Other People: On the Eve of Another Epic Dallas Collapse (Updated)

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  • LJ Ellis, SpursTalk: Out of any team in the league, the Mavs are arguably the most brazen when it comes to defending Duncan without a double-team. Their strategy in the last handful of years has been to force Duncan to carry the offensive load for most of the game while throwing sporadic double-teams at him from various angles. Dallas’ goal is to keep the shooters quiet while keeping Duncan guessing at when and where the doubles will be sent. If they use that strategy this series, it could be wildly successful if Duncan can’t score in one-on-one situations. The bad news for the Spurs is that Duncan has struggled since the All-Star break to consistently score in such situations. ..
  • The Express News relive the recent history between the Mavs and Spurs.
  • Charley Rosen presents a laundry list of reasons why the Spurs should win.
  • Jeff McDonald rehearses the history that is Tony Parker’s mid-range game.
  • Kirk Bohls of the The Austin Statesmen introduces us to Tony Parker, superstar.
  • Art Garcia of NBA.com sizes up the series.
  • Rob Mahoney has a bunch of links and some clever W.C. Williams rip off.
  • The Express News has audio interviews with Pop, TD, Tony, Fin, and Gooden. Pop says Dallas is playing better than anyone, save the Lakers and Cavs.  Tsk.
  • Kelly Dwyer, Yahoo! Sports: Dallas is rolling, and San Antonio isn’t healthy. A few days off likely aided in Tim Duncan’s recovery, but it didn’t bring Manu Ginobili back, and I don’t know how much better the Spurs were than the Mavericks even with Ginobili on board. Especially with the way Jason Kidd has shot the ball this year, Dirk Nowitzki’s sustained excellence, and Jason Terry coming off the bench the way he has. The Spurs are a tough out. Paper doesn’t matter, you have to actually go out and out-score them (brilliant analysis, I know), so maybe I am a bit daft for expecting an early exit. I just think Dallas is too good. Providing Kidd’s shooting holds up, and Josh Howard shows up, I like the Mavs. Dallas in 7.
  • SpursDynasty: Which Duncan are we getting? Tendonosis Duncan? Or 24-12 playoff Duncan? My gut feeling is playoff Duncan.
  • TrueHoop is hosting a few pickathons. 5 of 8 stat geeks prefer the Spurs. 6 of 10 trendy experts select the Mavs.  5 of 7 of ESPN’s research department select the Spurs.  25, including myself, of 37 bloggers like the Spurs.  This means nothing, of course. But it looks like San Antonio is favored by the pundits.

Updates:

  • More from LJ Ellis: Ime Udoka was once buried on the bench. Now, Pop has been using him as the team’s sixth man. Since Ginobili suffered the stress fracture, Udoka has averaged 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game, while shooting 40.9% from the field and 38.1% on three-pointers. Where Udoka can help out the most against the Mavs is on the glass. He’s a great rebounder for a perimeter player and if Pop is going to use small ball with Udoka at power forward, he’s shown an ability to rebound like a bigman. Offensively, Udoka has been extremely streaky after beginning the season ice cold. Unlike Bowen, Udoka doesn’t blend in offensively so when he’s off, he’s painfully off. Last year in the playoffs, he shot the ball great against the Hornets but struggled against the Suns and the Lakers. Hopefully he can shoot well against the Mavs because the Spurs can use his rebounding ability in this series.
  • And more still: Drew Gooden is the enigma of this series. In the month of April, he’s produced for the Spurs at a stunning level. In only 22 minutes per game, he has averaged 14.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game during the month. Offensively, there’s no question that Gooden can be helpful. The Mavs don’t have an abundance of quality post defenders and the ones they do have will be focused on Duncan. Gooden has scored well from the post, on the drive and from the perimeter. He’s also getting to the line very frequently as of late. The huge question is whether or not he can hang defensively. With the way the Mavs play offensively, Gooden is going to have to be in constant rotation. And while he’s shown a decent ability to play one-on-one defense, his team defense is extremely suspect. As good as Gooden can be offensively, he’ll be a net negative unless he suddenly figures out when and where to rotate on the defensive end. That said, if Gooden can adequately guard Nowitzki and he can just concentrate on that matchup, Gooden could be the hero of the series. I don’t think that will happen, but we will see.
  • The Wall Street Journal’s Blog has an interesting piece questioning which loss is harder to overcome, Kevin Garnett or Manu Ginobili?
  • Tony Meija is calling out the foolish.
  • The non-lottery draft order has been released: the Spurs will select #37 (Omri Casspi), 51 (Vladimir Dasic), and 53 (Nando De Colo). Okay, so you should ignore the parentheses.  But the draft order is correct.
  • Steve Aschburner breaks the series down and takes the Spurs in 7.
  • Spurs.com has done a nice job with their site. Check them out. Lots of video. Hats off to the guys and gals who keep shop over there. They’ve done a great job all season.

  • Jordan

    Thanks for that last bullet point, I was beginning to think that we had no one picking us.

  • ChillFAN

    If this series goes down to the wire, that should ultimately favor this Spurs team. However, I can’t help but feel that what’s at stake is NBA relevance in the years to come, a la the Suns first round exit last year and fight for the 8th spot in 2009. So far I’ve been a little gunshy on the smack talk with my friends from Dallas this year, because I know we are asking a lot from Tony. Both these teams have probably peaked, are light years behind the Lakers, but they are also the only squads that aren’t afraid of Kobe.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Timothy Varner

    ChillFan,

    If blogs were soccer mom vans, we’d stick our bumper with “Our Commenters are Smarter than Yours” and parade it around town. You’re a big part of that glee. But this time, I have to demur. I think the Spurs will be fine.

  • ChillFAN

    Thanks, that’s funny, but appreciated. All the more, I am constantly humbled and enjoy reading the other commenters on the site. If you attract fans that want to go beyond the namecalling and parroting local media it’s only because you refuse to do it .

    Specifically, thatbigguy, Spurredon, and gospursgo, Will and others here are well versed in Chaparrals history, global basketball, and the intricacies of Pop’s schemes. I went to undergrad with Billings who posts here, that guys a literary genius. This site has a lot going for it.

  • SpurredOn

    Timothy – I too think the Spurs will be fine but it comforts me to read you feeling the same.
    ChillFAN – Appreciate the tip of the cap. You needn’t worry about smack talking. This series will speak for itself. I’m not sure the Spurs are light years behind the Lakers. The history of all major sports’ playoffs contain examples of teams like the Spurs (experienced, mentally tough, well coached, focused) playing even or defeating teams like L.A. (front runner personality, mentally soft outside of Kobe and Fisher). A healthy Manu would have me picking our guys over the Lakers without pause. As it is, I still hope they get the shot. They are the one Western team (with Portland quickly gaining their attention) that makes L.A. uncomfortable and puts fear in the hearts of their fans. It’s a fear born of respect that I feel many experts analyzing the Spurs-Mavs series have forgotten. All the talk has been about the Spurs’ age, health, championship window & closing what they can’t do. I hope tomorrow we get into what the Spurs can do and take a deeper look into who the Mavs are. I believe there are some flaws being ignored as some choose to think of these Mavs as the ’06 & ’07 bunch.

  • Duaneofly

    I’m not too worried about the Mavs, but anything can happen.
    As for the Lakers, no we are not as good as them. However what were the Lakers before that Gasol trade? A first round exit team. I don’t think we are light years behind them.
    Its the same for the Celtics before they got Ray and KG. All it takes is one team with a good player looking to dump salary and don’t we have a few 2010 expiring contracts? :)