tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193659331415886122024-03-12T16:55:13.016-07:00The Rice of PassageJosh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-43809432544672291772011-06-17T13:49:00.000-07:002011-06-17T13:50:03.742-07:00Sweet Victory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.ibtimes.com/www/data/images/full/2011/06/12/112882-dirk-nowitzki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://img.ibtimes.com/www/data/images/full/2011/06/12/112882-dirk-nowitzki.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>“Who is that tall guy with the blonde hair?”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That was spoken at the first Dallas Mavericks preseason game of the 2002-2003 season. It wasn’t from some unruly child. It wasn’t from a senile Grandpa, who in his day, big men worked down low and chopped down trees in their spare time. It wasn’t from my former girlfriend who accompanied me to many Maverick games starting that season. It wasn’t from my Mom.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was from me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Yep. As an eighth grader who played basketball since fifth grade, I had no idea who Dirk Nowitzki was in 2002. I stood along side my Dad in our Platinum Level seats (thank you corporations before the economy collapsed!) just staring at this guy. Despite being a five-star nerd at the time (I still am, just hide it much better) I still had a general idea of what an NBA player looked like. After all, I watched <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Space Jam<span style="font-style: normal;">.</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> I wasn’t a heathen.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Dirk stood out so much to me. A tall, lanky white dude with flowing blonde hair. There have certainly been goofier looking characters in the NBA before and after Dirk, but 99.9 percent of those guys <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wanted</i> everyone to know how goofy they looked. Dirk seemed very much pleased with drifting through the layup lines, more concerned with getting his pregame shots up then mingling with the opposing team or smiling for cameras.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Being the nerd that I was, I had to immerse myself in everything. From Batman, Ninja Turtles to video games, one of my highest nerd qualities is to be immersed in whatever world I am reading or watching. To be swarmed by as much of it as possible. I loved basketball and I knew that if I really wanted to give it justice, I had to be fully and completely immersed. With season tickets and the ability to go to 41 basketball games a year, I wasn’t going to waste this chance. I wasn’t going to just sit there and be mildly entertained. I was going to know basketball inside and out, dammit. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Luckily, I had a beautiful team to watch. The 2002-2003 Dallas Mavericks were the Oklahoma City Thunder of their time – young, energetic, fast, quick and a humble and budding superstar ready to explode. There are few NBA writers that disliked watching that team (besides maybe the ones in Sacramento that had to miss so many deadlines when the Kings and Mavs battled in their epic overtime affairs.) Coached by Don Nelson, led by a dynamic scoring Big Three, I fell in love with basketball again. Basketball was just a means to an end before watching them. Something I did to get out of the house. Sure, I enjoyed it. Being four feet taller than anyone else on the court made it easy to have fun. But there wasn’t any passion behind it. It was just part of the routine. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Watching Dirk, Steve Nash, and Michael Finely changed that. I realized how beautiful the game could be. Like a Michelangelo painting in motion. A totally blown out metaphor created for dramatic effect. Basketball was everything to me. When I was then treated to an epic playoff series consisting of two Game 7s and a heated Conference Finals against the Spurs, I was ready for more. I dug into stats and box scores like I did Pokemon trading cards. Hell, I even went into the offseason mode, trying to be an amateur GM. My first conclusion? The team needed a true, starting small-forward like LeBron James needs a better jumper. They started Walt Williams for goodness sakes! When the team picked up explosive forward Antwan Jamison from the Warriors, I was ecstatic. While Raef LaFrentz wasn’t exactly the starting center of my dreams, a lineup of Nash, Finely, Jamison, Dirk and LaFrentz seemed just as formidable as any other starting five in the NBA. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Somewhere between that trade and the start of the season, Don Nelson officially lost his rocker. In a move that could have only been made after a few too many of his treasured Coors Lights, Nelson shipped away LaFrentz for Antoine Walker. Even in my simple basketball infancy, I was floored. Wait, doesn’t Antoine Walker absolutely suck? Just to make sure I wasn’t being influenced by superior basketball minds, I just checked a quick look at career stats. Hmmm. He can’t shoot overall (41.4 percent career FG%) he can’t shoot from deep (career 32.5 3PT%) and his much lauded appraise for being a “point forward”? 3.6 assists to 2.8 turnovers. BELCH. Even more, Jamison was moved to the bench. My dreams were shattered. The next two seasons were a blur. Some guy named Danny Fortson started at center. Mark Cuban showed off the <a href="http://www.nba.com/media/history/dal_uni_06.jpg">ugliest jerseys of all time</a>. We lost in the first round. Walker predictably ruined any wonderful team chemistry built from the 2003 playoff team. Jamison was wasted on the bench.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">When I attended the first preseason game of the 2004-2005 season, I was excited to see the fresh faces after the Don Nelson mad scientist experiment ended. Nash was gone, but I wasn’t too upset. I was upset, for sure, but I didn’t think it’d ruin the team. Still naïve in my basketball mind, I knew controlling the paint won titles. I just watched Shaq’s Lakers and Duncan’s Spurs do it four times. Erick Dampier was fresh off his double-double year with Golden State but what stole the show was another odd looking dude – Jason Terry.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That misshapen head. The high socks and headband. The arm bands. Terry looked like he got into a fight with Dick’s Sporting Goods and lost. But what really surprised me was the guy couldn’t miss. From anywhere. I don’t remember the final tally in that meaningless preseason game but in the stands, it felt like Terry was 20-for-25 overall, 15-of-15 from three. I was mesmerized by the potential of a Jason Terry/Dirk Nowitzki pick and pop.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I won’t continue to recount the years because they were too exciting and painful. Over the next few seasons, this was when my fandom grew to unhealthy levels. I threw fits if school or homework or something came on Mavericks game night. I almost strangled my farther in his sleep when he announced no more season tickets before the 2005-2006 season. Call Dirk soft? I would find out where you lived and put a pillow over your face whenever you decided to take a nap. I was ruthless and crazed. My former girlfriend and current best friend deserves a Medal of Honor or at least a Purple Heat. I can’t tell you how many dinners were ruined when “Celtics 115, Mavericks 105” flashed across the ticker. Or how many supposed romantic evenings were interrupted by a visit to Arco Arena in Sacramento. “Sweetie! The Mavericks are three games back of the Spurs for the division title! Plus, they need to stay ahead of the Kings for home court in the first round. PLUS IT’S THE FREAKING KINGS?! WHY DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?!” I might have ruined her entire high school years, but I can’t imagine anyone else to calm me down and bring me back to reality after a backbreaking Doug Christie three. Plus, she got to gawk at Devin Harris for two years, so she should be thanking me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What I’m trying to say is, the Mavericks are my life. They are like a little brother, always eager to overprotect him. “HEY, DIRK CAN PLAY DEFENSE, HE ISN’T HORRIBLE. Or, “GOLDEN STATE WAS JUST A BAD MATCHUP. IF THE CLIPPERS SNUCK IN, WE’D BE HOLDING THE TROPHY.” Mainly, this revolved around Dirk. He was the most un-unlikeable player in the NBA. A tireless work ethic matched only by a desire to remain away from the tabloids and endorsements. When Dirk finally had to bring his public life into the headlines in 2009 with Crystal Taylor, the look of his face and the sound of his voice was like a downtrodden, beaten man. He acted like he committed the ultimate sin, when actuality, he just made a mistake. He trusted the wrong person in love. Something very human. But Dirk didn’t want us to know that. He wants use to believe he’s an unstoppable killing machine, incapable of feelings or emotions. A silent guardian and a watchful protector (see what I did there?) Of course, Dirk responded by dropping over 35 points plus against the Nuggets in the semi-finals. The Mavericks lost that series because Antoine Freaking Wright was their starting two guard. Seriously. The guy who just said <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/6/15/2225522/antoine-wright-mario-elie-sacramento-kings">his Mommy is the reason he’s out of the league right now</a>. Even when Dirk got support from freshly brought in forward Caron Butler in San Antonio of 2010, it still wasn’t enough. Dirk had a sidekick perform well and they still were bounced in the first round. I just assumed it wasn’t going to happen.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Of course, 2011 couldn’t have any less hype around it. Another first round exit and the front office’s answer was to bring in a center who hadn’t played a full season in three years. As the season progressed, it became apparent that Tyson Chandler was everything Erick Dampier wasn’t. Long, quick, athletic, catching and finishing ability. I won’t try to lie to you – I was one of Dampier’s biggest backers. He was a solid rebounder, decent old-school post defender and could get your Grandma open with a screen. Maybe I was blinded by the absolute mediocrity of Maverick centers over the years. Chandler displayed something else unmatched from the center position in my time watching the Mavs: he showed a pulse. After a nasty alley-oop throw down from Jason Kidd, he’d ram the padded support of the NBA rim like he was trying to treat his shoulder like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdWK-aam0Jo">GusFrerotte treats his head</a>. He barked at opposing teams with each block or masterful hedge on a pick and roll. Hell, the dude even made his free throws, shooting over 70 percent and flirting with 80 percent for the first half of the season. He was unlike anything I had ever seen in a Mavericks uniform. Sure, he sometimes looked overmatched against bulky low post threats, but he was Dallas’ 2008 Kevin Garnett – a true defensive leader getting his teammates to buy into what he was saying (or screaming).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But the 2011 playoffs ultimately can be told of the narrative of the two players that were expected to carry the franchise to fame and fortune in 2005 – Jason Terry and of course, Dirk. It’s not coincidence that a 2011 title correlates with Terry’s highest PER of the post season and Dirk’s legendary run. These are the two pillars to the Mavericks holy temple. The foundation of the entire Mavericks offense boils down to how these two players react in their two man game, picking, popping and shooting.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Even then, I wasn’t ready for this spring/early summer. I had my doubts and my worries but this Maverick team destroyed them all in a blaze of precise ball movement and expertly timed rotations. While I don’t normally believe in preconceived outcomes, there had to be some celestial basketball being deciding to allow Jason Terry’s desperation three to clinch Game 5 of the Finals. It made me realize something after that game. No matter how much we try to define basketball with advanced numbers and metrics, the outcome of the game is pretty much decided on who can make more shots. It’s a simple, caveman like approach to the game, but the Mavericks in spite of being athletically behind and slower than the competition, made more shots. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I will always be able to tell anyone who asks me where I was on June 12<sup>th</sup>, 2011. The image of Dirk Nowitzki rushing to the locker room as the final ticks sounded in Game 6 not only forced me to breakdown like I haven’t while watching sports before, but revealed something we already knew. Despite the mission being over, his conquest finally achieved, Dirk refused to let anyone see his emotions. He still wants to be the silent killer and he just finished off his biggest prize, punishing the Heat with a remarkable double clutch jumper in front of the Heat’s bench with under two minutes to go. That silent first pump. That tongue. It is the most we ever see from Dirk emotionally, midgame. But he couldn’t let anyone see. How dare he show himself to be some simple mere human? Dirk has always created the illusion that he was a mythical warrior. The illusion might have been broken slightly back in 2009 and again on that June night in 2011, but it didn’t matter. I shared tears with Nowitzki that night. Both our lives seemed validated after countless failures in the past, after pouring too much time into a simple sport where you throw a ball into a hoop. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That tall guy with the blonde hair. A champion, finally.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jimrome.com/cimages/var/ezjimrome/storage/images/repository/photos/dirk-nowitzki-2011-nba-finals-miami-vs-mavs-game-22/350699-1-eng-US/Dirk-Nowitzki-2011-NBA-Finals-Miami-vs-Mavs-Game-2_photo_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.jimrome.com/cimages/var/ezjimrome/storage/images/repository/photos/dirk-nowitzki-2011-nba-finals-miami-vs-mavs-game-22/350699-1-eng-US/Dirk-Nowitzki-2011-NBA-Finals-Miami-vs-Mavs-Game-2_photo_medium.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-19661031496430578512011-05-30T13:28:00.000-07:002011-05-30T13:31:29.377-07:00Dirk? Destiny is On Line One.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3n1fBie7BE/TeP-cUH_lUI/AAAAAAAAANI/ZS9E6bM0-aQ/s1600/finalsbro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3n1fBie7BE/TeP-cUH_lUI/AAAAAAAAANI/ZS9E6bM0-aQ/s400/finalsbro.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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It had to be the Heat.<br />
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It just <i>had </i>to be <b><i>the Heat.</i></b><br />
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There was no other way around it. Destiny is a cop out, but you watched what I watched. You saw two of the more improbable comebacks in NBA playoff history help sway the fate of the 2011 NBA championship. As soon as LeBron took a dribble to his left and rose for a 15-footer with Game 5 on the line, I knew it was fate before it splashed through. Derrick Rose's subsequent miss at the free throw line was just more confirmation...<br />
