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mavsmania41 · 05-05-2005, 03:12 PM

Rockets or Mavs? Doesn't matter
FanBoy email me
azcentral.com
May 5, 2005

With the Memphis Grizzlies squarely in their rear-view mirror, the Suns can relax a bit while their second-round opponents beat each other over the head for the next couple of days.
While it is natural do some scoreboard watching at this time of year and to try and decipher the Suns' easiest path to the Western Conference Finals, I'm here to tell you that it won't really matter.

Whoever advances, be it the Houston Rockets or the Dallas Mavericks, will only be a minor speed bump on the Suns' road to bigger and better things.

My opinion isn't based on some biased "homerism" or a desire to see the local boys do well, it is based purely on what I have seen during the Mavericks-Rockets series this past week. Neither team seems too intent on winning that series and serious holes have been exposed.

At the start of the playoffs the Mavericks seemed to be peaking, and the talk was how Avery Johnson had instilled a more defensive-minded approach in Dallas.

Well, if your idea of defense is giving up 110 points instead of 120 then the Johnson experiment is a rousing success. Still, the Rockets' failure to close out the series has more to do with their own ineptitude than anything the Mavericks have come up with defensively.

Johnson is not some Bill Belichick-like defensive genius, and his hard-nosed approach can only work if he has the players to run that type of system -- and he doesn't. While the numbers show the defense has improved they are nowhere near being the Western Conference version of the Pistons.

Offensively the Mavericks look solid, but in practice they are a cast of mismatched pieces who play with zero team chemistry. The Mavericks have been exposed for what they really are - a watered-down version of the Suns who are simply too soft inside to pose much of a threat.

Erick Dampier is a foul machine, Dirk Nowitzki would rather be hanging around the three-point line than getting dirty in the paint, and Shawn Bradley is, well, Shawn Bradley.

The Mavs’ offense seems predicated on having Nowitkzi take his shots and hoping someone else gets hot, be it Michael Finley, Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Howard or, how has happened during the Rockets series, Jason Terry.

And as much as the Mavericks don’t want to talk about it, losing Steve Nash has been a mortal blow. While Terry has been shooting well of late, if you watched any of the games this series you will notice how much work it takes Nowitzki to get his points.

It has been so tough on Dirk this series that it seems he has resorted to flopping like a dying fish to get to the free-throw line.

Meanwhile the Rockets have let two wins slip away and haven't figured out how to close out games. They will get their 50-60 points from Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, but if Mike James, Bob Sura or Jon Barry don't score, the team is average at best.

The Rockets also seem more susceptible than most teams to how the refs call the games. In the first two games of the series the refs swallowed their whistles and the Rockets won; once they starting calling the game much tighter, the Rockets couldn't figure out how to overcome Yao's foul trouble.

The longer this series goes the more holes will be exposed on both teams. The Suns not only have the advantage of going in fresh to this series against a team that has been stretched too far in the first round, but they have about a week to figure out how to combat what the Rockets and Mavericks do well.

So while Suns fans have about a week to stress out about their next opponent, ultimately it is of little consequence who is placed in front of them. The only prize the Mavericks or Rockets will receive from advancing to the second round will be a front row seat to Act II of the Suns’ run to the ring.

SMDre · 05-05-2005, 03:19 PM

I agree with every thing except for this

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavsmania41

Rockets or Mavs? Doesn't matter
FanBoy email me
azcentral.com
May 5, 2005

With the Memphis Grizzlies squarely in their rear-view mirror, the Suns can relax a bit while their second-round opponents beat each other over the head for the next couple of days.
While it is natural do some scoreboard watching at this time of year and to try and decipher the Suns' easiest path to the Western Conference Finals, I'm here to tell you that it won't really matter.

Whoever advances, be it the Houston Rockets or the Dallas Mavericks, will only be a minor speed bump on the Suns' road to bigger and better things.

My opinion isn't based on some biased "homerism" or a desire to see the local boys do well, it is based purely on what I have seen during the Mavericks-Rockets series this past week. Neither team seems too intent on winning that series and serious holes have been exposed.

At the start of the playoffs the Mavericks seemed to be peaking, and the talk was how Avery Johnson had instilled a more defensive-minded approach in Dallas.

Well, if your idea of defense is giving up 110 points instead of 120 then the Johnson experiment is a rousing success. Still, the Rockets' failure to close out the series has more to do with their own ineptitude than anything the Mavericks have come up with defensively.

Johnson is not some Bill Belichick-like defensive genius, and his hard-nosed approach can only work if he has the players to run that type of system -- and he doesn't. While the numbers show the defense has improved they are nowhere near being the Western Conference version of the Pistons.

