Mavs v Spurs

[jason]

Mavs had a gutsy performance...if they play like that I think they'll take SA...Mavs in 6.....

<<<<<<GO MAVERICKS>>>>>

[Bandera YaYa]

No way!! Spurs by 8!! Duncun is hot and I just have a good feeling about them going all the way!!

[jason]

if nash or finley can step it up and van exel has another stand-out series i think dallas will take it
<<<<<<GO MAVERICKS>>>>>>>

[District303aPastPlayer]

I am a diehard mavs fan, but someone brought this to my attention:

Dirk is considered the Mavs Franchise Player. KG is considered the T'Wolves Franchise Player. What if, you decided to, just for this arguements sake, switch the two, just to see what would happen. The T'Wolves would turn in to a team that hardly would survive in the playoffs. The Mavs.... would probably win the NBA title. I know its a stupid arguement over nothing, but Dirk may be the most overrated "Franchise" in the league.

And this coming from someone who wants to see the Mavs take it all.

[jason]

I disagree...Garnett is a GREAT player, dont get me wrong, but I would take Dirk over him any day. Dirk can shoot the '3' consistently, he can post up, take you to the hole, rebound, and he has a little size advantage on Garnett. I had heard rumors earlier in the season that Finley and some bench players were goin to Minnesota for Garnett....I would make that trade but turns out it was just rumors.

<<<<<GO MAVERICKS>>>>>

[ThaRealBulldog]

SA will take this series, Dallas has no downlow players that are worth anything but SA has Duncan and The Admiral.

[Bellville22]

Don't care who wins, the Lakers are out, so I'm happy.

I'll take the Spurs in 5.

[Showtime33]

Don't count the Mavs out in this series. I think they have a good chance to beat the Spurs. They split with the Spurs during the regular season, and every game was pretty close. The first time the Spurs beat Dallas, Dirk didn't play and the second time, Finley was out. The first time the Mavs beat the Spurs, everyone was healthy, but the second time, Spurs set out Duncan. I think if the Mavs can keep the up-tempo pace and force the Spurs to get into a running game with them, then I like their chances. I'm picking Dallas in 6. And as far as trading Dirk for KG, there's no way I'd do that. Both are great players, but Dirk may be one of, if not the best, offensive player in the league, and he's only 24. You look at Dirk's numbers and he still puts up good numbers on a team that has other scorers on it. In Minnesota, Garnett's numbers are so good because he's the only real scoring threat on that team. If you put Dirk on the T'Wolves, his PPG would go up.

[big daddy russ]

jason:
I disagree...Garnett is a GREAT player, dont get me wrong, but I would take Dirk over him any day. Dirk can shoot the '3' consistently, he can post up, take you to the hole, rebound, and he has a little size advantage on Garnett. I had heard rumors earlier in the season that Finley and some bench players were goin to Minnesota for Garnett....I would make that trade but turns out it was just rumors.

<<<<<GO MAVERICKS>>>>>But can Dirk play defense? Didn't think so.

It's true that Dirk's probably the most dangerous offensive player in the league. He's the most versatile player and he's friggin' 7 feet tall.
But Nowitzki is horrible on the defensive end. He averages over a steal a game, but that's only because he gambles. He's a lazy man-on-man defender and his footwork sucks. It's the whole Doug Christie aura. Christie gets over two steals a game, but if you actually sit down and watch the guy play defense, he's nowhere near good enough to be considered (at least in my book) a "good defender." Now Bruce Bowen, Eddie Jones, Ben Wallace and Ron Artest... those are some good defenders. They stay in front of their man and only leave their guy if they need to slide over to help. They play well within the structure of their team and individual defense, neither of which Nowitzki does.
Garnett, even though he's skinnier than Dirk, is actually a stronger, more physical player. He's an inch shorter than Nowitzki, but his long arms make up for the lack of size, much like Elton Brand or Alonzo Mourning. And although Dirk's scoring would go up in Minny, it wouldn't go up all that much. You have to remember, even though the Mavs are more talented than the Wolves, Dirk's the number one scoring option for Dallas so he gets all the first looks. And besides, the numbers that Dallas puts up reflects the fact that they have all those stars. The Mavs average, what, 99 points per game or something? The Wolves probably average around 88, but that's the tempo that they like. Dirk's scoring wouldn't change too much just because he leaves for a place with less talent. Shaq's scoring actually went down when he went from a near-championship squad in Orlando to the Lakers back in 96.
Also remember, a team doesn't have to have five guys who can shoot three pointers. One or two will do just fine. But it does need five guys to play defense.