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It had to be the Heat.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For games three through six of the 2006 NBA Finals, I was in Austin. I wasn't in the familiar surroundings of my house or TV back in North Texas. I was in a condo, shared with four other good friends. We were at a UT lacrosse camp, playing a sport that is totally awesome, bro.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">They say misery loves company and that couldn't be any more true after that week. As soon as Jason Terry's three clanged off the back iron and the buzzer sounded in Game 6, we turned off the TV. I think someone blasted the remote into the wall. We each went into our separate bedrooms and closed the door. Heartbroken. Depressed. Pathetic. Call it what you will. That week in June of 2006 will be a moment I never forget. In fact, I think I'll take it to my grave. Yes, I care that much. And If I care that much, I can only imagine what has been going through Dirk's mind for the past five years.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">To be honest, I didn't think there'd be much of a chance I'd be writing about the 2011 NBA Finals with the Mavericks representing the West. Sure, in December <a href="http://riceofpassage.blogspot.com/2011/05/duel-of-fates.html">I thought</a> this was the best team in basketball, but I have always felt that the Lakers were the trump card to however well Dallas would play. I had no fear in Portland, Oklahoma City, Memphis or even San Antonio. But the Lakers? Kobe Bryant? The best front court in basketball? The best defense in basketball (when the focus is there)? It was too much.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So after the four game sweep, I was completely dumbfounded. If this Maverick team could make the best team in the league look like they had "Clippers" instead of "Lakers" on the front of their jerseys, they could do anything. No team in basketball had a match up advantage over the Mavs like the Lakers did. How much that was the Lakers pissing that advantage away or the Mavs playing brilliant basketball will be debated for some time. But in four straight games, Dallas was better. They were better than Los Angeles, and now they're better than everyone.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Some mainstream NBA analysts like to pick and choose from the regular season what works best for that argument and forget the rest (see, OKC, POR series). Nothing infuriates me more. If we're going to look at the regular season data to conclude that Portland's offensive rebounding is going to beat Dallas, why can't we also say that Portland's miserable road record will doom them away from the Rose Garden? If Kevin Durant absolutely shredded Dallas in the regular season and will do so again in the playoffs, why can't we say that Dallas will be able to contain Russel Westbrook on some nights because of the regular season? Inconsistencies in arguments like the ones above drive me to drink.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And to a degree it is happening again. Never mind that Dirk Nowitzki has been guarded by Nicholas Batum, Gerald Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Serge Ibaka, Thabo Sefolosha, Kevin Durant or Nick Collison...LeBron's guarding him now! And while the narrative of the best player in the world guarding the most un-guard-able player in the world is cute, let's make the facts straight:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Dirk torched the above defenders in a variety of ways. LeBron is not any better a defender against Dirk then those mentioned above. LeBron will guard Dirk. He will be athletic and quick and have all the supposed "traits." And he will fail. Instead of focusing on this match up (that, let's be honest, probably won't even see much time to make it that significant) let's go to the three defenders who will guard Dirk the most: Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Surprisingly, Bosh is a better defender than you think. <a href="http://blogs.thescore.com/tbj/2010/11/17/tbj-exclusive-like-a-bosh/">"Like a Bosh"</a> might have forever put an unfortunate (although hilarious) label on Miami's third wheel, but against Chicago he was easily their second best (and at times first best) player. Bosh might have succumbed to some Carlos Boozer pick and rolls and let Joakim Noah grab too many offensive boards in Game 1, but overall, Bosh was sound. He held his own against Boozer in iso situations and his offense has never been better. Joel Anthony hasn't done much in the playoffs to speak of and Haslem has enjoyed a rebirth after a devastating foot injury that has sidelined him practically all year to this point.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But here's the most shocking number in my pre-Finals research: 38.6. That was Dirk's field goal percentage in two games against Miami, by far his lowest against any opponent he faced more than once this year. Luckily, there's some handy <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU4Jv6FfJwk">game tape for the masses to review</a> and it's clear that Miami has ways to make Dirk uncomfortable. Bosh and Anthony aren't easy to back down and both provide some ample length to stay somewhat close to Dirk's midrange jumper. But closer looks also reveal something else: Dirk was just missing shots. Dirk had plenty of good looks in the two Miami games and some didn't fall. After seeing how Dirk has played in the last two weeks, I doubt those kind of shots aren't going to rim out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SbUDSG7cOyw/TeP-k5R8e-I/AAAAAAAAANM/03wsnoWlKaI/s1600/dirkheat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SbUDSG7cOyw/TeP-k5R8e-I/AAAAAAAAANM/03wsnoWlKaI/s400/dirkheat.jpg" width="335" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">There is much argument over to whether we're seeing a new Dirk or not. While Dirk is otherworldly this post season, it isn't unheard of. After all, Dirk is one of three players to average 25 and 10 in the playoffs. He torched the Spurs and Nuggets in the last two playoffs. But yes, something does feel different. If it was the same, then why would the Mavs be on the verge of an NBA title instead of a first round flameout that was the fate of so many previous teams?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Dirk's always been accountable, so that isn't it. But I have never seen #41 yell and scream so much at his teammates on the court. A dumb turnover from JJ Barea? Dirk is the first one chewing him out. Inexplicable pull up jumper from Jason Terry? Again, there's Dirk. Brandan Haywood with a lazy rotation at the rim, allowing an easy basket? Dirk, once again, is right there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Maybe it's because of Tyson Chandler, and his energy. Maybe it is being more comfortable with his teammates. Maybe he knows this year has to be <i>the </i>year. But emotionally and mentally, this Dirk wasn't anywhere near the Dirk in June of 2006. It's so good to see.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As much as Miami posses a problem for Dallas on the defensive end, the two biggest areas I have of concern on individual player defense are Miami's weakest spots -- the point guard and center. If you hark back to my OKC preview, don't underestimate the power of a Tyson Chandler not bogged down to a premier scorer. And while Chandler will be the main man to guard Chris Bosh, the Heat's front court depth is thin at best. Brandan Haywood might find himself having a monster series, gobbling up the Heat's undersized backup bigs. And remember when how good Jason Kidd was when he only had to guard Derek Fisher? Mike Bibby is Fisher's NBA equivalent now: no speed, no athleticism, no defense and an occasional made three. And don't even mention Mario Chalmers. Kidd will have the clear advantage again as the point guard and don't ever underestimate that. Kidd's legs will be fresh to make threes and perhaps guard Dwyane Wade for stretches. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">If 2006 happens again, it may be the end of me. It might be the end of Dirk's championship window. It might be the end of the Dirk era for Dallas basketball. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But I know Dirk has been waiting, patiently. I always laugh at how much attention a Kobe Bryant postgame shooting session gets. Never mind the stories I've heard of Dirk heading to the bowels of the AAC after a loss, shooting jumpers and working out for over two hours. As Dirk always says, you never know when this chance will come again. Five years ago, Dirk wasted it. He threw it away. He...choked it away. There's no denying it. But he has another shot. He will get another chance. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">He will win an NBA championship. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Dallas in six.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It had to be the Heat.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-54483366572841023442011-05-18T10:46:00.000-07:002011-05-18T10:51:18.962-07:00Dallas Mavericks 121, OKC Thunder 112: Dirk! Dirk! Dirk! Dirk!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6BysBnqMPsY/TdQHBuZCuXI/AAAAAAAAANE/UwMJ7bKA32k/s1600/dirkWCF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6BysBnqMPsY/TdQHBuZCuXI/AAAAAAAAANE/UwMJ7bKA32k/s400/dirkWCF.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Man, Jason Terry played one hell of a game.<br />
<br />
No?<br />
<br />
Well, J.J. Barea was unstoppable.<br />
<br />
No?<br />
<br />
Fine.<br />
<br />
DIRK. <b>DIRK. </b><i>DIRK. <b>DIRK.</b></i><br />
<b><i><br />
</i></b><br />
<b>Notes</b><br />
<br />
<div><b><br />
</b></div><div><ul><li>Dirk Nowitzki. 12-15 from the field. 24-24 from the free throw line. No threes attempted. 48 points. Game 1, in the bag. Probably the most adorable aspect of Dirk's heavenly performance was the way the ESPN crew (and Mike Breen especially) were calling the game, as if Dirk was some new thing that no one has ever heard of before. Yes he's amazing. And yes, he's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vy0kI4SMvo">done this before</a>. Also a quick note about Dirk's game to clarify why he doesn't attempt 25 shots at the rim per game -- when Dirk starts out a game, he'll feel out his jumper. If it's working, he keeps using it. There was no need for Dirk to throw himself towards the rim every play because quite frankly, his mid range jumpers were as good as lay ups. If the well way dry? Then I'm sure we would have seen Dirk go to the basket ala Game 5 against Portland.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Dirk had only six rebounds and two turnovers. Step your game up Dirk, goodness.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Perhaps the most annoying plot to come after the game through the Twitter was the conclusion that OKC played a "bad" game and Dallas played a "perfect" game yet only one by nine. I'm fairly certain OKC played a pretty good game, at least offensively. Serge Ibaka delivered and he's been fairly absent in the playoffs. Kendrick Perkins supplied some points. James Harden wasn't awful. Oh, and Kevin Durant dropped 40 on 18 shots. Sure, Russell Westbrook shot horribly, but guess what? He's done that his entire career against Dallas. Haven't you heard? Surely someone must have told you this.... </li>
</ul></div><div><ul><li>Both teams played great offensive games with some horrible defensive execution. Both teams have some room to grow and I feel OKC fans cop out of "well, Dirk isn't going to have this sort of game again" is an ignorant way to look at Game 2 adjustments. Dallas was absolutely horrendous on the pick and roll, leading to Ibaka's parade at the rim. There were some good things (trapping Kevin Durant at above the three point line with Perkins man) but once Ibaka was in the game, the Thunder exploited that. And while Russell Westbrook was only 3-15 from the field, he still had 18 free throw attempts thanks to blow bys against the Dallas guards. Tyson Chandler made sure Westbrook and Durant had to earn their points. Durant did, Westbrook...not so much.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Match ups baby, match ups. J.J. Barea looked like the worst thing Dallas has seen since (insert JFK joke here) in the Portland series primarily because of, you guessed it, match ups. The Trail Blazers assortment of tall guards and even longer bigs took away Barea's greatest strengths of driving and finishing at the rim and just managing on defense. In the past two series, there have been no guards that are relatively keen at posting up and with Eric Maynor and Nate Robinson as the Thunder back up PGs, Barea not only stands a chance to contribute, he could be Dallas' second leading scorer. It helps that Barea's screener was a man who had only three entire misses on the night, but there's no telling what Barea can do when he doesn't have to guard Andre Miller, Brandon Roy or Wesley Matthews. </li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>A note about the officiating -- it was some of the worst I've ever seen, both sides, in an NBA playoff game. I understand that both of these teams are experts of exploiting ways to get to the free throw line but some of the fouls on Tyson Chandler and the Thunder bigs were a bit ridiculous. Yes, two hands to the back of a post player is an automatic foul, but there were a few instances were I think the refs just assumed it was going on and gave Dirk the call. Also, can there be no murkier rule then a post defender going straight up? I thought that if the post man still leaves his feet, as long as he is straight up and not hitting arm/wrist of the shooter, it's not a foul. Three of Chandler's fouls were him leaving his feet but jumping straight up, the Thunder player go into his body and then Chandler blocking the ball cleanly. I feel these types of plays are crap shoots with the official.</li>
</ul></div><div><ul><li>It feels Shawn Marion played a bad game. After all, his man went off for 40 points on 18 shots and he only scored 10 points. Marion did go 5-for-10 from the field, but he went 3-5 at the rim and 2-4 from 3-9 feet. Marion was absolutely torched by Durant off the dribble as once Durant received a down screen from Perkins/Ibaka/Colliosn, he faced Marion up and after one dribble he was gone. The second half wasn't as bad, and Marion was to his credit displaying great effort but just as much the Thunder don't have a chance of stopping Dirk, the Mavs don't have a chance at stopping Durant. Then again, that was already pretty much a given.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Ho hum, another bad shooting night for Russell Westbrook against the Mavs. Boy, you would think that maybe Dallas has a pretty good gameplan against Westbrook, huh? Perhaps finally people will realize that yes, Tyson Chandler and Dirk Nowtizki are that big of a difference at the rim and yes, funneling Westbrook into your help defenders results in awkwardly missed 15 footers. I don't doubt Westbrook having a good game in this series, but the Mavericks obviously have a plan: go under screens, fall back, funnel into Tyson Chandler, close out on jumpers hard and trust the help defense. Until Westbrook can nail the pull up elbow jumper on a consistent basis or finish better with help defense, he will continue to struggle but also rack up the free throw attempts</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><ul><li>Pretty sure Jason Kidd is the only starting point guard for a playoff team to have a good game with a 1-for-3 shooting night.</li>
</ul></div><div><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>What a difference speed makes. After the Lakers lazily got out to Maverick shooters, the Thunder were quick to spring out to the three point line. The Mavericks two shooters most reliant on spot up threes (Peja, Kidd) went a combined 2-for-9 on three. I remember multiple instances of Peja gearing up to launch a corner three but the close out was just too good from the Thunder defense. Same for Kidd as well, as I believe he thought he had normally open looks from the top of the key disappear. </li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>So, Thunder faithful, if Dirk isn't going to "do that again," then does that mean Thabo Sefolosha and Daequan Cook won't go 4-of-5 from three again?</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://riceofpassage.blogspot.com/2011/05/adrian-wojnarowski-does-not-care-for.html">Adrian Wojnarowski </a>just changed his pick from Thunder in five to Thunder in four</span></span></li>
