Saint Baller

Mavs are 3-0 in game 7s so I think that helps us Jet will be back providing his instant offense and the organization will be furriated with the loss yesterday

Mavs win game 7

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xray

I'm a homer, and I don't know anything anymore...

Some of the Mavs were crushed by the pressure last night; I am very interested to see if the young bucks can mature before the world's eyes. I edited my signature in light of Devin's deer-in-the-headlights performance in the last game. Reminds me of a young Derek Harper.

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t1no

I think JHo did a good job on Tony Parker, Parker always has trouble against big defenders. Hopefully Terry will do a good job on Manu Ginobli in game 7 like he has been doing. I still think we can take them in game 7.

Jet

Saint Baller

It's all about how emotional we are if we are emotianal then we can win because we dont want to go home but if we arent its a loss

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xray

3-point plan could give Mavs more than outside shot

12:04 AM CDT on Sunday, May 21, 2006


Avery Johnson's overhaul of the Mavericks and his effort to radically change a team's culture and its work habits earned him NBA coach of the year honors this season.

Made the Mavericks a better team. Made the Mavericks a tougher team. Made them – or so we thought – a true NBA title contender.

In this Western Conference semifinal series that has the feel of two great heavyweight fighters refusing to give in, Johnson may have taken the Mavericks one step too far. The team, to continue with the boxing theme, has abandoned one of its most potent punches.

What happened to the 3-point shot?

In the Mavericks' desire to attack the Spurs' defense and take the ball to the rim – a worthy desire and one that helped this team to three straight victories – the club seems to have forgotten that it has a perimeter game.

Specifically, Dirk Nowitzki is the best 7-foot 3-point shooter in league history. And in this series, while he has been spectacular at times, he has made fewer 3-pointers than Keith Van Horn, who didn't get on the court until the second quarter of Game 5.

Nowitzki is 1-for-7 from long range in six games. That's despite the fact that the Spurs, needing Bruce Bowen to cover Josh Howard at times, have frequently gone to 6-7 Michael Finley to guard Nowitzki.

Yes, it's easy for Nowitzki to back Finley down and shoot over him. But when Finley is playing off him at the 3-point stripe, why not fire away?

The only 3-pointer Nowitzki attempted in Game 6 was his ill-advised heave when Finley had pinned him in the corner with six seconds to play. The Mavericks should restore this forgotten weapon in order to have a chance to reverse the flow of this series in Game 7.

Nowitzki is a career 38 percent shooter from 3-point range. That's just slightly higher than Larry Bird shot for his career, and we're not trying to revisit the Bird-Nowitzki comparisons. But given Bird's victories in NBA 3-point competitions and his legendary reputation as a long-range shooter, it illustrates how dependable Nowitzki has been.

This season, he shot better than 40 percent for the first time. Keep in mind that 40 percent from 3-point range is the same as 60 percent from inside the line. That's not something you want to toss away casually.

Part of the reason Nowitzki was so good this season is that he was more selective. Under Don Nelson, Nowitzki had two seasons in which he jacked up 390 3-point shots. Johnson demanded that Nowitzki become a better post-up player this season, which he did.

But he still attempted 271 3s. That's about 31/2 per game, not the one per game he is shooting against the Spurs.

Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Howard all shot 3s at better than a 40 percent clip this season. When Terry returns for the biggest contest that these Mavericks have played, this team needs to play bombs away early in the game.

Hit a few 3-pointers, spread the San Antonio defense and then those lanes to the hoop that were closed to Devin Harris in Game 6 will be reopened.

The Mavericks were one of the top eight 3-point shooting teams during the regular season, hitting 37.4 percent. They are shooting below 35 percent against San Antonio.

Give the Spurs' defense some credit. But the Mavericks seem to be passing up open 3s. They averaged just under 15 attempts per game during the first-round sweep of Memphis but are attempting 10.5 per night against San Antonio.

Culture change is fine. But if the Mavericks lose this series, they are going to have to wonder if they really threw every knockout punch at the Spurs that they had at their disposal.

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xray

Mavs up River Walk without paddle?

