# Reasons Dallas can still win



## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

With all the optimism on the boards about the Rockets winning the series now that they are up 2-0, I'd just like to point out that this series isn't over:

1. Dirk Nowitzki. They almost won the last game with him playing like crap for 44 minutes. Yes, Bowen does a great job guarding him and contesting his shots but the fact is Dirk has just been missing shots he normally drills. 

2. Rebounding disadvantage. Now that Bowen is our starting PF, we've been clearly rebounded by the Mavericks in the first 2 games. With McGrady playing like Jordan and all our role players hitting their shots, its been overshadowed a bit. Remember, streaky shooting teams don't suddenly become great shooting teams. I don't expect us to shoot 50% the rest of the series, in order to win we need to make sure to secure the defensive glass with Yao boxing out and our guards attacking the boards. 

JVG also needs to point out to the refs that Dampier is getting his offensive rebounds going over the back of Yao.

3. Playing small. When KVH and Howard drew Yao out to the perimeter and drove to the basket on him, they scored. This isn't always going to happen, but it could wear down Yao and get him in foul trouble as well.

4. Houston isn't a strong home team, and Dallas isn't a weak road team. Take it for what you will, although I believe the crowd will be ready to go on Thursday.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

It's disconcerting that we only managed a last-gasp win with Yao going for 13 of 14 and T-Mac going Michael Jordan and Sura hitting threes and both Finley and Dirk playing poorly (btw, Sura hasn't looked the same since he returned from injury. It's like he's aged two years).


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

Doh, I was also going to post something like this, lol

Anyways, I'm really not considering it that much of a victory on Monday. 

Yao had a perfect game, TMac nearly had a triple double, Jon Barry had 16, yet we still only won by a miracle clutch shot to win by 2. 

Dirk came alive in the 4th. I expect this to carryover to Houston.

Mavs were playing like the real Mavs in the 3rd and 4th, and they took a big lead, until they made some mistakes in the end of the 4th. 

They have 3 days for the humiliation and anger to set in and get motivated to fight on Thursday, while Rockets have had 3 days to relax and naturally, no longer feel like the underdog.

Their coach has 3 days to settle down and figure some things out. Maybe consult with others, sit down with Dirk and figure out his role, now that they KNOW for sure that something is wrong, whereas between Game 1 and Game 2 they thought "well we didn't have intensity, that was the problem". Now they know its something technical as well. 

Defense? What defense?? We allowed them to shoot 50% FG & 67% 3pt. 

Rebounding: with Dirk only grabbing 4 boards, and TMac getting 10, we were still killed on the rebounds 41 to 29.

David Wesley has gone cold. And we all know how long it takes Wesley to get out of shooting slumps.

Rockets may lose some of that "fight" when they come home to friendly arena.

Pressure is on *US* to win Game 3, not Dallas! If we let them take one, then the Rockets will be fighting to maintain Home Court on game 4. If we can win game 3 and go up 3-0 then I will be a lot more comfortable.

The best scenario for us is that Dallas players, right now, are depressed and have zero confidence in their coach so they don't listen and come out and bomb 2 games. If they are this mentally soft then we will kill them. But I don't know if they are.


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

> With McGrady playing like Jordan


I think McGrady was overrated on Monday, he played great but he didnt play his greatest(which most people feel that he did) He played a good first half but he was bricking many of his shots during the second half. I think he played better on Game 1 and should have been credited more on that game than on this. And I didnt see much credit going to Yao during the TNT half time show and on Inside NBA.


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

Pasha The Great said:


> I think McGrady was overrated on Monday, he played great but he didnt play his greatest(which most people feel that he did) He played a good first half but he was bricking many of his shots during the second half. I think he played better on Game 1 and should have been credited more on that game than on this. And I didnt see much credit going to Yao during the TNT half time show and on Inside NBA.


stop talking. no he wasnt bricking. and yao did get plenty of credit.