<small>[ May 18, 2003, 05:45 PM: Message edited by: big daddy russ ]</small>

[Showtime33]

Dirk's D may not be as good as KG's but Dirks offense makes up for his lack of defense. You look at all the power forwards that match up with Dirk night in and night out and more times than not, when the night is over, Dirk's numbers are far better than his opponents. Remember though, Dirk is only 24 and every year his defense has improved. His rebounding has really improved and in my opinion, rebounding is a big part of playing defense.

[SintonFan]

Showtime33:
Dirk's D may not be as good as KG's but Dirks offense makes up for his lack of defense. You look at all the power forwards that match up with Dirk night in and night out and more times than not, when the night is over, Dirk's numbers are far better than his opponents. Remember though, Dirk is only 24 and every year his defense has improved. His rebounding has really improved and in my opinion, rebounding is a big part of playing defense.Hehe, Dirk might score more than Timmy tonight, but the Spurs won't double or triple team Dirk either. I had to comment on the 'night in night out' thing.
His rebounding has improved, but I think it dips a bit when he plays against a post-dominant team like the Spurs.
wink

[Gobbla2001]

Garnett has an all around game though... He doesn't just run the floor, put up a lay-up, make a three and go home... He CAN run the floor but doesn't because the T'Wolves have a more 'controlled' offense... He can lay it up, dunk it, AND shoot it from the outside if need, but what else does he do? Plays defense... Though the Mavs were winning big in a lot of the games the last series they still were having over 100 scored on them...

If you've played HS Football you've heard this many times... 'DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS'...

Who knows, Dallas could win, only if they play defense...

[SintonFan]

Spurs in 6. As was said before....
Defense wins championships!
Any other takers? :D :D :D

[Matthew328]

Kinda shocked the Mavs stole one in San Antonio....Nelson totally outcoached Popavich and the Mavs knocked down free throws...Game 2 will be a war...the Mavs didnt shoot very well in Game 1..their free throws bailed em out...they usually don't shoot bad 2 games in a row..

[big daddy russ]

It's gonna be a good series, but I think the Spurs take it in six. Then they make it to the Finals and take that one in six.
They've done it each of their last two series, so why not?

[jason]

DALLAS 1
SAN ANTONIO 0

..bring on New Jersey...

&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;Go Mavericks&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;

[Showtime33]

Yeah, Dirk didnt look that good in game one lol. Lets break the Mavs up and get rid of him while we still can. I miss the days when the Cowboys use to win more games than the Mavs. Now that The Mavs have a great team and are maybe on the verge of winning the teams first NBA title, lets break this team up by getting rid of its best player. I swear eveyone wants to always knee-jerk and trade players. Dirk and KG are both great players but i just think that Dirk is a better fit here in Dallas than KG. But thats just my opinion.

[jason]

...ur about a week too late showtime... :rolleyes:

[SintonFan]

Still shell-shocked from game 1 loss. Danggggg! Spurs lost all their momentum from the Laker's series. That's OK, since they seem to create their own.

Defense does win championships! I do admit that the Mavericks are very hard to defend. What about the 'hack a Bruce'? Man that guy loves to play mind-games. I wish I could pay some Black hills folk to set up camp on his front yard and claim they're his 2nd cousins( of course, the wife is his first cousin...)

[SintonFan]

The Spurs should play a little better defense tonight. :p

[sinton66]

Are they playing on ESPN?

[Phil C]

Sorry to be posting so late Sinton 66 but I think the conference championships are all on TNT. The final East VS West may be on ESPN but I don't know for sure.

[Showtime33]

Hey Jason, what are you talking about im a week late? I have been posting on this topic for a while now. Have you not been able to read my other post or are you just trying to start something with me again?

[Showtime33]

Phil, you are right all the western conference finals games are on TNT. When the NBA Finals get here, all of those games will be on ABC.

[SintonFan]

ABC: A Bad Channel
I actually found this among the online Webster's acronym definitions.
This after listening to their wonderful commentary...