</ul></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></b></span></div></div></div></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-48018073578493826402011-05-17T11:53:00.000-07:002011-05-17T12:00:05.027-07:00Duel of the Fates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4HGsP3AvSF8/TdLDJY3e12I/AAAAAAAAANA/WYY1TFkPloU/s1600/DIRKIBAKA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4HGsP3AvSF8/TdLDJY3e12I/AAAAAAAAANA/WYY1TFkPloU/s400/DIRKIBAKA.jpg" width="328" /></a></div><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="80" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YatFEG41_GI" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
On a cool, crisp Monday evening in Oklahoma City back in December, my friends and I embarked from our hotel room onto the streets of OKC. It has become a yearly winter ritual with my closest friends, embarking on the 180-plus miles up Interstate 35, over the Red River and into Sooner country for Mavericks at Thunder. Our first trip was a success in 2009, as Dirk dropped 35 and 11 on 18 shots with Dallas dominating the second half and winning 100-86. That Oklahoma City team was still ripe, learning how to put the pieces of their talented roster together to become what would eventually be an 8th seeded team that pushed the defending champion Lakers to six games in the playoffs.<br />
<br />
But on this December night in 2010, the stakes were different. Oklahoma City was now established, a 50-win season under its belt and Russell Westbrook taking to next step. Dallas was the old team looking revitalized after another April embarrassment, thanks to Tyson Chandler and a full-training camp's worth of Caron Butler. I won't lie, the OKC road trip isn't just for basketball. There is some serious bro bonding that would make a Sig Ep shed a single tear. We had drinks. We fit eight college seniors into a two-bed hotel room to save cash. I refrained from taking part in too much of my beloved Jack Daniels before we ventured to the arena. Don't get me wrong, I love having an adult beverage at a sporting event just as much as the next guy, but I needed a clear head. I needed to see if something deep in the bottom of my stomach were true.<br />
<br />
I needed to know if the Dallas Mavericks were the best team in the NBA<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Thunder and Mavs are almost so much opposites that they're similar. Seriously. One fan base is spoiled with talented riches that are not only on average as old as a college senior, but also successful. Unless there are some big Shawn Kemp fans in Oklahoma City, these fans have had three seasons. Two 50 win seasons and one losing season. Dallas on the other hand, has had it's fair share of peaks and valleys, with each low and high point being the absolute ends of the spectrum. Teams with wins in the teens all the way to a Finals birth. One fan base is tortured to seemingly be forever cursed to never win it all for as long as the current roster stands. The other fan base is naively enjoying the best of all that can be enjoyed with basketball, not knowing anything but success and being thrilled to be apart of the ride and a long ride it looks to be. Truth is, if OKC bowed out in even four games in this WCF, I doubt the Thunder fans would actually be that upset. <i>"Wait, we went to the Conference Finals after picking third in the draft two years ago?! YES!" </i>Maverick fans however, would curse and rage until next season starts, an undeniable feeling of the proverbiale window finally snapping shut on the franchise's greatest player of all time.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The polar opposites continue to the actual teams in battle that do the same thing but in different ways. Both team's MVPs get their points primarily off jumpers and free throws. Except Kevin Durant is a face up nightmare, with a variety of dribble moves and curl downs off down screens to snap off that quick release and force defenders to only foul to stop him. Dirk Nowitzki on the other hand, has almost primarily gone to work with his back to the basket, using his footwork, head fakes and ball fakes to free up space, knock down that one-legged fading jumper or get fouled. Both teams rely on their point guards to keep the offense humming. Russell Westbrook does it by relentlessly attacking the basket with no fear or hesitation. Jason Kidd shies away from lay ups whenever possible, transitioning his basketball skills to become a marksmen from three and able to turn Brandon Haywood and Tyson Chandler into double digit scorers with his passing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Both have benches where the sixth man is often the key to each team's success. Both six men take the spot of a defensive two guard whose only job is to shut down the team's best perimeter scorer for about 10 minutes a game. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Some will say the only difference in these teams will be experience and that's why the Mavericks will prevail. Experience is slightly overrated. Did experience lead the Grizzles over the No. 1 Spurs? Did experience lead the Warriors to stun the Mavericks? Did experience rush Dwight Howard and the Magic to the NBA Finals? Did experience allow Dwyane Wade to become Bennett Salvatore's favorite player? (I kid, I kid.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The reason the Mavericks or the Thunder will win this series is the same reason every NBA team ever wins a playoff series -- match ups, match ups and match ups.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Already settled into my seat in the Oklahoma City Arena, I watched what many Maverick fans usually expect the Thunder to do to them every time: run circles around them. Durant scoffed at the notion he was being guarded by DeShawn Stevenson as he rained in jumpers over him. Serge Ibaka was swatting shots into the fifth row. Hell, even Jeff Green was taking advantage of Dirk's limited perimeter defense. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Luckily, the Mavs had Dirk. Both teams swayed with runs back and forth. Dallas would make a push for a five point lead, the Thunder would push right back to be up four. Then, late in the second quarter, Dirk drilled a one-legged fade. Banked it off the glass after getting fouled on top of it from a bewildered Green. But something went wrong. Dirk's landed off that jumper over 1,000 times. Probably a million times by now. But this time, his knees buckled. His weight crashed down on his knees as he twisted in pain, falling to the floor. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">From our nose-bleed seats, we couldn't tell it was his knee at the time. We all assumed it was another sprained ankle and when Dirk gingerly got to the line to still make the free throw, it was also assumed that Dirk was fine. The game went to half tied at 56. Waiting in line to get myself a Bud Light (probably priced at $9) my friend Robert told me the news.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">"Dad just texted me. Dirk out in second half with a sprained knee."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">My biggest qualm with this series is how quickly some people are throwing out the regular season meetings between these two teams. Most notably, the defense the Mavericks have played on Russell Westbrook. I've read about 500 times in the last five days that "the Mavs have no answer to Russell Westbrook." Except they've had an answer. Every single time they've played against him, they've had an answer.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Westbrook is a career 37 percent shooter against Dallas. If you think that's hindered by his poor shooting rookie season, he's a 31.8 percent shooter this season. Jason Kidd might only be able to catch Russel Westbrook if 2002 Jason Kidd returned but 2011 Kidd is just as smart. Kidd goes under every ball screen and forces Westbrook to shoot a 15-20 foot jumper. The Mavericks can live with that. It also won't just be Kidd that forces the action on Westbrook. DeShawn Stevenson has been announced as starting on him with Marion likely getting some spot time as well. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But probably the biggest underselling of this series is the impact of Tyson Chandler. While I doubt Chandler will replicate the his season averages of 12.7 points and 15.5 rebounds against the Thunder with no Green or Nenad Krstic on board, don't underestimate the power of a free roaming Chandler.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Think of it this way. Chandler's last three playoff opponents have been LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Now it'll be Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins. No disrespect to those two fine players at all, but Chandler is now set loose. He is free to roam the paint and do what he is best at: help defense. Chandler's ability to meet Westbrook at the rim was a big reason why Westbrook shot so poorly against Dallas all season.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Those are really the keys. Everything else is pretty much settled. Dirk will go off. Durant will go off. Both Eric Maynor and James Harden and J.J. Barea and Jason Terry will have their moments. This series boils down to Chandler's ability to protect the rim without a low post scorer to check and the crunch time play of Westbrook and Jason Kidd. If the Mavericks fall back into their earlier turnover demons, this series could turn quickly for OKC. I put my faith into Kidd, he's done it so far.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Without Dirk, the third quarter looked bleak. The Mavericks offense had been diluted down to Marion post ups and Caron Butler jumpers. Durant was cooking and Kidd's three point shot was off. When the third quarter horn sounded, I slumped in my chair. The Mavs were only down two, but how long could they realistically hold on in OKC without Dirk?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The fourth quarter got underway with multiple missed shots for both teams. You could tell each team wanted to have that lockdown fourth quarter, the kind that leaves no doubt who the better team is. The Mavs zone enticed the Thunder to shoot from the outside. And they continued to miss. Jason Terry then remembered that quarter number four was the quarter he was allowed to make shots. JET and Butler continued to put in just enough points as the rest of the team blanketed the Thunder with their defense. As I danced in my aisle among some disgruntled OKC fans, I caught some things I would always remember -- Terry antagonizing the crowd and Butler slamming the ball at half court in celebration. These Mavs are different. No other Mavs team would come into this environment, against this team and win without Dirk, I thought to myself.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As I walked through the tunnel that went from the OKC Arena to our hotel, my friends were drunk with happy. Or drunk with drunk. Either way, the Maverick euphoria was all over. I walked quietly in the back. One thought was racing through my head:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Dallas Mavericks are the best team in the NBA</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Mavs in six.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"></span></b><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></b></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></b></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></b></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></b></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-9574978839536270822011-05-16T14:47:00.000-07:002011-05-16T14:47:07.852-07:00Adrian Wojnarowski Does Not Care for the Mavericks, ApparentlyA word before I begin: Adrian Wojnarowski is, in my mind, the best national NBA beat writer out there. If there's ever a breaking news story, "Woj" is all over it. And nobody is better at breaking news during the trade deadline. I almost believe that when a trade is made, a G.M. does two things -- he calls the other team to accept the trade and then he calls Woj. He breaks everything. He is the Ken Rosenthal of the NBA. Another thing that makes him great is that despite being a beat writer he isn't afraid to express his voice when he dips into his column work. Beat writers are plagued by the fine line they have to dance around between writing truthful negative stories and keeping happy sources. Woj doesn't just dance well at this line -- he single handily does his own interpretation of the "Black Swan" at the line. For example, just Google "Adrian Wojnarowski LeBron James." The man has a mean streak.<br />
<br />
Now that I've done the usual "respecting the guy thing," I can now freely shit on this man's chest, figuratively.<br />
<br />
I kid, I kid. The last thing I want this blog's reputation to be is a biased, ranting Maverick homer blog (or do I?) But it strikes me from Woj's playoff predictions that he isn't the biggest Maverick fan. A rundown, Tarantino-style, from West Finals and back:<br />
<br />
West Finals: OKC in five.<br />
<br />
West Semis: LA in five<br />
<br />
West Quarters: Portland in four<br />
<br />
The OKC prediction doesn't bother me in the fact that I don't believe the Thunder can win, but the way in which Woj thinks they will. For the Thunder to win in five games, at minimum they have to win two of the three games played in Dallas, one being a Game 5 elimination game. Now, OKC is a fine road team but even they only took one of three in Memphis, which clearly looks to be a less talented team than Dallas. The Thunder can beat the Mavs for sure. But in five? Without homecourt? I'm not too sure.<br />
<br />
The Lakers prediction is probably the most sane of the bunch. Hell, <a href="http://riceofpassage.blogspot.com/2011/05/los-angeles-lakers-vs-dallas-mavericks.html">even I picked the Lakers</a> to vanquish the Mavs in five. The regular season data suggested it. Eye test suggested it. The Lakers even showed signs of coming alive by dominating the Hornets to close out the series. What the Mavericks did was surprising and the Lakers seemingly willingness to fold even more shocking. So, free pass there.<br />
<br />
But Portland in four? This is an embarrassingly bad prediction that I can't even fathom why he would do that. It can't be for shock factor because the NBA is not the NCAA -- upsets rarely happen. If they do, it's because of a particular match up for that series. It's hard to upset a team that's better than you over the course of a seven game series. Would Butler beat Pittsburgh four out of seven? What about George Mason and UConn? There isn't much glamor to calling an upset in the NBA because people don't invest in the betting, prediction process as much. If he gets it right, cool -- here's a pat on the back and a couple of retweets. Good job.<br />
<br />
What's so remarkable about the predictions is the guy isn't some newspaper columnist that's tied to a local region. The man knows his hoops. Being a national writer, he might not be able to watch these teams as closely as we can, but come on, <b>PORTLAND IN FOUR?! </b>A casual NBA fan would even know that the teams were very closely matched and the Trail Blazers had a horrible road record. I understood every reason why people picked the Blazers over the Mavs, but there is in no way that evidence supported the Blazers taking four straight games. The first two in Dallas, no less.<br />
<br />
I'm sorry to take up an entire post on something so trite and meaningless as playoff predictions (the NBA! It's UNPREDICTABLE!) but I felt I needed to get that off my chest.<br />
<br />
