He would catch the bad pass barely then have to take a couple steps to get to where the ball should have thrown to and timing on the passes were usually off where he would have to stop and recover from a suckee pass and then flush the slam. Watch a team like Phoenix (or the Sac Kings of old) where everyone can pass crisply and confidently.

Anonymous said...

It is hilarious to see that photo of TMac riding
Bradley and I don't disagree that it is time to let him
go. You know what really angers me when I see
that picture? Dirk standing in the background
getting a nice view of it. Dirk was the guy that was
covering TMac. He literally just stepped aside and
let TMac have the baseline! OK, TMac is a mismatch
against Dirk, but how the hell can Dirk just let him
have the baseline on that play? Sometimes is isn't
about effort or desire. Sometimes it is about
fundamentals. I felt sorry for Bradley on that play.
By the way, if you see the replay, Bradley did try
to get over there but Yao was holding him up.

Anonymous said...

Not sure why you bag on Bradley who had 5 pts and 2 off rebounds in six minutes and saw the score go from 8 down to even when he was in there. The problem is Dirk and awful point guard play both offensively and defensively. Srambling defense then no defense. allowing T-Mac to scramble down the court with no pressure. Yao 13 of 14 or something ridiculous like that. Finley missing another shot at the buzzer(has he ever made one???). Bradley played hard. A backup center who was effective for 6 minutes was not the problem

Anonymous said...

Do you really think the back-up center is the problem. Give me a break. Finly is amax contract guy. He sucks and Dirk shows he can not lead 2 Rebs. Howard was the best player last night. As for the point they were awful Try Armstrong at least he hustles

Anonymous said...

Bob did you watch the game. Did you see Bradley screened by Yao and Dirk getting undressed. Comon man, Bradley is what he is a back-up center.

Sturminator said...

the last 3 posts could easily be the same person or three seperate Bradley Defenders (which seems less likely)- Either way, consider last night's absurd dunk on Bradley head the last straw. It is a culmination of years of poor, gutless play around the rim that has had me rip him in this manner. he is soft, and not willing to stand up for himself or his team. As far as I am concerned, he has done this far too often to warrant any further defense of his play. And if you cite the +/- stat in basketball when it comes to Bradley, you no doubt enjoy pointless, baseless stats.

Love you-