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

Houston has the upper hand now, but Dirk and the rest of the Mavs played very well on the road during the regular season. Until Houston wins one of the next two games, this series aint over quite yet. But the Rockets are certainly in a very enviable position - winning the first two games on the road and now heading home for two games. That is hard to bet against.


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## tone wone (Jan 30, 2003)

the rox are in the driver's seat....but by no means is this series over..

...considering both teams are better on the ROAD than at home...and something that a lot people are not talking about is that Dirk seemed to find his groove at the end of game 2...remember he hit the shot that tied it..

...the last thing the rox need is for Dirk to play like Dirk.....also has anyone noticed that minus the early turnovers..Jason Terry has been ballin, and eventually you would think getting killed on the boards like this will come back and bite the rox in the ***...

...and im concerned with the rockets shooting...im mean they've been on fire, but this team is very up and down with it comes to shooting...one cold streak and this series is tied

so with Tmac playing like Jordan, Yao being perfect, Sura's hitting 3's, Dirk playing bad for 3qtrs...Houston berly won...

...so don't feed into the TNT hype...they just don't like Dallas (especially Barkley)...these two teams are too damn even for this series to only go 4 or 5 games

with that being said if the Rox fell like getting out their brooms...i wouldn't tell em no to


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## Raxel (Nov 10, 2004)

Let's just win game #3 so that we don't have to talk about this coming back topic again. please, Rockets, don't disappoint me. :clap:


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## Raxel (Nov 10, 2004)

tone wone said:


> ...and im concerned with the rockets shooting...im mean they've been on fire, but this team is very up and down with it comes to shooting...one cold streak and this series is tied
> 
> so with Tmac playing like Jordan, Yao being perfect, Sura's hitting 3's, Dirk playing bad for 3qtrs...Houston berly won...


Mavs played at their best too, 50% from floor, 66.7% (10-15) from 3pts line, 41-29 outbounded Rockets, they can't do much better than that. That was a lucky win for sure, and it's critical because both played at their best and Rockets won at the end. That's very frustrating to the losing team.


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## Raxel (Nov 10, 2004)

sherwin said:


> Pressure is on *US* to win Game 3, not Dallas! If we let them take one, then the Rockets will be fighting to maintain Home Court on game 4. If we can win game 3 and go up 3-0 then I will be a lot more comfortable.


Pressure is on both, Mavs more need a win than us. Every game is critical before you win the series, Even if Rockets is 3-0, you will still worry about game 4 or 5. but I believe JVG, he's an veteran coach, he knows how to get team ready, and T-mac is not alone this time. Last time he played well, but his teammates couldn't hit easy shots, this time we have many good shooters, as long as they don't go off in the same night.


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

I think the Mavs still have a chance to tie the series. The best part being how good we play on the road. I know the Mavs will play hard because they know the consequences. On Thursday, look for Dirk to become a leader on the floor and have a big game. I also think all we have to do is win game 3 to shift the momentum to our side.


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## kfranco (Apr 22, 2005)

The Future7 said:


> I think the Mavs still have a chance to tie the series. The best part being how good we play on the road. I know the Mavs will play hard because they know the consequences. On Thursday, look for Dirk to become a leader on the floor and have a big game. I also think all we have to do is win game 3 to shift the momentum to our side.


I agree, but i expect the Rockets to show their fans that they are 4 real. I just think that Houston will be too tough for yall. i expect a sweep now. it can happen, if we win game 3, its more of a given.








It is a wonderful dunk！Great T-Mac。


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## 4ever_bball_fan (Aug 5, 2004)

A sweep would be absolutely fantastic...certainly no one would have ever thought Houston could sweep Dallas in the first round.

And what a message for the next round.


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## Raxel (Nov 10, 2004)

4ever_bball_fan said:


> A sweep would be absolutely fantastic...certainly no one would have ever thought Houston could sweep Dallas in the first round.
> 
> And what a message for the next round.


Let's finish game #3 and #4 before worrying about next round.


