# I'm out of cruise control...



## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

..because I'm worried. What the hell will we do with Amare in a 7 game series?


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

_Dre_ said:


> ..because I'm worried. What the hell will we do with Amare in a 7 game series?


I would guess not play Croshere so much and actually give Diop a chance..


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## Helvius (Jul 4, 2006)

Not a big deal. Stars aligned for that finish. We'll see who shows up in the playoffs. Mavericks have the stronger team. It was a nice, dramatic win but both teams played horribly but the Mavericks showed much more talent.


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## Saint Baller (May 3, 2006)

We might have lost today but I'm just gonna remember that we are up in the season series 2-1... It might not mean much, but for me it's the only thing not pissing me off.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Defending him sounds like a good idea.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

_Dre_ said:


> What the hell will we do with Amare in a 7 game series?


What we're seeing is optimum Suns basketball. Nash at full capability makes for a tough team to play, so wisdom says cut the head off the snake. 

Amare’s at his best when Nash is facilitating his offensive set – I’m hoping that 1) Nash tires out as the playoffs approach, and 2) we do a better job of containing Nash, and preventing Amare from getting the ball so low.


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

xray said:


> What we're seeing is optimum Suns basketball. Nash at full capability makes for a tough team to play, so wisdom says cut the head off the snake.
> 
> Amare’s at his best when Nash is facilitating his offensive set – I’m hoping that 1) Nash tires out as the playoffs approach, and 2) we do a better job of containing Nash, and preventing Amare from getting the ball so low.



I think Avery's a really good coach, but what was he thinking?

Dirk on Nash? Whoever Dirk is guarding, they do the pick-n-roll with that man.
That's why Marion at PF is so vitale. When Mike D'Antoni took Diaw out, that's when the
Suns started rolling. The Mavericks cannot put Dirk on anyone but Marion, so that leaves
for mismatch either against Nash or Marion. 

If the Suns are going to beat Dallas, it's going to be using small ball like they did
2 years ago. The Mavericks struggle mightily against that small lineup.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Dr. Seuss said:


> I think Avery's a really good coach, but what was he thinking?
> 
> Dirk on Nash? Whoever Dirk is guarding, they do the pick-n-roll with that man.
> That's why Marion at PF is so vitale. When Mike D'Antoni took Diaw out, that's when the
> ...


I beg to differ.... at least somewhat.

Dallas was without Devin Harris and Devean George last night. Those two defend well against smaller, quicker players. Without them, Dallas is vulnerable.

Hopefully we'll have a healthy team next time we meet.

:cheers:


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> I beg to differ.... at least somewhat.
> 
> Dallas was without Devin Harris and Devean George last night. Those two defend well against smaller, quicker players. Without them, Dallas is vulnerable.
> 
> ...



Well, that would play right into the Suns hands. You would use a small lineup if
you had Harris and George. Making it favor the Suns because they play small alot more
then the Mavericks.

I don't want to hate on Dirk, but anytime he is in, the Suns are going to go right at
him. They did that the entire 4th/overtime periods. 

When Diaw is in, Dirk can play Boris because Diaw would rather pass then score. 

Smaller lineup hurts the Mavs.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Dr. Seuss said:


> Well, that would play right into the Suns hands. You would use a small lineup if
> you had Harris and George. Making it favor the Suns because they play small alot more
> then the Mavericks.
> 
> ...


I am not saying small line-up. I am simply saying we have two GOOD defenders out for the game. Devin COULD, and would, defend Nash or Barbosa well. Devean George COULD, and would, defend #2, #3 and #4 (if he can frustrate T-Mac and Kobe with his defense, I am sure he can handle Marion and the likes).

If Dallas can play Harris, Terry/Howard, George, Dirk and Damp/Diop (which they have done quite consistently prior to George's injury), they are not going small. They would only be putting their best defenders on the court without sacrificing much offense.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Dr. Seuss said:


> I don't want to hate on Dirk, but anytime he is in, the Suns are going to go right at him. They did that the entire 4th/overtime periods.
> 
> When Diaw is in, Dirk can play Boris because Diaw would rather pass then score.
> 
> Smaller lineup hurts the Mavs.


I truly believe - based on that logic - that the Mavs would rather lose than defend against the Suns' lineup. Maybe Dirk can't score enough to offset his inability to defend against the p&r, but Cuban would override Avery if...

...I can't even say it - *bench the German??!!*


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

p.s. nice avatar!


