# Game 38: San Antonio vs Dallas



## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Mavs game thread 

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Dallas Mavericks (22-11) vs San Antonio Spurs (29-8)

Starting Lineups:*





































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Key Matchup:








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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

The Spurs have handled Dallas easily twice this season, but I expect his one to be closer. Finley is back, and they now have Terry starting. This will severely test the defense now, which has been a little sluggish as of late. If it's sluggish in this game, we aren't going to win. We have to prevent Nowitzki from going 30+ on us, and prevent guys like Terry, Stackhouse, and Finley from having big nights. The Spurs have shown they can out-gun teams at times, but I'd much rather prefer a typical slow-paced half court game.


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

I think this should be a very interesting and fun game to watch. Another part of the Texas Two-Step! Duncan really needs to pick up his mediocre play of late, play with some fire, and shut down Dirk(or slow him down). I think we can play fast paced with this team and win by a couple(or lose), or play our kind of ball, and win big. The key to this Spurs team is defensive intensity and there hasn't been much of that lately. Sure we haven't been losing many games, but even in some of our wins, we haven't looked like the team we did earlier in the year.

As for this game in particular, I think the key will be to limit the 2nd and 3rd options in how much they score and how well they play. Sure, I mentioned TD needing to slow down Dirk, but we all know that Dirk is going to get his 25+ points and 8 or 9 rebounds. What TD really needs to do, is make sure Dirk doesn't have a huge game, and then our team needs to make sure Terry, Finley, Daniels, etc. don't have great games.

Predicition:

Spurs- 103
Mavs- 96


Tony Parker: 21 points, 8 assists


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

It's pretty hard to beat the Spurs in San Antonio, but the Mavericks are a team with the firepower to do it. Besides the biggest mismatch in the league for anyone (Dirk), the Spurs match up very well with the Mavericks. We have a few perimeter defenders who can make it difficult for their guys to get good looks, and as long as Duncan isn't in foul trouble, we should be able to keep the inside protected and make it difficult for them to score. That is the single most important thing for the Spurs, they can run and play uptempo with the Mavericks, but they *have to* play intense defense *first and foremost*, then let the defense create the turnovers and fast breaks.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

I've probably already said this, but I think this will gauge how good our defense is. We held the helpless Bucks to 79 points, but other than that the defense has been pretty bad. Dirk will do his thing (30+ points), so hopefully Duncan can stay out of foul trouble. The key will be who gets more easier baskets in this game. Parker had his way with Dallas in the previous two games, and I expect Dallas to put a much greater emphasis on him than anyone else besides Duncan. That means Manu needs to step up.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Dampier and Howard are out for Dallas. Stackhouse and Henderson are in their place.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

Duncan is such a smart defender, he has done a fantastic job contesting Dirk's shots while still not being so close that Dirk can dribble past him. Duncan is having a nice half.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

Congrats San Antonio. Great game and great team. 
Hey Koko, have we found our identity?


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Great game, nice move by Pop for Ginobli at the end of the game.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Gambino</b>!
> Congrats San Antonio. Great game and great team.
> Hey Koko, have we found our identity?






Well, it's hard to say when there are two starters and a key reserve all hurt. I think starting Jason Terry is a huge step into getting an identity, but Dallas needs to get some of their guys healthy so they can all get comfortable with their roles. Like you mentioned in the Dallas forum, the Mavs played with a lot of heart, which says a lot about a team. When everyone's healthy, Dallas is a scary team. We would have lost had Dallas had their full squad.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

I'm sorry, but I've got to start things off with a rant on Mr. Duncan. This is the first game I've been able to watch since the Indiana game, and I'll tell you what, he's still not playing with intensity out there. I've watched Duncan play since he's been a Spurs, and I can't recall ever seeing him play like this. Guys front him on the block, and he rarely puts up an effort to get the man behind him. Duncan also seems to refuse to get the ball on the block, where he belongs, which also frustrates me. When he does have the ball in the post, he's not going at the basket hard all the time like he's done throughout his career. Sure, he took it to the rack a couple of times with authority tonight, but when you touch the ball that much, going hard at the basket just a few times isn't acceptable. Yeah, I know the Spurs have a good record still, and yeah, I know Duncan is still having a great season, but I think he could and should be playing better. He's pulling away from the basket just a little too much this season. Again, sorry for the rant, but Duncan holds the key to the Spurs' title chances, and he has to start playing better.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