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

kfranco said:


> I agree, but i expect the Rockets to show their fans that they are 4 real. I just think that Houston will be too tough for yall. i expect a sweep now. it can happen, if we win game 3, its more of a given.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think the Rockets will show their fans they are 4 real but I cant help think that Dallas will win Game 3. It would be terrible if the Rockets sweep the Mavs. If we win game 3 I think the Mavs will most likely tie the series at 2.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> 1. Dirk Nowitzki. They almost won the last game with him playing like crap for 44 minutes.


Bear in mind that a big reason for this is that other guys were compensating by hitting shots they normally wouldn't. Dallas was ungodly 10-14 from three point range, or so. Jason Terry was unconscious in the second half.

That absurd shooting from behind the arc, along with the at-will offensive rebounding by Dallas, made it close. As a team, they shot tremendously well, so they actually weren't hurt by not having Nowitzki. They overachieved anyway...if he had also hit shots, they'd have overachieved, on offense, to an extraordinary degree.

So, I'd expect Nowizki to shoot better but his teammmates to shoot worse. The result may not be much different. But the rebounding will still be a problem for Houston.


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## Drewbs (Feb 16, 2004)

Minstrel said:


> Bear in mind that a big reason for this is that other guys were compensating by hitting shots they normally wouldn't. Dallas was ungodly 10-14 from three point range, or so. Jason Terry was unconscious in the second half.
> 
> That absurd shooting from behind the arc, along with the at-will offensive rebounding by Dallas, made it close. As a team, they shot tremendously well, so they actually weren't hurt by not having Nowitzki. They overachieved anyway...if he had also hit shots, they'd have overachieved, on offense, to an extraordinary degree.
> 
> So, I'd expect Nowizki to shoot better but his teammmates to shoot worse. The result may not be much different. But the rebounding will still be a problem for Houston.


Yes, the Mavs were on fire from the field, but of course guys like Terry, Howard or Stackhouse would normally hit those shots. You could say the same for Houston as well. Sura won't usually shot 80%, from behind the arc and Jon Barry wont usually come out and go 4/6 from 3 either. Its not that spectacular when Dallas leves them open all game. Dallas normally wouldn;t go 10-15, but I would like to point out that Houston played a pretty bad defensive game in game 2 as well. For some reason, Wesley, Sura and Barry still fail to respect Jason Terry's ability to shoot and made some very poor decisions defensively. Also, Houston allowed Dallas to bomb uncontested 3s in transition. Its the exact same thing that happened to Barry and Sura, Dallas didn't rotate and left them wide open. Wesley was pretty bad from 3 though. Terry actually played pretty good defens but Dallas as a whole was lousy defensively, but the offensive rebounding killed Houston. Especially when they played Yao on Van Horn or Howard while Dirk was covered by McGrady, with no one to crash the boards. The Mavs still have a chance to win this series. Good teams will win on the road, but they hve to play at the highest level, meaning no more defensive lapses.

Also, Marquis Daniels needs to play. His all around abilities offensively and defensively could really be a help to Dallas, especially as a playmaker where Terry falls kind of short. (Note the turnovers).


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

tone wone said:


> ...and im concerned with the rockets shooting...im mean they've been on fire, but this team is very up and down with it comes to shooting...one cold streak and this series is tied


Yup. Minstrel, Dallas may have been on fire from 3 point land but so were we. I mean you know everything is going right for you when Bob Sura goes 4-5 from long distance.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

While Houston also shot well, they *A.* didn't shoot as well as Dallas did from the arc and *B.* Houston's "shooters" are better shooters. Barry, James, Wesley all shot right around 40% (or well over, in the case of Barry) since joining Houston, and getting the open shots that McGrady creates. Meanwhile, Stackhouse and Howard were terrible three-point shooters this season (under 30% for each). Terry was a good three-point shooter.

So, I don't agree that Howard and Stackhouse "should" hit those shots. They weren't exceptionally wide open; they took the kinds of threes that they could have in any game...they get sagged off because they're bad three-point shooters.