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

I think my avatar would like to "lay hands" on your avatar... :clap2:


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> I am not saying small line-up. I am simply saying we have two GOOD defenders out for the game. Devin COULD, and would, defend Nash or Barbosa well. Devean George COULD, and would, defend #2, #3 and #4 (if he can frustrate T-Mac and Kobe with his defense, I am sure he can handle Marion and the likes).
> 
> If Dallas can play Harris, Terry/Howard, George, Dirk and Damp/Diop (which they have done quite consistently prior to George's injury), they are not going small. They would only be putting their best defenders on the court without sacrificing much offense.



Harris isn't going to stop Nash and then add to his lack of outside shooting, that would
benefit the Suns imo. Harris doesn't want to shoot, and that allows Nash to rome.

George, or Howard. You get better shooting with George, but I think you would rather have
George in. And if you guys wouldn't go small ball, how will having George or Harris help?



xray said:


> I truly believe - based on that logic - that the Mavs would rather lose than defend against the Suns' lineup. Maybe Dirk can't score enough to offset his inability to defend against the p&r, but Cuban would override Avery if...
> 
> ...I can't even say it - bench the German??!!


I guess you guys are best off trying to outscore the Suns. It's funny, because teams like
the Spurs and Lakers, slow the Suns down. But that's because they slow the pace down, the
Mavs do not even attempt to make the game a slow half-court game. They try and run with the
Suns. Over a 7 game series, that could end up hurting more then helping.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Am I really the only person not concerned about last night's loss? :whoknows:

Ok.... I'll even say it was a GREAT LOSS! What a nice wake-up call! What a choke job at the end of the game, and they all know it! JHo was totally deflated at the postgame interview because he knew his dumb foul may be the difference in the game.

Imagine your team just went from 16 points deficit to being up by 12 points.... Imagine going to the NBA Finals by defying the odds of beating the Spurs, the Suns, and then take the 1st 2 games of the series.....

Guess what? You are on top of the clouds and then get smacked back down to earth. GREAT REMINDER, no?

The season thus far has been too easy for the team, and winning last night's game would actually worry me a little. If they had won, they would have been right back on their high clouds thinking it's okay to be down 16 points in a game.....

That's just the mental aspect. As for the game, to lose to the best, and completely healthy, offense by only 2 points while not having 2 of your best defenders is great! I could go into the little details, but I won't bore you with it.

Again, to me it was a *GREAT LOSS*!

:cheers:


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

xray said:


> I think my avatar would like to "lay hands" on your avatar... :clap2:


They are for your EYES only. :biggrin:


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Dr. Seuss said:


> Harris isn't going to stop Nash and then add to his lack of outside shooting, that would
> benefit the Suns imo. Harris doesn't want to shoot, and that allows Nash to rome.
> 
> George, or Howard. You get better shooting with George, but I think you would rather have
> George in. And if you guys wouldn't go small ball, how will having George or Harris help?


If Harris plays, our centers would have a much bigger role in the game. Harris is probably the only guard constantly looking for Damp/Diop. When our centers aren't available, he dishes back out to our streaky 3-point shooters, Terry or George. His speed and slashing abilities is the reason he's valuable to the team. Well..... his jumpers improved quite a bit this year as well.

That's just offense though. These players are more valuable on DEFENSE. (I feel like Avery Johnson right now. :lol: )


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Dr. Seuss said:


> I guess you guys are best off trying to outscore the Suns. It's funny, because teams like the Spurs and Lakers, slow the Suns down. But that's because they slow the pace down, the Mavs do not even attempt to make the game a slow half-court game. They try and run with the Suns. Over a 7 game series, that could end up hurting more then helping.


http://www.basketballforum.com/showpost.php?p=4573389&postcount=18


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

I changed my mind. I'm not in cruise control, but I'm not making a big deal about this. One 2 point loss. :whoknows:

I think this is as simple as making sure whoever rotates to Nash on that pick and roll is not named Dirk. I am oversimplifying it, but this is the key to me. Stop that pick and roll for being so potent, you stop a lot of the momentum changing dunks and a good deal of how Nash controls the game.


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## Pain5155 (May 28, 2006)

you cant stop amare, its as simple as that.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Pain5155 said:


> you cant stop amare, its as simple as that.


In an attempt to refute this, I examined different scenarios. 

First of all, Amare has averaged 27.3 ppg and 10.3 rpg, while shooting 67% against the Mavs in the three meetings. I wanted to prove that without Nash, he was less of a dominate player. 

But the scoring load fell to him (among others) and he averaged 25.2 ppg in those 6 games that Nash was out – above his season average of 20.8 ppg. Is this a matter of simply rounding into form as the season progressed, or is he really more of a factor in those games? 

What I was hoping to find is that without Nash, he’s less of a factor – and surely, ultimately – a team will have more success if Nash is taken out of his comfort zone. There are currently 29 coaching staffs studying this avenue.


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