> Originally posted by <b>KokoTheMonkey</b>!
> I'm sorry, but I've got to start things off with a rant on Mr. Duncan. This is the first game I've been able to watch since the Indiana game, and I'll tell you what, he's still not playing with intensity out there. I've watched Duncan play since he's been a Spurs, and I can't recall ever seeing him play like this. Guys front him on the block, and he rarely puts up an effort to get the man behind him. Duncan also seems to refuse to get the ball on the block, where he belongs, which also frustrates me. When he does have the ball in the post, he's not going at the basket hard all the time like he's done throughout his career. Sure, he took it to the rack a couple of times with authority tonight, but when you touch the ball that much, going hard at the basket just a few times isn't acceptable. Yeah, I know the Spurs have a good record still, and yeah, I know Duncan is still having a great season, but I think he could and should be playing better. He's pulling away from the basket just a little too much this season. Again, sorry for the rant, but Duncan holds the key to the Spurs' title chances, and he has to start playing better.


Duncan is tired. They said during the game that Duncan has been playing straight for two years with no breaks because of the olympics, and Popovich dismisses Duncan from practice scrimmages to swim and rest. 

I think Duncan is pacing himself at this point, whats amazing is that he is still the frontrunner for the MVP award.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

> Duncan is tired.



OLYMPICS OLYMPICS OLYMPICS
It has been proven in the recent past that players that have played in the olympics or world championships over the summer and they are playing on playoff teams in the nba have trouble coming back the next season. This is exactly what Cuban was talking about a couple years ago.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Now that I've cooled off a bit, here's my recap on the game: Manu and Parker did a great job again. 9 points and only one TO out of Tony is great. He also played soild defense. Manu had another insanely efficient offensive night with 22 points on only 12 FGA's. Bowen had 8 point and 6 rebounds, which is nice, but I don't think he did anything great. Rasho had one of his best games in awhile, especially with his play making in the 2nd-half. 8 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks is great out of Rasho. Just wish that I'd see it more. Devin Brown made some big plays in this game, and he pretty much got himself some more minutes moving forward. I think it's good for the team that Brown and Barry are competing with each other for minutes, because it brings out the best in both of them. Duncan was alright. He was posting up Dirk and getting shots in the paint in the first half, then stayed away from the paint in the 2nd half. Horry had a nice game with 8 rebounds in 18 minutes. 






San Antonio Leaders:


Points:


Tim Duncan - 25
Manu Ginobili - 22
Tony Parker - 12


Rebounds:


Rasho Nesterovic - 12
Robert Horry - 8
Bruce Bowen - 6


Assists:


Tony Parker - 9
Manu Ginobili - 3
Bruce Bowen - 2
Devin Brown - 2




A win is a win, but I still wasn't too pleased with the game. If we play like this in Houston tomorrow, it's another loss.


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## mr_french_basketball (Jul 3, 2003)

*my ratings*

I didn't see the game, so help me find the good ratings :

Ginobili : 9/10
Rasho : 9/10 (His first game at more than 8 this season!!!)
Brown : 8/10
Bowen : 8/10
Duncan : 7/10
Parker : 7/10
Udrih : 7/10
Horry : 6/10
Rose : 6/10
Barry : 3/10
Am I fair with Barry? His stat line is not glorious...


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## rocketsthathavespurs (Jul 17, 2004)

ya u are but duncan might of deserved an 8 last night i no he had a couple dum mistakes but he did have around 25 pt


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## XxMia_9xX (Oct 5, 2002)

game was great! even though i think that the spurs shouldn't have given them a chance to come back. manu was awesome!

koko- i know what u mean about duncan... he just doesn't seem like he was before.... he's probably resting and taking things slow and as season progresses, hopefully he'll play with more intensity. Or maybe he has a lot of trust on his team mates and doesn't feel like he has to do as much as he use to 'cuz they're doing fine...


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## mr_french_basketball (Jul 3, 2003)

*my ratings*



> Originally posted by <b>rocketsthathavespurs</b>!
> ya u are but duncan might of deserved an 8 last night i no he had a couple dum mistakes but he did have around 25 pt


... but only 6 rebonds and one block...

Like Koko said, he's lacked of intensity as of late.


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