My point is simply that it's not like everything went against Dallas and they barely lost, as it's being painted by some. Certain things went against Dallas, but they also got fabulous shooting from guys like Howard and Stackhouse that they "shouldn't" have gotten.

In terms of expectations, one shouldn't _just_ expect Nowitzki to get better and thus add on to Dallas' Game Two production. One should also expect Stackhouse and Howard to brick a lot more long-range shots, which would subtract from the gains of Nowitzki.

Meanwhile, only Sura shot signiifcantly better than I'd expect. But, countering that, Wesley shot a lot worse than I'd expect. Barry and James should knock down the kind of open threes they were getting. They've been hitting those shots all season, with Houston, at a 40-45% clip.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> Yup. Minstrel, Dallas may have been on fire from 3 point land but so were we. I mean you know everything is going right for you when Bob Sura goes 4-5 from long distance.


As I said in my previous post to Drewbs, Sura's unexpectedly good shooting is countered by the unexpectedly bad shooting of Wesley (a 38% three-point shooter for Houston in the regular season).

Wesley was 1-10 from the field and 0-3 from beyond the arc.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Minstrel said:


> As I said in my previous post to Drewbs, Sura's unexpectedly good shooting is countered by the unexpectedly bad shooting of Wesley (a 38% three-point shooter for Houston in the regular season).
> 
> Wesley was 1-10 from the field and 0-3 from beyond the arc.


Wesley can go for weeks shooting 30%... he really is an amazingly streaky shooter, check out his numbers in March and early April. Of course, that was preceded by a stretch where it seemed like he couldn't miss. Wesley will still get PT, though, as he is by far our best perimeter defender not named McGrady.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

Incidentally, I'm not sure why Sura is considered such a poor shooter (that's the implication I've gotten from Rockets fan posts). He shot a very respectable 35.5% from three-point range this season. It's not amazing, but it's above average.

He doesn't even shoot that poorly overall, at about 43% from the field. For a perimeter player, that's around average and shading into above average range.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> Wesley can go for weeks shooting 30%... he really is an amazingly streaky shooter, check out his numbers in March and early April. Of course, that was preceded by a stretch where it seemed like he couldn't miss. Wesley will still get PT, though, as he is by far our best perimeter defender not named McGrady.


Well, in Game 1, Wesley was 4-6 from the field and 1-1 from three-point range. So it's not like Wesley is currently in some "stable bad" mode (like "weeks of shooting 30%"). He's had one very good shooting game and one very bad one.

His average is to shoot decently, at least from three. Houston got well below average performance from him in Game 2, and well-above average performance from Sura. To me, that's "cancelling luck," at least to some extent.


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## TracywtFacy (Mar 29, 2005)

Even with the series at 2-0, anything can still happen in this series. The outcome I'd like to see it this: whatever our shortcomings, our guys have the determination and will to win, just like the Bulls of '97-98. Yao and TMac will continue to impose their will against any team. Dallas, with a doubtful rookie coach and suddenly slumping form, begin to have doubts, and crumble completely, and the remaining two games are routs, all the way to a title.

The other scenario: the Mavs are able to take advantage of the Rocket's weaknesses and begin to come back. They go back to their old ways. Play no D, kill us on the boards, get Yao into foul trouble, get hot from the field, which they are capable of at any time. That would mean big trouble. 

One thing about these Rockets, mentally, they are unshakable. Every player is 100% tough, except maybe Yao, who's head tends to drop if he's off his game, but he's rapidly improving. The sure proof of this is our performance away from home this season, and the two games we stole at Dallas. To prove we are at the next level, we will have to win convincingly at home, in the face of a Dallas team that now knows what kind of opposition they're going to get, and are in a state of desperation. 

I predicted Rox to win in 5, but I'm hoping now we can bring out the brooms on Saturday  I also predicted a 121-109 scoreline the past two games, I'll stick with it for game 3. I can't wait! Sux big time I can't watch it live!