<i>Note: My Western Conference Finals preview will drop tomorrow. I'm taking a slightly different, more narrative approach this time. Hopefully that will make more sense to you all tomorrow. Want a small taste? I like the Mavs (for once)</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"></span></i><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></i></div><br />
<i><br />
</i>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-72757018957890803282011-05-10T13:55:00.000-07:002011-05-10T13:55:51.982-07:00Being Wrong Never Felt so Good<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j3aaAeu4u7c/TcmmSONJjuI/AAAAAAAAAM8/xmUWeK3nyds/s1600/terrycubes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j3aaAeu4u7c/TcmmSONJjuI/AAAAAAAAAM8/xmUWeK3nyds/s400/terrycubes.jpg" width="332" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Who had Mavericks in four? Oh, that's right -- <i>nobody</i>. Probably not even the higher powers of this universe could have predicted such a fate for the two-time defending champions.<br />
<br />
But Dallas is moving onto the Western Finals for the first time since 2006 and the fourth time in franchise history. An incredible implosion from the Lakers all helped by an incredible team effort for the Mavs. Funny enough, in my series preview, I stated that the only way Dallas had a chance to win is if Gasol + Bynum fail to average 35 points per game and the Mavs were blazing behind the arc.<br />
<br />
Well....<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Bynum and Gasol averaged 25 points per game for the series, with only two games even reaching the 30 point mark. The duo never reached a combined 35 points in a single game with the highest being 31 in Game 2.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div><ul><li>The Mavericks shot 46 percent from three, which is a great number in itself. But the Mavericks made 49-of-106 behind the arc. 49 three pointers in four games. An incredible number punctuated by the 20-of-32 display in the Game 4 beat down.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div>The most shocking part of the series to me was the ability of Tyson Chandler, Brandan Haywood and Dirk Nowitzki to handle Gasol and Bynum in the post. Gasol shot under 50 percent for the series and only attempted 18 shots total at the rim for all four games. This was obviously not the same Gasol we've seen over the last three years and while Dirk's defense was perhaps the best I've ever seen him when guarding a potent post threat, Gasol didn't do himself any favors by straying farther and farther away from the basket. </div></div><div><br />
</div><div>I knew Haywood would be able to body Bynum because he as the size and weight to do so. Chandler was a different story and while Bynum had two sparkly games, the Lakers needed every game for Bynum to be a difference maker. Chandler was benefited by the referees allowing physical play and Chandler used that to body up Bynum and limit his catches in the paint. Chandler forced Bynum to make three or four dribbles on most of his post catches and that's a huge deal. Big men don't like dribbling. It's science. </div><div><br />
</div><div>And how nice is it to have Jason Terry back? <a href="http://www.thetwomangame.com/2011/05/the-difference-dallas-mavericks-98-los-angeles-lakers-92/">According to the greatness that is Rob Mahoney</a>, Terry is having his highest PER in the playoffs since, well, ever. Terry has long been known for his post season disappearances since 2006 and what we're seeing now is what we've expected to see for the last five years. Terry's long-standing role on this team has always been to be the second scorer. In the past, that well was dried up and Dirk was forced into a one-man stand against an onslaught of playoff opponents. For right now, that is no longer the case. Dirk has help in the scoring department, as both Jason Kidd and Peja Stojakovic have also had their moments. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Speaking of Jason Kidd, the Devin Harris trade might have officially been decided win (and especially will so if the Mavs advance to the Finals.) There's no question the fact that in in each fourth quarter against LA, Dallas out-executed the champs in every way. The Mavs ran their offense to perfection to close out every tight game in the series and that has to go with Dirk's steadiness in not turning the ball over and the grasp in which Jason Kidd has on a team's offense. Kidd might not have put up the scoring numbers like the Portland series, but he didn't need to -- he just kept the Mavericks ship from not capsizing and played some credible crunch time defense against Kobe Bryant. </div><div><br />
</div><div>And how can we not finish with Dirk? While I plan on describing his brillance in more detail later on, he was quite simply, the best player of the series. Outplaying Kobe both in scoring and making his teammates better, Dirk simply did what Dirk do (to steal a phrase from a certain baseball manager) and drain silly fades, drop daggers and find his teammates off of double teams. An exemplary performance and one that, honestly, isn't too surprising anymore. </div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div></span></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-68765980051870929722011-05-08T16:55:00.000-07:002011-05-08T16:56:59.226-07:00Deuces, Los Angeles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GxUskBdeFY0/TccsNi8LIfI/AAAAAAAAAM4/rs8gwQgeWPA/s1600/JETFTW2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GxUskBdeFY0/TccsNi8LIfI/AAAAAAAAAM4/rs8gwQgeWPA/s400/JETFTW2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Dallas Mavericks have outclassed the two-time defending champions both on the basketball court and as competitors. A 4-0 sweep of the team I <a href="http://riceofpassage.blogspot.com/2011/05/los-angeles-lakers-vs-dallas-mavericks.html">picked to best the Mavs in five games.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">More to come (I promise this time) by the end of tonight and tomorrow morning. But for now, eat, drink and be merry -- your Dallas Mavericks are having their finest season since 2006 and just vanquished the one team that truly should intimidate you. Once again please use this as a forum to discuss a great moment for a great team.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-79208807526917071062011-05-05T10:12:00.000-07:002011-05-05T10:12:55.762-07:00The Dallas Mavericks are 2-0Despite the brillance of Dirk Nowitzki, Dirk has done this in the playoffs for the last four years. What he hasn't gotten is contributions from Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, J.J. Barea and the center position (Brandan Haywood and Tyson Chandler, take a bow.)<br />
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I've received about five to seven hours of sleep over the last two nights combined. So forgive me as I might just take some rest and post something up tonight or tomorrow. I'm beat. <br />
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In the meantime, use this as a forum for all the good-vibe thoughts (or not, I believe the most comments I've received was on my rage post after Arron Afflalo drilled that buzzer beater.)<br />
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I'll leave you with Dirk's best moment of Wednesday night. I've watched this video about 832 times.<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AyaMwIRS2nE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-58201065810067285522011-05-03T15:25:00.000-07:002011-05-03T18:22:21.402-07:00Dallas Mavericks 96, Los Angeles 94: Our Power Forward is Better Than Yours<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--xhmpsYkucY/TcCAvNxWXbI/AAAAAAAAAMw/t9r8FYeiLvw/s1600/dirkla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--xhmpsYkucY/TcCAvNxWXbI/AAAAAAAAAMw/t9r8FYeiLvw/s400/dirkla.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><br />
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Last night, I failed myself and didn't even take my own advice. I scummed to history. Throughout the entire fourth quarter, I assumed Kobe would make the last shot of the game and the Mavericks would leave the court, shell-shocked from another Kobe dagger.<br />
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When Kobe rose up to take the game-winning three, I knew it was going down. As it bounced of the back iron I was stunned. The Dallas Mavericks went into Los Angeles, fell behind by 16 in the third quarter and <i>won</i>.<br />
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I've read a lot of rumblings from national outlets and sites stating how horrible the Lakers played and the Mavs winning by only two is a testament to the Lakers ability and talent. Now, there's no doubt the Lakers slept-walked from the opening tip until a couple of minutes remaining in the second quarter. But from there on? They were into it. Kobe had that look, Gasol and Bynum were sharing the ball and Odom was making plays.<br />
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I believe it's more fair to say that both teams didn't play their "A" games, except the final three minutes of the game, Dallas flat out <i>executed</i>. There were no Jason Terry hero shots. No Jason Kidd pull up threes. No wild Shawn Marion shot clock expiring attempts. Just pure executed offense, not reliant on Dirk, but running through him. There are plenty of things to improve on, but it's so much easier to swallow up 1-0 over the two time champs with three games to play in Dallas.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kUmQxJDIaJM/TcCAz1kREaI/AAAAAAAAAM0/8scz_QcsWMI/s1600/tchandler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kUmQxJDIaJM/TcCAz1kREaI/AAAAAAAAAM0/8scz_QcsWMI/s400/tchandler.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />
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<ul><li>I have literally run out of ways to describe Dirk Nowitziki and his continued brilliance as a basketball player. 28 points on 22 shots, 50 percent from the field, from three and perfect from the free throw line. If Dirk would have received a couple of friendly AAC-type calls on a couple of bumps he received on some of his jumpers, he would have been well over 30 points. Throw in 14 rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block and only one turnover. Add in a couple of crunch time buckets and scores and you have another typical great Dirk night. Keep it up, big German.</li>
</ul><ul><li>A note on the 14 rebounds: there was some concern over Dirk's rebounding ability. It was a worthy concern, with his age climbing and his athletic ability in a downward trend. And of course, he turns it on another level in the playoffs. That's now three double doubles in seven playoff games with three other games of 7, 8 and 9 boards. </li>
</ul><ul><li>I mentioned in my playoff preview that the only way for the Lakers to stumble is if they beat themselves. It happened to a degree with Kobe shot hunting from the perimeter (no shot attempts at the rim) and Ron Artest going bonkers with a 1-for-8 shooting night. Kobe might have been incredible, but the more 29-jump-shots-no-assists-nights he puts up, the more I like the Mavericks chances.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Since we're focusing on what I said right, let's go next to where I'll be wrong. Andrew Bynum was completely shut down by the duo of Tyson Chandler and Brandon Haywood. I'm not as surprised with Haywood's performance, since Haywood has always had this in him, with his great length and strength to match Bynum. Chandler is a different story. He worked, pushed, shoved and battled Bynum about as well I've ever seen. Granted, the refs allowed a lot of physical play and I caught at least three instances of Chandler having both hands on Bynum's back (a usual no-no). Also, with Bynum ineffective that put Odom and Gasol on the floor which heavily favors Dallas by allowing Chandler to work on Gasol. Gasol shot 5-for-10 but Chandler forced a few misses and made him pass out of the post a couple of times in the fourth. One more quick note: I noticed by my unofficial count that Bynum caught the ball in the post with both his feet out of the paint at least four to five times. As a post player myself (and a rather bad one at that) I can't tell you how much difference it makes to force a big man to put the ball on the floor a couple of more times then he wants to.</li>
</ul><ul><li> Bench points -- Dallas, 40. LA, 25. 'Nuff said.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Actually, more said: Jason Terry saved Dallas in the first half (before he destroyed it in the last two seconds.) Dirk started hot, making his first three shots but had a real rough stretch during the second quarter. In that time, Terry carried the offense on his back, going perfect from the field in the first half, all on great shots. Terry popped off picks, shot off swing passes and had some beautiful pump-fake, escape dribble baskets. Terry cooled off in the second half a bit, but his offense was monumental when Dirk was momentarily human. </li>
</ul><ul><li>For Corey Brewer to do what he did, without having played meaningful basketball in months, to step up in the biggest game of his NBA career...wow. The Mavs went on a 22-11 run when Brewer checked in after the Lakers built a 60-44 lead in the third, and his three pointer brought the game to 64-61. He played valiant defense (even though Kobe still drained a few jumpers in his face) and was more impressively offensively. He finished on the break, made a three (!) and had two, real nifty passes after driving baseline. Both resulted in Tyson Chandler points and really showcased that he has the room to grow into an all-around player, whenever that jumper becomes less wonky. Who thought we'd be seeing Brewer play, let alone taking a heat check three? (Even though it rimmed out.)</li>
</ul>I'll stop here for now, but there are plenty of other things in this game to nitpick. Jason Kidd played a truly two-faced game (third = poop, fourth = better), J.J. Barea shows what he can contribute when he isn't being posted up on every play and Kobe was completely wide open on that last three. Game 2 is Wednesday and it might be the hardest game the Mavericks will ever play.<br />
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<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></span></span></div></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-40906953291528320792011-05-02T12:49:00.000-07:002011-05-02T12:49:06.936-07:00Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks Playoff Preview: Goliath, Meet David<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JEbNiQMoiJY/Tb8H7BygiZI/AAAAAAAAAMs/UjUyi3476Hc/s1600/Dirk+playoffs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JEbNiQMoiJY/Tb8H7BygiZI/AAAAAAAAAMs/UjUyi3476Hc/s400/Dirk+playoffs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Worst part of the playoffs? History. It's an annoying tidbit of information to give depth to a particular match up, but far too often used as a crutch in analysis. For instance, some people picked the Trailer Blazers to beat the Mavericks not because of their match ups in the post and at the guard positions, but because Dallas has a bad history in the playoffs. It's lazy and we're hearing even more now with the Lakers and Mavs squaring off in Round 2:<br />
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Kobe scored 62 against the Mavs through three quarters in 2005 -- even though that years Mavs team went to the NBA Finals and Kobe's Lakers blew a 3-2 series lead to the Suns and took a seat after the first round. And only two players remain from that Mavs team.<br />
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LA has beaten Dallas in the last three playoff series -- even though the last series was back in 1988 when Roy Tarpley was supposed to be the 90s Dirk.<br />
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Forgoing history, Dallas and LA are actually surprisingly close. Lakers were seventh in offensive efficiency (107.9), Mavs were eighth (107.6). Lakers were sixth in defensive efficiency (101.3), Mavs were seventh (102.3). It's amazing how these two teams are so close, given their completely different styles.<br />
