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In a recent comment thread, NickyDubs asked, “So I don’t recall what we tried earlier in the season, but who do you think we’ll send at Dirk?”

The short answer is Matt Bonner and Ime Udoka, but that doesn’t say much. The Spurs have some personnel problems, one of which has been there since preseason. That is, they don’t really have a big who can guard face up bigs like David West and Dirk Nowitzki. So, in that sense, the Spurs will have to live with containing the German rather than stopping him. But who can really stop Dirk Nowitzki? Still, the unfortunate options of Bonner (mediocre defender, lacks the necessary speed to keep up with dribbling Dirk) and Udoka (good defender, but forced to guard a taller player out of position) is problematic. What about Bruce Bowen? This is merely conjecture, but I suspect Popovich will use him in spot duty to slow Jason Terry and occasionally double up on Dirk.

The Spurs have not played the Mavericks in the playoffs since the Warriors defeated them in 2007. In that series, Don Nelson brilliantly sent a small pest at Dirk’s dribble every time he put the ball on the floor-as soon as the ball touched hardwood the Warriors swarmed Nowitzki. This resulted in some turnovers, but more than anything it effectively disturbed Nowitzki’s rhythm. Dallas, of course, lost the series. I’m not sure Popovich is planning the same attack, but I hope so. Between Bruce Bowen, Tony Parker and, hopefully, George Hill, the Spurs have the sort of double team personnel that could make this a successful strategy.

Allow me a quick rabbit trail on George Hill. Pop has said that Hill will not be playing much this postseason. Disappointing, but not surprising. But Popovich made these statements prior to drawing the Mavericks. George Hill’s defense is a great option against Dallas not only because of his ability to hurt Nowitzki on the double team, but because the Mavericks have numerous penetraters that trouble the Spurs. George Hill could harass J.J. Barea or Jason Terry into difficult shots, limiting their damage. As much as we wonder about how the Spurs will guard Dirk Nowitzki, I’m more concerned about their ability to prevent Dallas’ guards from penetrating. This, to my mind, is the key to the series.

But returning to the question of guarding Nowitzki, there is one more option at the Spurs disposal: attack him on offense. The last time these two teams played one another in the postseason, the Spurs were more limited in terms of frontcourt scoring options. In this series, Hasselhoff can’t vacation while guarding Nazr Mohammed or Rasho Nesterovic. The Spurs should run their offense at Dirk Nowitzki whenever he draws Tim Duncan or Drew Gooden; they should make him work to close out on Kurt Thomas’ pick and pops and Matt Bonner’s three ball. These are not the same teams that played in 2006, and I think the Spurs can exploit the Mavericks in ways they could not back then. Hopefully the series has the same feel and drama, but the Xs and Os could be much different.