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

TracywtFacy said:


> Even with the series at 2-0, anything can still happen in this series. The outcome I'd like to see it this: whatever our shortcomings, our guys have the determination and will to win, just like the Bulls of '97-98. Yao and TMac will continue to impose their will against any team. Dallas, with a doubtful rookie coach and suddenly slumping form, begin to have doubts, and crumble completely, and the remaining two games are routs, all the way to a title.
> 
> The other scenario: the Mavs are able to take advantage of the Rocket's weaknesses and begin to come back. They go back to their old ways. Play no D, kill us on the boards, get Yao into foul trouble, get hot from the field, which they are capable of at any time. That would mean big trouble.
> 
> ...


good post


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Minstrel said:


> Well, in Game 1, Wesley was 4-6 from the field and 1-1 from three-point range. So it's not like Wesley is currently in some "stable bad" mode (like "weeks of shooting 30%"). He's had one very good shooting game and one very bad one.


Of course, over the span of weeks, he's going to have a few decent shooting nights, but that doesn't mean he isn't in a slump. Sure he got 4 of 6 in Game 1, but take a look at his figures from mid-March till now.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

Hakeem said:


> Of course, over the span of weeks, he's going to have a few decent shooting nights, but that doesn't mean he isn't in a slump. Sure he got 4 of 6 in Game 1, but take a look at his figures from mid-March till now.


So the upshot is that you feel Wesley's 1-10, 0-3 night was to be expected, and one shouldn't expect him to improve on that shooting in future games?

My point really isn't dependant on Wesley being great. Just that he underperformed in a 1-10 performance and hitting a couple more of those shots would mean Sura could have hit a couple less (as expected) and things would still be near expectations.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Regardless of the shooting of our perimeter players, McGrady needs to keep going to the hole. If his shot is falling -- fine, keep pulling up. But even in game 1 there was a point where he jacked up 3 or 4 jumpers consecutively and this allowed Dallas to get right back into the game. Considering Stackhouse or Finley will be guarding him after a series of high post picks, there really is no excuse not to penetrate on them. Especially Stackhouse, he is horrendously slow.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

I completely agree. McGrady needs to cause havoc in the paint. He has every ability to do so. If they're going to double Yao and throw Howard into a lot of one-on-ones with McGrady, as some have reported, McGrady needs to burn that.


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## eaglewu (Feb 21, 2005)

Minstrel said:


> While Houston also shot well, they *A.* didn't shoot as well as Dallas did from the arc and *B.* Houston's "shooters" are better shooters. Barry, James, Wesley all shot right around 40% (or well over, in the case of Barry) since joining Houston, and getting the open shots that McGrady creates. Meanwhile, Stackhouse and Howard were terrible three-point shooters this season (under 30% for each). Terry was a good three-point shooter.
> 
> So, I don't agree that Howard and Stackhouse "should" hit those shots. They weren't exceptionally wide open; they took the kinds of threes that they could have in any game...they get sagged off because they're bad three-point shooters.
> 
> ...


I agree, as long as Yao don't have foul trouble. We are 95% win.


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## Smooth Lotion (Jan 7, 2005)

Jason Terry has been pretty nasty in the first 3 games. one can only hope he doesn't go crazy before the series ends.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Smooth Lotion said:


> Jason Terry has been pretty nasty in the first 3 games. one can only hope he doesn't go crazy before the series ends.


Well, I'll be darned.


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## mav78 (Apr 20, 2005)

```
Jason Terry has been pretty nasty in the first 3 games. one can only hope he doesn't go crazy before the series ends.
```
Dude you got ur wish granted :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: 


```
Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion
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 See now thats ur problem...the Hakeem Days are over...Get out of it.... Think about the 1st round when you are playing the 1st round :boohoo:


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## terry2damp (Apr 24, 2005)

either dirk or terry fin or terry are gonna go crazy tonight as they HAVE to dbl dirk to stop him and if they dbl him we get open shots


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