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As most know, the Lakers are at their best when Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are allowed to freely operate in the paint. Kobe Bryant is still the headliner, but the two bigs LA throws down in the paint truly carry the Lakers not just offensively, but defensively as well. Without Bynum in the lineup, the Lakers are forced to tap into their only true source of bench production in Lamar Odom and feature a front line without a true rim protector. Gasol and Odom do their best to swat shots, but both are either bad to average post defenders. Bynum changes that, and gives the Lakers the most formidable front line in the NBA, Memphis Grizzles notwithstanding.<br />
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The Mavericks do it almost the other way, jump shooting their way to eventual better looks at the rim with all-around team production from key role guys. Funny enough, both teams are at their worst when its stars (Dirk, Kobe) are one-man-bands. The difference though, is that when Dirk takes over games, he's usually successful and draws ire from the media when he ISN'T carrying the Mavericks on his back. Kobe is brandished whenever he shoots around 25-30 shots, as whispers of ball hog float around the interwebs. Perhaps the difference comes from the fact that Kobe can control an entire possession, from bringing the ball up the court to initiating an offense while Dirk is at the bevy of his teammates' ability to give him the ball in the mid-post. Just an interesting aside.<br />
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Unfortunately, the regular season ultimately does not lie (I.E. 2011 Memphis Grizzles vs Spurs/Thunder, Mavs in 2007) and Dallas ultimately has no realistic shot of conquering the Lakers. In that final meeting in late March, the LA duo bulldozed Tyson Chandler as if he were Shawn Bradley and the Mavericks backcourt completely imploded. The only way for the Mavs to beat the Lakers is if the Lakers beat themselves by ignoring Gasol and Bynum and Kobe/Ron Artest/Derek Fisher hijack the offense. Too many things have to fall right in line for Dallas -- Dirk has to be brilliant, Chandler has to stay out of foul trouble and play even better defense than Round 1, Jason Terry and Jason Kidd have to continue Round 1 shooting and Shawn Marion has to check Kobe. For the Lakers? Feed the ball inside and limit the scoring of Jason Terry. That's about it. They don't have to necessarily stop Dirk because it's been documented with this team that you can beat the Mavs with Dirk going off close to 30. The key is (and always has been) secondary scoring.<br />
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This is why I unfortunately pick <b>the Lakers to win in five games.</b> I know that sounds overly harsh, but the only scenarios I can imagine the Mavericks winning is if Bynum/Gasol combo fail to score at least 35 points and Dallas blazing from behind the arc. The Mavs showed they can be physical in Round 1, but that was the Blazers and a Portland frontline that only had LaMarcus Aldridge to be feared (least you forget Dirk guarded Marcus Camby and his less that four points per game scoring average.)<br />
<br />
What could swing the pendulum back toward the Mavs? Rodrique Beaubouis can be a secret weapon employed to attack Fisher, Steve Blake and the Shannon Brown guard rotation. And here's my ultimate "throw it out there, take it or tell me I'm dumb" strategy: Dallas playing Dirk at the three (small forward) for small stretches in the game.<br />
<br />
If the Lakers roll out their lineup of Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum the Mavericks could conceivably counter that with Kidd, Marion, Dirk, Chandler and Haywood. I'll let you pick the pieces of your head off the floor, but let me explain:<br />
<br />
This would easily be the best defensive lineup for Dallas against LA's twin beats. Chandler on his own can't tangle with Bynum's strength but against Gasol? He has a better chance. Haywood's size and defensive skill set was practically made for Bynum's old school post game. Dirk could be hidden on defense by guarding Artest, since he's rarely a big piece during the Lakers offensive movement. We saw in Round 1 Dirk guard Gerald Wallace and Nicolas Batum for brief stretches without much damage done. With Artest's wonky three-point shot and his greatest strength (posting up) taken away, he provides less of a threat and allows Marion to fully commit to Kobe without having Jason Kidd or Jason Terry be forced to guard Artest and be bullied on the low block.<br />
<br />
Of course, this lineup has severe offensive limitations. The only outside shooter around Dirk is Kidd, which would allow the Lakers to use Kidd's man to send the double and allow Marion, Chandler or Haywood to catch the ball out of their comfort zones. Perhaps Marion can exploit the doubling down on Dirk with some dive cuts and Chandler and Haywood could create pin downs for easy dunks, but that's hopeful thinking. I'm not saying this lineup would completely work, but I think it deserves a shot, especially when Dallas will likely need to change <i>something</i> from the norm because the norm isn't working against LA.<br />
<br />
Some see the Hornets ability to take two from the Lakers as a sign of weakness from the champs. But you must remember that it took two, transcendent, unbelievable, brilliant, life-altering performances from Chris Paul and some surprising outside shooting from Trevor Ariza. When Paul was just a mere All-Star mortal the Lakers won and they won convincingly.<br />
<br />
My heart is telling me I'm wrong, that Dallas will split the road and home sets, then take the next two to win the series in six games. But my logical, basketball brain cannot compute. I hope, <i>pray</i>, that I am wrong.<br />
<br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div></span></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-27616365481039451912011-04-25T22:43:00.000-07:002011-04-25T22:43:31.478-07:00Dallas Mavericks 93, Portland Trail Blazers 82: Plumb, Mad-Dog Mean<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zs5ejvCuqJI/TbZauzxbgkI/AAAAAAAAAMk/lGfy2Rh_w0A/s1600/dirkpaint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zs5ejvCuqJI/TbZauzxbgkI/AAAAAAAAAMk/lGfy2Rh_w0A/s400/dirkpaint.jpg" width="322" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=310425006">Box Score</a> <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/shotchart?gameId=310425006">Shot Chat</a></div><br />
Angry. That was absolutely angry. In one of the most defining games of the franchise and if you don't believe it, then you don't get on the Internet much. Cries of a lost fan base, a tortured city and failed promises rang throughout various forms of media since Saturday's heartbreaking Game 4 loss.<br />
<br />
Was Dallas mentally tough enough?<br />
<br />
Were the demons of past Mavs' failures still too fresh in the minds of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry?<br />
<br />
Can Dallas rise to the occasion?<br />
<br />
Check, check and double check. The Mavericks throughly dismantled the Blazers in Game 5 in the second half, after taking Portland's best punch throughout the first. It was an ominous start, with both teams engaged in some quality defense and missing shots from all over the court. The Blazers even took a 23-15 lead at one point, with the AAC crowd audibly upset. Is this really going to happen?<br />
<br />
Luckily, Dirk, Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion turned up their intensity to 11. The Mavericks made a concentrated effort to get to the rim (40 paint points) rebounded like hell (49-37) and displayed a physical toughness on the defensive side of the floor that would make the December Mavericks blush.<br />
<br />
Dallas has shot under 42 percent in two games this series...and won both of them. Can't say I didn't expect that to happen in February.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xVss8KonUBg/TbZa-J31LQI/AAAAAAAAAMo/4UlbnfasZe4/s1600/chandler2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xVss8KonUBg/TbZa-J31LQI/AAAAAAAAAMo/4UlbnfasZe4/s400/chandler2.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Notes</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<br />
<ul><li>Can we bottle this Dirk Nowitzki and keep him forever? Don't get me wrong. I love the awkward one-legged fadeaway as much as the next guy, but Dirk <i>relentlessly</i> attacked the paint at will. In the third quarter, by my count, Dirk didn't attempt one unassisted isolation jumper as he scored 11 points in the third alone. The constant agression wasn't always rewarded, but 9-of-11 from the free line is justification of Dirk's focus to attack, attack, attack. Dirk also threw in three offensive rebounds and just for kicks, three assists (and would have more if not for some hacks to Chandler and Brendan Haywood.)</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div><ul><li>Amazing what staying on the court does to your game. Chandler played just under 35 minutes tonight, and boy, were those minutes huge minutes. 14 points, 20 rebounds (13 offensive) AND holding LaMarcus Aldridge in check. Aldridge put up 12 and nine, easily his worst game of the series and he's now posted back-to-back sub-50 percent shooting games. Credit Chandler for being more physical in Aldridge and, like I've been saying, forcing Aldridge out of his comfort zones. In the first three games, Aldridge was catch the ball extremely close to the basket, requiring a simple turnaround or hook shot for the easy two points. Now, Chandler is forcing Aldridge to get paint buckets by facing up and trying to drive on him, rather than catching close to the rim with his back to the basket. It's a subtle change, but it makes a huge difference. </li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Before the series started, I made a note of how important it was for Chandler to be a presence on the offensive end. Well, that only took five games. Chandler's 14 points was easily his most in the series and it was in classic Chandler fashion -- just four shot attempts. When Chandler was in full force before February and March, it wasn't unusual for him to post single-digit-shot attempts, double-digit free-throw-attempt-nights. With 12 free throw attempts, Chandler actually had the most attempts of any player in the game. </li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Another benefit of Chandler scoring: offensive rebounds. We know Chandler lacks the offensive polish of say, his counterpart LaMarcus Aldridge. So Chandler has to create shot attempts for himself in three ways: Pick and roll, rebounds and running the floor. Chandler certainly took care of the rebounding part, helping the Mavericks corral 20 (!) offensive rebounds. All the extra possessions meant Dallas had more shot attempts (78-74) and free throw attempts (35-19).</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>If Jason Kidd channeled his shooting from Games 1-3, the Mavericks might have been up by 25 or 30 in this one. Kidd only made one shot (a layup!) finishing 1-for-7 as he's clearly setting his feet back down to earth after being in shooting heaven for the last week. Kudos to Kidd for continuing to make an impact, as he controlled the offense well after a couple of early, uncharacteristic turnovers in the first quarter. Portland thrives on their opponents mistakes and Kidd made sure the Mavs weren't fueling the Blazers offense. 14 assists and two turnovers. Incredible.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Jason Terry (8-for-18, 20 points) had an interesting game. And by that I mean it was up and down. After attempting hero mode in the fourth quarter in Game 4 (and taking shots away from Dirk) Terry picked his spots a bit better, but still had a few questionable heaves from distance (including a eye-rolling 1-on-4 transition jumper.) Still, Terry's biggest role right now for the Mavs is to provide complementary scoring while not crapping the bed of defense. To that credit, he succeeded tonight Brandon Roy and Andre Miller spun by Terry a couple of times, but all in all, a vast improvement on defense from Terry as he really held his own in the post more than all the previous games in the series.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Speaking of the bench, Rick Carlisle might have finally figured out that J.J. Barea is just not meant to be for this series. Barea played a hair under 15 minutes, his lowest total of the series and just about every one of them was ineffective. I didn't expect much from Barea with Portland's size all over the court and those queezy feelings are being fully realized. What's worse, Barea isn't even off-setting his horrible defense with any offense, now shooting <i>27 percent</i> for the series. He can't finish among Portland's bigs and his jumper has traveled back in time to November. During the regular season, it's easy to hide Barea's shortcomings (no pun intended) due to the grind and less time for game planning and scouting. But playing the same team five times? There's nothing to hide, and with no other real alternative to the back up point guard, we're going to have to live with at least 15 minutes of Barea for the rest of this series (and playoffs)</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Barea aside, the rest of the bench had some very good moments. Peja Stojakovic knocked down some threes and Brendan Haywood grabbed five rebounds and had two blocks in his limited time. I've been really impressed with how Haywood has handled Aldridge and bodied him up so far. This series has shown that Haywood still has the tools and smarts to be a capable defender and his performance in this series when Chandler has been bugged with foul trouble has been absolutely invaluable. He may still not be living up to that contract, but he's playing with a pulse, something we couldn't say just a few weeks ago. Now, about those free throws...</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Last but not least, I would hope that we don't ever have to read about Shawn Marion not seeing enough fourth quarter minutes. Marion's line won't wow you (14 points, 6-of-14 shooting, four rebounds) but the overall contributions add up: three assists, four steals, two blocks and one turnover. Marion had his hands everywhere in this game, from tapping offensive rebounds out to poking the ball away in the post to playing what was easily the best perimeter defense on the night. 96.24 defensive efficiency rating for the Mavs.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div>Game 6 is Thursday in Portland as for the first time, this series gets two off-days. Interesting to see if how many minutes the starters will get with the extra rest. No soft talk for two straight days! Incredible!</div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-10349544462683958532011-04-21T18:53:00.000-07:002011-04-21T18:53:42.454-07:00TROP Playoff Chat: Mavericks vs Blazers Game 3Can't say I have much faith in Dallas tonight, despite the past two games. These teams are just too close for one to go up 3-0. But I've been surprised before.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="550px" scrolling="no" src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=2fe20f1b88/height=550/width=470" width="470px">&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=2fe20f1b88" &amp;amp;gt;Mavericks @ Blazers Game 3&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;</iframe>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-38803103650341408902011-04-20T16:53:00.000-07:002011-04-20T16:53:22.328-07:00Dallas Mavericks 101, Portland Trail Blazers 89: A New Hope<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9vBZQ7FU4kY/Ta9xl1nwCGI/AAAAAAAAAMc/5my0bs2Oe2E/s1600/9983e8fd9f1f291de7596e88b424ac32-getty-112186013rm018_portland_tra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9vBZQ7FU4kY/Ta9xl1nwCGI/AAAAAAAAAMc/5my0bs2Oe2E/s400/9983e8fd9f1f291de7596e88b424ac32-getty-112186013rm018_portland_tra.jpg" width="292" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Halfway through the fourth quarter in this Game 2 of the first round, a particular scene stuck with me. Dirk Nowitzki finished a tough shot at the rim over LaMarcus Aldridge as the Mavericks begun to pull away. Blazers coach Nat McMillan called a timeout and the AAC faithful went into a frenzy. Dirk walked back to the bench, his<a href="http://thebestten.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/michael-jordan-tongue.jpg"> Michael Jordan-esque tongue celebration</a> in full force.<br />