Spurs, fans will be hungry to settle score in San Antonio

06:34 PM CDT on Saturday, May 20, 2006
By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News



This is the Mavericks' worst nightmare.

The team has lost one Game 7, which is what Avery Johnson and the Mavericks called Friday night's affair. Now, it has to return to that "ugly-***, muddy-watered thing they call a River Walk" to play another.

You think Michael Finley was booed Friday? Wait until you hear the reception Jason Terry receives Monday when he returns from the suspension he received for punching Finley in the family jewels.

Imagine what the crowd will say to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who made those comments about the River Walk and added that "maybe the crybaby from Tim Duncan wore off" on Finley.

All of this, along with the Spurs' bear-hug defense, $200,000 in fines on Cuban and the musical stylings of David Hasselhoff helping Dirk Nowitzki at the free throw line. What a series.

The only reason any of this is remotely interesting is because the basketball has been so good. Five of the six games in this series have come down to the final seconds of regulation or overtime with the outcome in doubt. There's no reason to think Monday night's game will be any different.

"It's not like we can't win down there," Nowitzki said.

True. But if the Mavericks couldn't win at American Airlines Center, when Duncan looked like a mortal for the first time in this series, they may have blown their best chance.

Duncan averaged 32.2 points and 11.8 rebounds and shot 60.6 percent from the field in the first five games. This is the player his teammates call MVP Timmy, the player who has staked the Spurs to three titles in the last seven years.

He finished with 24 points this night. Not bad, but it took some well-placed shots by Finley and Manu Ginobili's offense to put the Spurs in position to win this game, not Duncan.

"Manu carried us through the entire game," Duncan said. "He really did."

He had to, because in addition to Duncan's struggles, point guard Tony Parker scored just eight points while going 3-of-15 from the field.

Duncan missed 13 shots for the evening. He went to the bench with his second foul late in the first quarter. He was forced to sit the final 6:49 of the second after picking up his third foul.

The foul trouble meant San Antonio had six players log more minutes than Duncan in the first half. He had eight points and only two rebounds. That's not a formula for Spurs success.

The problem was the Mavericks squandered the opportunity, taking just a six-point lead into the locker room.

The difference in the second half?

"I had a chance to play," Duncan said. "I didn't shoot the ball very well tonight, but I kind of stuck with it and got some shots to fall down toward the end. Pop [coach Gregg Popovich] kept calling my number, giving me the opportunity."

Before the teams took the floor, Popovich was asked the importance of Duncan having another dominant performance, like he did in Game 5.

"That is very important," Popovich said, "because if he doesn't have that, we'll score 60 points."

It wasn't quite that bad, thanks to Ginobili and the Spurs' suddenly assertive defense. The speed the Mavericks lost with Terry's suspension allowed San Antonio to dig in and hold its defensive ground in a way it was unable to do since Game 1.

Now, it's back to San Antonio for Game 7. Does Duncan have any suggestions for where Cuban can eat on the River Walk?

"I have nothing to say to Mark Cuban," Duncan said. "Not a thing."

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mavsmania41

I think the Spurs thake game 7, I jsut feel that we are still one player away fro mgetting over the hump. I think we have a chance to possibly steal it at the end. We all know that the refs are going to give the Spurs all the calls. We will just have to be good enough to overcome it.

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The Future7

I disagree, there is no way we are still one player away from getting over the hump. We are set and we have the deepest team. Getting another player would just add to the deepness. Unless you think that we need better players. We have a great team with lack of experience.

StackAttack

If Devin Harris can find his touch, Game 7 is ours.

Yes. Our series, our season, our ring, lies on the scrawny, scrawny shoulders of Devin Harris.

The Future7

You are absolutely right about that. That game without Terry showed me that he was a leader. When he was gone everyone kept on looking back at Avery to see what he wanted them to do. However, when Terry is playing, that never happens.

Saint Baller

Well I think Avery now knows that Jet iis our leader so he will be resigned in the offseason and also I think the key to game 7 is Devin Harris' and Jets production. If they combine for atleast 36-38 points I think we take it

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FreeMason Jr.

ug...I hope this game is better than the Cavs/Piston's game 7. Talk about anti-climatic...

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