Offensively the Mavericks look solid, but in practice they are a cast of mismatched pieces who play with zero team chemistry. The Mavericks have been exposed for what they really are - a watered-down version of the Suns who are simply too soft inside to pose much of a threat.

Erick Dampier is a foul machine, Dirk Nowitzki would rather be hanging around the three-point line than getting dirty in the paint, and Shawn Bradley is, well, Shawn Bradley.

The Mavs’ offense seems predicated on having Nowitkzi take his shots and hoping someone else gets hot, be it Michael Finley, Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Howard or, how has happened during the Rockets series, Jason Terry.

And as much as the Mavericks don’t want to talk about it, losing Steve Nash has been a mortal blow. While Terry has been shooting well of late, if you watched any of the games this series you will notice how much work it takes Nowitzki to get his points.

It has been so tough on Dirk this series that it seems he has resorted to flopping like a dying fish to get to the free-throw line.

Meanwhile the Rockets have let two wins slip away and haven't figured out how to close out games. They will get their 50-60 points from Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, but if Mike James, Bob Sura or Jon Barry don't score, the team is average at best.

The Rockets also seem more susceptible than most teams to how the refs call the games. In the first two games of the series the refs swallowed their whistles and the Rockets won; once they starting calling the game much tighter, the Rockets couldn't figure out how to overcome Yao's foul trouble.

The longer this series goes the more holes will be exposed on both teams. The Suns not only have the advantage of going in fresh to this series against a team that has been stretched too far in the first round, but they have about a week to figure out how to combat what the Rockets and Mavericks do well.

So while Suns fans have about a week to stress out about their next opponent, ultimately it is of little consequence who is placed in front of them. The only prize the Mavericks or Rockets will receive from advancing to the second round will be a front row seat to Act II of the Suns’ run to the ring.

Whoever wrote this knows nothing about both the Rockets and Mavericks teams and organizations. I do feel that whoever advances has their hands full with the Suns, but I doubt that the Suns will cake walk to the finals.

mavsmania41 · 05-05-2005, 03:21 PM

I think the Spurs would be able to beat the suns rather easily this guy is the Suns #1 homer.

The Future7 · 05-05-2005, 03:29 PM

yea that was not a good articles. That person really loves the Suns. The sun wont have an easy time beating the Mavs or the Rockets.It wont be as easy as sweeping the Grizzles. These two teams have more firepower than the Grizz.

**xray** · 05-05-2005, 03:45 PM

Is there a way to ensure that article finds its way to the Mavs locker room ?

Or do we assume they are aware of any motivational propiganda that may be floating around ?

**Zach** · 05-05-2005, 04:48 PM

Was this written by Amareca?

Drewbs · 05-05-2005, 05:11 PM

Wow.. WOW.

Dirk has only taken 6 shots from behind the arc this series. Hes averaging 10 fta a game too, not bad for a soft white guy who is afraid of being in the paint. Losing Nash was such a blow that the Mavs actually GOT BETTER. The Mavs are watered down version of the Suns? Except that the Mavs can actually get stops and grab rebounds on a consistent basis rather than having to fast break after made baskets due to a lack of defensive presence. Of course no holes have been exposed so far for the Suns, but they don't need to be, they've already been exposed during the regular season. Their lack of a bench, their inconsistent defense, and their rebounding troubles.

I've come to the conclusion that this fan is a HOMER.

If Houston beats us, they better beat the Suns too.

**nutmeged3** · 05-05-2005, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Was this written by Amareca?

lol prolly

Gambino · 05-05-2005, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Well, if your idea of defense is giving up 110 points instead of 120 then the Johnson experiment is a rousing success. Still, the Rockets' failure to close out the series has more to do with their own ineptitude than anything the Mavericks have come up with defensively.

As if the Suns defense is so much better. Like they are on the level of San Antonio and Detroit. lol

mavsmania41 · 05-05-2005, 07:12 PM

The Mavs were ahead of the Suns in every major defensive category.

SMDre · 05-05-2005, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavsmania41

The Mavs were ahead of the Suns in every major defensive category.

To be honest, the mavs have played the suns well this year. We did go 1-2 aginst them, but the first win was when the suns were shocking everyone with thier style of play, and the second win, the Mavs straight gave that game away.

mavsmania41 · 05-05-2005, 07:24 PM

Yeah how come we only played them 3 times I thought we played every west team 4 times and the east teams 2 times ?

FirstRocket · 05-05-2005, 07:30 PM

Cocky Suns' fan is hurting the Suns' reputation as a whole. Anyone of our teams MUST beat the Suns to show that our teams are not 'scrub'.

bigerik · 05-05-2005, 11:51 PM

Yes the suns d was so fierce that pau gasol had his way with them and dunked over their interior and amare, on many occasions.
Gotta love that superior suns d!

waahahahahahhahhahhaha!!!

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