<br />
But that wasn't what stuck out to me, I've seen that before. As Dirk strutted back to the bench, Tyson Chandler walked beside him, screaming at him, chest pumping and forehead bumping him. Chandler was so intense I thought he might pass out right there on the court. I've never seen another Maverick <i>that </i>into outside of Dirk. Sure, there's Jason Terry and he tries to get the crowd into it, but I've never really believed Terry, mainly because he usually doesn't back it up on the court.<br />
<br />
I'm probably taking too much stock into this. This isn't talking about Dallas offensive efficiency or turnover rate, I know. But still, this has to count for something. Dallas seems tougher, acts tougher and looks to be completely aware of its past playoff fates lately, and wants to change something about it.<br />
<br />
Anyhow, before I keep rambling on, Dallas takes a 2-0 lead against a team that was widely predicted to beat them behind an MVP performance from well, the MVP, another brilliant shooting night from its point guard and a return of what was the deadliest stroke in the NBA from 2000-2004.<br />
<br />
Neat.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1LkwTqRDlQ/Ta9x5kqO5VI/AAAAAAAAAMg/YyBLuUJQdwI/s1600/peja.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1LkwTqRDlQ/Ta9x5kqO5VI/AAAAAAAAAMg/YyBLuUJQdwI/s400/peja.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<b>Notes</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<br />
<ul><li>There isn't much more to be said about Dirk Nowitzki that you probably haven't heard or already read today. The man is an MVP in every sense of the meaning, a superstar and transcendent player that one day, I'm going to have to put into words what his career meant to Dallas, the NBA and more difficulty, me. Soft label need not apply: 33 points on 22 shots, 15-17 from the line. And how about this -- only <b>one</b> turnover while Dirk used <b>41.1 percent </b>of the available 80.3 possessions in the game. He is one of a kind.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div><ul><li>When Jason Kidd banked home a midrange jumper off the pick and roll in the opening minutes of the third quarter, I knew we were seeing something unreal. Kidd has not only realized he has needed to be a scorer in these two games, but more impressively, he's taken on that challenge head on and rising above expectations. I've always said Kidd needed to drain open threes for the Dallas offense to have any kind of success. But 9-of-16 from deep in two games? Midrange step banks? Bank shots? Layups? This is unexpectedly marvelous stuff from a Hall of Fame point guard.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Speaking of how amazing Kidd was, how about Dallas has a team only having six turnovers in a game and <b>none</b> in the second half? The Mavericks haven't been as stout at protecting the ball this season, especially Jason Terry and J.J. Barea in the final two months of the regular season. But in the slow, half-court game, this trio has thrived on executing every play and not gambling with careless passes, a staple of Terry and Barea's shortcomings as point men at times.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Dallas might have lost the overall rebounding battle 37-28, but the Mavericks won the most important aspect: 10-7 on the offensive boards resulting in the Blazers being -7 in second chance points compared to the Mavs. Combine that with the turnover battle being won (six for DAL, 12 for POR) and the Mavs had 10 more shot attempts with only one less free throw attempt.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>The Mavericks are controlling the glass and not turning the ball over. Kind of blowing the hell out of the Blazers game plan, don't you think?</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>After being fairly useless in Game 1, Peja Stojakovic struck back with vengeance on Tuesday night. I've seen what Peja has done to the Mavs wearing Sacramento purple plenty of times and the gut wrenching he has caused me with his back-breaking three pointers. Peja's ability to curl off down screens is a direct blow to one of Portland's biggest weakness -- an inability to close out on shooters. Dallas exploited this perfectly and Peja obliged by knocking down five three-pointers. If the Mavericks can get this type of production from Peja for the rest of the playoffs, the Mavericks offense is on a whole different level (as evidenced by Dallas' ridiculous 125.8 offensive efficiency rating on Tuesday)</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div>Sorry to stop the recap a little short and sorry for the very, very late publish. Game 3 is Thursday night, a bit later time at 9:30. I'll butter my biscuit if the Mavericks duplicate this same performance in Portland at the Rose Garden.</div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div></span></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-33787360186597089242011-04-18T12:43:00.000-07:002011-04-18T15:32:55.769-07:00Still Underdoggin' It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fsqCCntRwSI/TaySRkkbRzI/AAAAAAAAAMY/RyR0KVjprik/s1600/ef8a863914faef6befbd7b50c63e67e9-getty-112185985rm002_portland_tra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fsqCCntRwSI/TaySRkkbRzI/AAAAAAAAAMY/RyR0KVjprik/s400/ef8a863914faef6befbd7b50c63e67e9-getty-112185985rm002_portland_tra.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
An interesting thing happened on Saturday night. The Mavericks won their opening game against the apparent Hall of Fame bound 2011 Trail Blazers. Kidding and jokes aside, there's no doubt Dallas has its match up problems with Portland. LaMarcus Aldridge's still a terror, Andre Miller exploited every guard not named Jason Kidd or DeShawn Stevenson and it seems the Blazers have the capable bodies to give Dirk trouble. Those aren't going away.<br />
<br />
But I can't help but chuckle as the consensus is that Dallas stole a game at home and the trends that led to the Game 1 victory are very unlikely to continue. I'm not here to disagree with that: if Jason Kidd hits six pointers in another game this series, I'll eat my hat. I just find it remarkable that Dallas found a way to win and not ease any doubts going forward in this series. If the Blazers had held onto the six-point lead, Dallas might of self-destructed with all the negative press and premature "series over" statements.<br />
<br />
Which is fine by me. I'll take the underdog roll and it worked well in 2006. I hate to focus on something that really we have no idea if it's a factor not on the court, but I'd like to think Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler along with Jason Kidd are stewing in the locker room, using the playoffs as an outlet to prove there is something different this season.<br />
<br />
Other than that, there are some reasons why I believe the Mavericks can take Game 2, despite the shortcomings, holes and match up problems that came to fruition in Game 1. No. 1, Dirk Nowitzki is not shooting 7-for-20 again. And if he does shoot poorly again, he isn't having six turnovers. That I can guarantee. I was very surprised at the effectiveness Aldridge had on disrupting Dirk's line of sight and ability to raise up for his one-legged fadeaways. What made things worse was Aldridge's ability to stop Dirk from converting in the paint and after Dirk became frustrated with a few calls that were iffy, he stopped being as aggressive throughout the second and third quarters and settled for jumpers. Dirk's game usually follows the same pattern: hit a couple of face up jumpers, get the defense to bite on pump fakes, get to the line, then use that aggressiveness on defending his jumper to get closer to the rim. It's like clockwork.<br />
<br />
On Saturday, Dirk opened with a couple of face-up and catch-and-shoot makes, but then preceded to get ambushed when he ventured closer to the rim. Flustered with the lack of calls, Dirk resorted to some contested fades which he can nail, but just seemed out of rhythm and focus. Again, it's a testament to Dirk's game and evolution as a complete player to go back to attacking again in the fourth, when the team needed offense in the worst way, and continued to rebound (10 for the game.)<br />
<br />
Another reason to remain optimistic in Game 2 is the defense. Taking away the fact that Portland converted well at the rim, Dallas did a reasonable job to limit the scoring to only Aldridge and Miller. In the fourth, Aldridge was held to only four shot attempts and while that doesn't solely rest on the laurels of the Mavs' defense, there was at least the effort and drive to play better defense then what was seen after the All-Star break. Granted, some of this has to do with Portland coach Nate McMillan playing Brandon Roy too many minutes and not adjusting, but still, there's SOMETHING to build on with the Mavs defense. Holding a team under 100 points per 100 possessions doesn't all come from the other team's lack of execution. There's some defense in there somewhere from Game 1 and if the Mavericks can dig it out completely and polish off the dust and grime, the plane ride to Portland can be a lot more enjoyable to the minds of Rick Carlisle and company. <br />
<br />
<div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-56275209040149126132011-04-17T01:17:00.000-07:002011-04-17T01:17:34.729-07:00Dallas Mavericks 89, Portland Trail Blazers 81: The Heros We Deserved and Needed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3_TmO35U5yI/Taqh0OW_aDI/AAAAAAAAAMI/Eo5khSl4ib8/s1600/dddddddirk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3_TmO35U5yI/Taqh0OW_aDI/AAAAAAAAAMI/Eo5khSl4ib8/s400/dddddddirk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Wow.<br />
<br />
Let me repeat: <i>Wow.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
I'm not sure how the Dallas Mavericks won tonight. Let me rephrase that. I'm sure of how the Mavericks won tonight -- Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki. I'm just not sure how I can fathom what those two did. We're just mere mortals. Mere humans.<br />
<br />
When Jason Kidd hit his final three -- a step back with the shot clock running down -- he capped off what might have been the greatest game in his Maverick career. Yes, I know about the triple doubles. I know about the assists. But to score 24 points, in a playoff game where no one else on the court was giving Dallas much of anything (sans Dirk in the fourth)? Bravo, Kidd. Bravo.<br />
<br />
As much as I want to sing the praises of these two for the next couple of paragraphs, the Dallas defense needs to be spoken of. Simply put, I haven't seen the Mavs defend like this since early December, if that. The Blazers aren't the greatest offense in the league, but they're good. Pretty good in fact. And Dallas held this pretty good offense to 97.6 efficiency. The Mavericks rotated, closed out and got in the face of seemingly every Portland jumper or move into the paint. If it weren't for the brilliance of LaMarcus Aldridge and the mismatch that Andre Miller can be for J.J. Barea, Dallas might have won this game in a walk, that's how good the overall team defense was. 46.1 percent shooting for the Blazers but the Mavs defense was much, much better than that number.<br />
<br />
Offensively, Dallas was doing what they normally do against the Blazers by shooting and shooting well. Dirk opened the game 2-for-4, Kidd started raining threes and even DeShawn Stevenson got in on the act. Not a big coincidence, when Dirk cooled off, so did the offense. Dallas only shot 40 percent from the floor the entire game as it's clear that even with Jason Kidd swearing to a higher power, the Mavs need Dirk to be at normal Dirk levels for the offense to function right. Good news is I don't expect Dirk to have another 7-for-20, six turnover night.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l6VadNVAdIY/Taqh_Pz1dNI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/TVLwhaZ9KOQ/s1600/kidddddddddd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l6VadNVAdIY/Taqh_Pz1dNI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/TVLwhaZ9KOQ/s400/kidddddddddd.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<b>Notes</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<br />
<ul><li>I'm not sure what Dirk Nowitzki that was in the first three quarters but I never want to see it again. 5-for-16 and some rough looking jumpers (even for Dirk's awkward style.) Granted, Dirk continuously went into the paint or at least attempted to drive but wasn't getting any sort of treatment from the officials. Predictably, the refs sent Dirk to the line 13 times in the fourth, calling fouls on the exact same plays Dirk was encountering in the first 36 minutes of the game. NBA officiating folks! Still, props must be given to Dirk for not letting his shooting stroke bother his overall game, as he grabbed 10 rebounds and played some OK defense on LaMarcus Aldridge when he was matched up against him. Standing O for our German. </li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div><ul><li>Biggest difference in this game from the previous two Portland games: Turnovers. While the teams were even at 13 apiece, that's a huge victory compared to the Blazers huge turnover differential advantage in the last two match ups. Portland thrives on controlling the ball and winning the turnover battle and creating more shots than its opponent. The Blazers had 76 shots to the Mavs 66 but the Mavericks had 16 more free throw attempts. </li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Rebounding was the other main issue concerning Dallas heading into this series and once again the Mavs passed with flying colors. Portland only had one more overall rebound (40-39) and offensive rebound (11-10) than Dallas which is once again, nothing spectacular, but huge considering how much the Blazers rely on offensive rebounds. Dirk, as mentioned, really took it upon himself to get into the paint and be physical to control the glass. And Tyson Chandler's tip out in the final seconds led to Jason Kidd's icing three. Great, great stuff.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>I said earlier that Dallas' defense was great despite the 46 percent shooting from the Blazers. It looks worse when you look deeper. Portland went 15-for-23 at the rim and then 7-for-13 from 16-23 feet, essentially midrange jumpers. The percentages were high, but I believe the Mavs were contesting fairly well and that the Blazers just made their shots. Hopefully Rick Carlisle highlighted those 23 shots at the rim, because while the effort was there for the Mavs D, they really need to do a better job at containing the Blazers and forcing them away from the rim. </li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Wasn't a fan of the bench watching the game. Even less looking at the box score. Jason Terry, J.J. Barea and Peja Stojakovic combined for 20 points -- a far cry from the bench we saw earlier in February that was putting up close to 60 and 70 points in some contests. Terry looked into the game, but the results weren't there. His early two fouls were awful on his part and it looked like he had his jumper somewhat within grasp, but never had a chance to exploit it. Barea is the most depressing case since he wasn't playing any different than he normally does. He consistently blew by whoever was guarding him, but the Blazers length and height at every position make every defender a prime shot blocker on any Barea attempt. Barea simply couldn't finish among the trees, a shame considering how well he was getting to the cup. Stojakovic looked to be a strong point, making two threes before succumbing in the second half during the Blazers run. Once Peja bricked a completely wide open (and I mean <i>wide open</i>) three halfway through the third quarter, I knew his night was over with. Makes me think what kind of impact Corey Brewer could have had in this game, matching up with Gerald Green and Nicolas Batum as the two had a field day dunking and running past Peja with ease in the second half.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Speaking of Barea, as expected, the Portland guards terrorized him in isolations. Andre Miller made a habit of exposing Barea at every chance he got, making a variety of turnaround jumpers a few feet from the basket. Listen, I love Barea's competitiveness and his ability to run the team off the bench, but Carlisle is going to have to figure a way to minimize the damage the Blazer guards do to him when he's in the game. You can't bench him, since he's the back up point. Unfortunately there might not be much the Mavericks can do about the match up at this point instead of riding it out and hoping for the best. Some zone could be tried, but I'm not too much of a fan of zone defense in an NBA playoff game where possessions can't be experimented on.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Marcus Camby can rebound like a motherf***er</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Dallas: 4-of-12 on shots at the rim. Yikes.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Double Yikes.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Tyson Chandler's impact on this game was noticeable, not necessarily for box score reasons. Even though Aldridge had a fine game of 27 points on 12-of-20 shooting, Chandler played him perhaps the best I've seen him play him so far. He did a great job at contesting and staying up on Aldridge when he faced up from 17 feet out, forcing him to put the ball on the floor. It's a testament to how much Aldridge has grown as a player as he met that challenge head on and took 16 of his 20 shoots from nine feet or closer. Still felt like his impact was moot, especially in the fourth when he only took four shots. Can't expect that to happen in Game 2. Only one shot attempt for Chandler as I feel the Blazers have the respect other teams lacked, failing to leave Chandler at any time in order to help on Dirk or the Mavericks guards. He's gotten their attention, now he and the Mavs have to adjust because Chandler scoring is a good, good thing.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Wesley Matthews scored two points and played less than 20 minutes tonight and I'm not sure why. I can't remember Matthews doing anything particularly wrong and I know he wasn't being challenged on defense, guarding Stevenson or Terry for his time out on the court. I think this was more of Portland coach Nate McMillan giving Rudy Fernandez some burn. Fernandez only went 2-for-3 from the field and I think the Mavs lucked out in Fernandez not being agressive enough. He had a clear size advantage over any bench guard but he never took his man into the post and sort of floated throughout the game. Combined with Roy, the Blazer two guards shot 4-for-13, a rough number considering how much of an advantage they had heading into the series, I felt.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Brandon Roy looked more like the hobbled Brandon Roy than the All-Star Brandon Roy that the Mavs saw in March. Whatever your allegiance, it's a tragic story as one of the NBA's rising stars is having his career cut short and exploded right in front of us. Roy played 26 worthless minutes tonight and I can't help but wonder if McMillan will hand that share more to Matthews and Fernandez in Game 2. Roy doesn't look to be getting much better. </li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div>Game 2 is Tuesday night, same time. Let's not repeat last year, shall we Dallas?</div><div><br />
</div><div><div class="post-body entry-content" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 576px;"><div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em;"></div></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-34580947438540443792011-04-16T18:17:00.000-07:002011-04-16T18:17:04.654-07:00TROP Playoff Chat: Blazers vs Mavericks Game 1We're chatting, but I probably won't be around too much. I'll be two busy doing one of three things:<br />
<br />
1. Fist pumping like Tiger Woods<br />
2. Chugging Windex<br />
3. Sitting in my running truck in a closed garage <br />
<br />
<iframe src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=e22cd62568/height=550/width=470" scrolling="no" height="550px" width="470px" frameBorder ="0" allowTransparency="true" ><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=e22cd62568" >Dallas Mavericks Playoff Chat: I'm Going to Die</a></iframe>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-30565722367885277152011-04-16T07:09:00.000-07:002011-04-16T07:13:11.286-07:00Take Dat Wit Chew: The Rice of Passage Podcast Episode 6<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="540" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/02P7KEPFrEk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />The Mavs vs. Blazers playoff preview of the podcast is filled with knocks on Jason Terry, positional breakdowns, reasons for hope, and reasons for despair. Enjoy.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="26" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"><param value="true" name="allowfullscreen"/><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess"/><param value="high" name="quality"/><param value="true" name="cachebusting"/><param value="#000000" name="bgcolor"/><param name="movie" value="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf" /><param value="config={'key':'#$aa4baff94a9bdcafce8','playlist':[{'url':'Episode6Export.mp3','autoPlay':false}],'clip':{'autoPlay':true,'baseUrl':'http://www.archive.org/download/TakeDatWitChewTheRiceOfPassagePodcastEpisode6/'},'canvas':{'backgroundColor':'#000000','backgroundGradient':'none'},'plugins':{'audio':{'url':'http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.2.1-dev.swf'},'controls':{'playlist':false,'fullscreen':false,'height':26,'backgroundColor':'#000000','autoHide':{'fullscreenOnly':true},'scrubberHeightRatio':0.6,'timeFontSize':9,'mute':false,'top':0}},'contextMenu':[{},'-','Flowplayer v3.2.1']}" name="flashvars"/><embed src="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="540" height="26" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" cachebusting="true" bgcolor="#000000" quality="high" flashvars="config={'key':'#$aa4baff94a9bdcafce8','playlist':[{'url':'Episode6Export.mp3','autoPlay':false}],'clip':{'autoPlay':true,'baseUrl':'http://www.archive.org/download/TakeDatWitChewTheRiceOfPassagePodcastEpisode6/'},'canvas':{'backgroundColor':'#000000','backgroundGradient':'none'},'plugins':{'audio':{'url':'http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.2.1-dev.swf'},'controls':{'playlist':false,'fullscreen':false,'height':26,'backgroundColor':'#000000','autoHide':{'fullscreenOnly':true},'scrubberHeightRatio':0.6,'timeFontSize':9,'mute':false,'top':0}},'contextMenu':[{},'-','Flowplayer v3.2.1']}"> </embed></object>FullerTronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862356863761539321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-29198949190597905532011-04-15T13:54:00.000-07:002011-04-15T20:29:58.793-07:00Portland Trailer Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks First Round Preview: Banishing the Demons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5mEL1R1H-d8/TaiwDWxAPJI/AAAAAAAAAMA/0mml1n0kShY/s400/Jason%252BTerry%252BPortland%252BTrail%252BBlazers%252Bv%252BDallas%252BoTnezPCPNp9l.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tq6rRrns4GM/TaiuF054nbI/AAAAAAAAALw/T1qASTZcjRo/s1600/aslhkjdaslkjasdljk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>It's a curse that blackens the soul and cripples any joy in life. That's what it is: a basketball curse. Since 2006 the curse has damaged any playoff hopes the Mavericks have had. It's a cruel and unforgiving curse: blow a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals, waste an opportunity to win a title, and you will have no more success in any playoff series.<br />
<br />
At least, I hope it's a curse, because that's what I keep telling myself at the end of every April since the ill-fated series with the Heat. It's the only way to hide the tears (unfortunately not the holes in the walls). But this series is something different than first round follies of the past. Since 2006, the Mavericks have been usually the favorite. Against Golden State, New Orleans and both San Antonio series, the Mavs had a good amount of backing from the fans, media and blogosphere (I understand Dallas was the seventh seed in 2008, but most people felt Dallas matched up well with a young Hornets team that never had been to the playoffs. Silly me.)<br />
<br />
This time, Dallas is matched up with Portland -- a team that is seemingly just like Dallas but theoretically better or younger/more athletic at every spot. You have Andre Miller, a wise, crafty, veteran point guard who sets up teammates AND can create offense for himself at the rim. You have Wesley Matthews, a young up and coming two guard who can shoot and defend his position...consistently. There's Gerald Wallace, a slashing, attacking, defending, rebounding wing AND can create for himself from the perimeter. And then LaMarcus Aldridge. A floor-spreading power forward who can knock down a midrange shots AND score just as easily around the basket and in the paint. It's why I feel a majority of pundits (even if it's a slight majority) are picking the Blazers to win. Heck, given the last two games the teams have played against each other, you can't blame anyone for picking Portland.<br />
<br />
Which is why I'm picking <b>Dallas to win in six games</b>. Call me crazy, call me a lunatic, but give me a chance to explain, please? Thank you.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mmpv-QjWAl8/Taiuq4JpKzI/AAAAAAAAAL0/zzQPNEiBbQQ/s1600/LADIRK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mmpv-QjWAl8/Taiuq4JpKzI/AAAAAAAAAL0/zzQPNEiBbQQ/s400/LADIRK.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
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If you judge Portland by what they do solely against the Mavericks (and especially those last two games) you would think they are an offensive juggernaut. Yes, they are a top 10 team in the league in offensive efficiency, but not for typical reasons -- they aren't exactly a great shooting team. So how is this possible? I'm glad you asked, kind sir/madame: offensive rebounds and turnovers. The Blazers play at the league's slowest pace, making every possession more crucial. Portland obviously understands how important these fewer possessions are, because they are one of the best in the league at not handing the ball over to the other team. They also grab offensive rebounds at the third best rate in the league. Unfortunately this feeds into the Mavericks two biggest weaknesses -- turning the ball over and allowing offensive rebounds.<br />
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So if the Blazers strengths are what cripples the Mavericks, how do they have a chance? For one, I'm a big believer in home court being a huge factor in this series. Portland is 18-23 away from the Rose Garden and while the AAC doesn't have the same rowdiness it had five to six years ago, I don't trust Portland being consistently as good as they were against the Mavs this season in Dallas. Unfortunately, this applies to Dallas too, as Portland has in my mind, the best home court in the NBA. I understand that can be hard to grasp for casual basketball fans who would normally just associate Boston, Los Angeles or even Oklahoma City for home court dominance. But watch this week, you'll see how intense the Blazer crowd gets. This is the same home crowd that treats a Tuesday evening stint with the Kings as a playoff game. They love their Blazer basketball, and especially this group, with so many good-natured players after the infamous "Jail Blazers" era. Luckily, Dallas has proven itself to almost play better on the road than at home, the last two Blazer games notwithstanding. <br />
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Another point that needs to be taken into consideration is playoff experience. I understand this is a weak crutch to fall on but the Blazers have only won <i>four</i> playoff series since 1992. That's four series wins in 14 years. And you thought the Mavs had it rough lately? Given that some of the current Blazers were in elementary school at that time, Portland hasn't won a playoff series since 2000, with this current crop losing the last two first round series. This Portland team hasn't proven itself to win in the playoffs anymore than the Dallas Mavericks, and I feel that could come into play during any perilous moments in the coming games. <br />
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Speaking of perilous moments, Dirk Nowitzki raises his game unlike any current NBA superstar when the playoff lights shine at their brightest. Dirk's career playoff averages of 25 points and 10 rebounds puts him into an elite crop of basketball legends. Also, <a href="http://riceofpassage.blogspot.com/2010/12/next-evolution.html">I hinted earlier in the year</a> that Dirk is taking more catch and shoot jumpers as to save his body from the wear and tear and be fresh for the playoffs. I'd like to think that still holds up. If the Mavericks are to make good on my prediction Dirk is going to have to be the efficient, low post, pump faking, free throw making machine we all know he is capable of being. Don't be surprised if Dirk's free throw attempts per game spike up between 9-10 in the playoffs. Dirk has to be the best player in this series, not Aldridge.<br />
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And for as much grief we give the Dallas backcourt and bench inconsistencies, Portland's is just as fallible. For a moment, take away the visions of Rudy Fernandez raining jumpers and Brandon Roy looking like his All-Star self. Both are shells of what they are against the Mavs, with Roy limping into the playoffs shooting under 40 percent in nine of the 11 games since his 21 point "explosion" against Dallas in March. He also has only scored in double figures twice in that stretch with two 11 point games. Roy <i>should</i> not be a factor, but if the Mavs let him, the series could get out of hand. Fernandez is also shooting 37 percent for the year and has been mainly a non-factor in Portland's season. These two shouldn't be making Maverick fans curse, but if they do, then God help us all.<br />
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The only way this backcourt could take advantage is if Portland decides to post up Miller, Roy or Fernandez in the precious moments of the game when J.J. Barea and Jason Terry are sharing the backcourt. Both were extremely over matched on the low block letting Roy and Fernandez operate without much resistance at all. As much as it pains me to say it, the bench might has to run the zone more than I would like in an NBA playoff game.<br />
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Lastly, if the team is to have any chance of a first round win, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry have to make shots, pure and simple. Kidd shot 30.4 percent last year against the Spurs in round one, while Terry wasn't much better at 37.7 percent. Quite simply, the Mavericks offense will be a miserable, ugly mess if these numbers correlate over. When Dirk gets double teamed (and triple teamed) Kidd and Terry are the main benefactors. What worries me more is the possibility of Beaubois losing time in the playoffs. Despite the up and down play, the turnovers and the bad defense, the Mavs must have Beaubois in the game to see what he's going to give them. He's torched Portland so far this year, averaging 17 points per game and 60 percent shooting in two games against the Blazers. I understand the problems playing him might entail, but Rick Carlisle has to at least throw him out there to see what he can contribute. The Dallas offense is at its best when Dirk establishes dominance in the first quarter, which leads to more open looks for Kidd, Terry and even Chandler underneath the basket.<br />
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Chandler will HAVE to score as well, given the lack of another wing scorer with Roddy Beaubois falling to the wayside. Chandler's regular season average of 10.1 points per game this season is <b>three points more</b> than the <b>combined</b> points per game Erick Dampier and Brendan Haywood scored in the playoffs in 2010. <br />
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Well, that's about all I have. Check back here for individual game recaps (I know I'm not a fan of doing them myself, but it's the playoffs!) and maybe a playoff preview podcast dropping tomorrow afternoon. Like always, check Twitter for my in-game thoughts and if you need to dial the Bedford Police Department.<br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></span></div></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-89670997970964446292011-04-14T16:37:00.000-07:002011-04-14T16:37:07.078-07:00Quick Eve of the Eve of the Playoff ThoughtsWord up: my official Mavericks/Blazers playoff preview will be dropping sometime tomorrow. I need to wrap my head around the series for one more sleep before I dive headfirst. If you're questing for Mavericks/Blazers playoff series knowledge, then <a href="http://www.thetwomangame.com/2011/04/the-official-two-man-game-official-dallas-mavericks-versus-portland-trailblazers-official-playoff-preview-for-the-official-2010-2011-official-nba-post-season/">Rob Mahoney can fill your Holy Grail</a> for the time being. You might not like his prediction, so no trolling. Or I'll trap you in a room with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82VtBxeJH3I">her</a>.<br />
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<ul><li>Not only did Kobe Bryant blow up the city of Sacramento Wednesday night, he pushed the Lakers to the No. 2 seed and an hilariously easy first round match up with New Orleans. I don't mean to count the Hornets out or diminish their overall effort this season despite losing David West late, but the Lakers have the Hornets outmatched in every way and every position on the court save point guard. Shame the Mavericks couldn't have grabbed that seed, as obviously I think every Maverick fan and their second-cousin would favor the Mavs against this Hornets team after Wednesday</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div><ul><li>Andrew Bynum hyperextended his knee and bruised it in the game against the Kings. It appears Bynum will be healthy (or healthy enough) for the opener. A Laker team without Bynum destroys any chances the team has for a title. Sure, there's Kobe and Pau Gasol, but Bynum (along with Gasol) created a frontline that NO team in the NBA could size up against. Not the Spurs, Thunder, Mavericks, Celtics, Heat or even Chicago. A fully-healthy Andrew Bynum Lakers squad seems to only be beaten by the Lakers themselves or Ron Artest. Would have made the second round match up with either the Mavs or Blazers swing considerably away from LA.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>I never expected Roddy Beaubois to become the players all Mavs fans fantasized...this year. I never thought he'd be at an All-Star level. Heck, I didn't even think he could put up the ridiculous numbers in the small sample size of his rookie season. But I at least expected maybe 75-80 percent of that rookie season. Instead, Beaubois has tumbled out of favor, with DeShawn Stevenson looking to be the new starting two guard for the playoffs. I'll get into this more tomorrow but here's the biggest reason this irks me: Stevenson's two great assets (as told from the media) are his defense and shooting. Which are the two qualities of his game that are most hollow and overrated. Stevenson's shooting has nosedived and I've never been the biggest fan of his perimeter defense. Granted, the Mavericks played their best basketball of the season when he was a starter, but that almost unanimously has to do with Caron Butler's impact rather Stevenson's. </li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div><div><ul><li>Dirk is good. And he's in playoff form. 32 points on Wednesday and while the shooting percentage isn't exactly the Dirk we know (10-for-21, but with an awkward stretch where he missed four or five simple shots in a row) but the 11-for-12 from the free throw line was classic, playoff mode Dirk. So, no worries there. Expect to see Dirk average his typical 30 points, 10 rebounds and 50 percent shooting in the playoffs...like he always does. Jason Terry joins Dirk, also in playoff mode with a 4-for-11 shooting night. Terry hasn't been useful in any basketball way lately, with no scoring, shooting, defense or playmaking. Even better, with Beaubois not looking like the savior he was last year, Terry might have to play 35 minutes a game in the playoffs whether we like it or not.</li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></div></span></div></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-55758912743922368752011-04-01T00:32:00.000-07:002011-04-01T00:32:03.221-07:00When It All Came Crashing Down<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UeLrn8scZFY/TZV6GKETmaI/AAAAAAAAALs/2wOzaiUJRcw/s1600/1c6683b993b1cfef2dcfb2c8530e0aae-getty-103884578hh012_dallas_maver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UeLrn8scZFY/TZV6GKETmaI/AAAAAAAAALs/2wOzaiUJRcw/s400/1c6683b993b1cfef2dcfb2c8530e0aae-getty-103884578hh012_dallas_maver.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><br />
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I hate to beat a two-month old dead horse with a 200-pound death hammer, but I did tweet this during halftime of tonight's Lakers/Mavericks contest:<br />
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<blockquote>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">Maverick's have been playing horrible defense. Most Laker misses have been on LA, not Mavs' D. Blowout coming in 2nd half."</span></blockquote><br />
Now, pardon the Twitter grammer but Dallas was down 54-51 to Los Angeles but the warning signs were there: Lack of interior defense, secondary scoring and failure to execute from the backcourt. Once Los Angeles stopped peddling around and really turned up their defensive intensity, Dallas buckled under pressure and proceeded to be systematically picked apart.<br />
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Sound familiar? Well it should. It's a bit redundant to go over the failure of Dirk Nowitzki's teammates to provide him any support offensively because this has been the case since, well, the entire Dirk era. Jason Terry provided a big bag full of nothing in 29 minutes, Jason Kidd provided little to stimulate any ball movement and the use and effectiveness of Rodrigue Beaubois continues to be a mystery.<br />
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There's a definite urge to get Beaubois involved in the Maverick offense, but clearly it is not working. No chemistry really exists when Beaubois is on the court and unfortunately it feels like many possessions go to waste just to feature Beaubois instead of involving Dirk or the rest of the Mavericks. I understand Rick Carlisle wanting to see his second-year guard make the impact we all believe he is capable of making, but running plays for him and alienating your MVP (and only player that showed up) isn't going to work. Part of this is definitely on Beaubois has he has still failed to grasp how to play within the offense and knowing when to pick spots.<br />
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Then there's the matter of Tyson Chandler and Dallas' interior defense. Now, no team boasts the inside scoring tandem at center and power forward like the Lakers have with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. But to offer no resistance? At all? Chandler was completely overpowered to an extent I've never seen before (even after I've been detailing Chandler's weak individual defense for quite some time.) Bynum was pushing Chandler out of the paint and grabbing position as if Chandler was a D-League stand in. Brandon Haywood offered even less production, failing to stop Bynum or Gasol and not even grabbing more than a few rebounds. Bynum entered tonight's game shooting 61.9 percent from the floor in 14 career games against Dallas. With his 6-for-9 effort, that number continued to climb. As <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/ESPN_Caplan/status/53703983876931584">Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas notes</a>, Bynum is now 15-for-21 with 40 points and 28 rebounds in his last two games against Dallas. Absolutely ridiculous.<br />
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What's worse is this is essentially what we believed the Mavericks were. The numbers were obvious as Dallas has always been towards the bottom of the league for points in the paint allowed and rebounding. This game just confirmed the worst fears we tried to keep in the recesses of our brains during this modest five game winning streak. There's nothing left for the Mavericks to do except rally from within and try to scrounge something together before the first round starts in two weeks or so.<br />
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Myself and <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/RobMahoney">Rob Mahoney</a> discussed through Twitter what could have changed since the Caron Butler injury. I mentioned Gerald Wallace despite the trepidations I had before the deadline about how he would affect spacing with his poor shooting. We both agreed that while Wallace's defense and athletic ability would be nice, it likely still wouldn't cure what the Mavs need: a true perimeter scorer that can create shots on the wing. Caron Butler might have been worth more than we all thought and I only mope about failing to see how it would have rolled out with a healthy (and confident) Butler in tow.<br />
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What's such a shame is I still believe this group can grab a first round victory and compete against San Antonio. But whatever the case may be, the path to the NBA title in the West goes through Los Angeles. The Lakers are an unstoppable, pristine basketball machine right now. Not the Mavericks, Spurs or Thunder can stand in their way for a third NBA title. It's just unfortunate that this season's Mavericks showed small glimpses of providing a different ending to what is looking to be a predictable Western Conference post season.<br />
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<div class="post-body entry-content" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 576px;"><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em;"></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-23969003168500123092011-03-28T17:50:00.000-07:002011-03-28T18:00:06.738-07:00Take Dat Wit Chew: The Rice of Passage Podcast Episode 5<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="540" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MU7-xOdEhzs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Oh, hello, it's been a while. Last time we talked the Mavericks were at their season's apex. Now, not so much. Are you willing to relive the last few weeks? Will you listen to the whole thing to find out how to win the special prize? Break out some tissues and listen to the latest episode of Take Dat Wit Chew.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="26" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"><param value="true" name="allowfullscreen"/><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess"/><param value="high" name="quality"/><param value="true" name="cachebusting"/><param value="#000000" name="bgcolor"/><param name="movie" value="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf" /><param value="config={'key':'#$aa4baff94a9bdcafce8','playlist':[{'url':'Episode5Export2.mp3','autoPlay':false}],'clip':{'autoPlay':true,'baseUrl':'http://www.archive.org/download/TakeDatWitChewTheRiceOfPassagePodcastEpisode5/'},'canvas':{'backgroundColor':'#000000','backgroundGradient':'none'},'plugins':{'audio':{'url':'http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.2.1-dev.swf'},'controls':{'playlist':false,'fullscreen':false,'height':26,'backgroundColor':'#000000','autoHide':{'fullscreenOnly':true},'scrubberHeightRatio':0.6,'timeFontSize':9,'mute':false,'top':0}},'contextMenu':[{},'-','Flowplayer v3.2.1']}" name="flashvars"/><embed src="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="540" height="26" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" cachebusting="true" bgcolor="#000000" quality="high" flashvars="config={'key':'#$aa4baff94a9bdcafce8','playlist':[{'url':'Episode5Export2.mp3','autoPlay':false}],'clip':{'autoPlay':true,'baseUrl':'http://www.archive.org/download/TakeDatWitChewTheRiceOfPassagePodcastEpisode5/'},'canvas':{'backgroundColor':'#000000','backgroundGradient':'none'},'plugins':{'audio':{'url':'http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.2.1-dev.swf'},'controls':{'playlist':false,'fullscreen':false,'height':26,'backgroundColor':'#000000','autoHide':{'fullscreenOnly':true},'scrubberHeightRatio':0.6,'timeFontSize':9,'mute':false,'top':0}},'contextMenu':[{},'-','Flowplayer v3.2.1']}"> </embed></object> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Figure out how to download the .mp3 <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/TakeDatWitChewTheRiceOfPassagePodcastEpisode5">here</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Follow us on Twitter @TheFullerTron and @Boweman55</span>FullerTronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862356863761539321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-41178939352045350112011-03-28T16:17:00.000-07:002011-03-28T16:17:31.911-07:00Defense? Defense!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p5IyWGtxDis/TZEV5s5g7NI/AAAAAAAAALo/PW4yMA5KiCU/s1600/620612b0e857074166539e395545d0a6-getty-103884554cp021_dallas_maver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p5IyWGtxDis/TZEV5s5g7NI/AAAAAAAAALo/PW4yMA5KiCU/s400/620612b0e857074166539e395545d0a6-getty-103884554cp021_dallas_maver.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><br />
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I'll start off with this: I fully believe the Mavericks played two of their worst games of the season this weekend against Utah and Phoenix. What makes my brain numb is that Dallas, a team that struggles to win by more than five or six points, won by 17 and eight in both games respectively. For a majority for both games, the Mavs were sloppy, lifeless, careless, apathetic and downright bad.<br />
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Honestly, it was brutal basketball to watch. I won't blame you if you switched off the channel and started watching the <i>Desperate Housewives of Oak Cliff</i> (which if it isn't a show, it should be). The Maverick offense that seemed to find its footing since the return to a full lineup (minus Caron Butler) was a complete mess. Jason Kidd returned to his early season hibernation, Jason Terry was plagued by the ghost of playoff pasts, Shawn Marion developed a nasty case of "Erick Dampier" hands and the one constant, Dirk Nowitzki, struggled to hit shots that I presume he could hit with his eyes closed.<br />
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About two weeks ago, these two games would have been epic meltdowns of epic proportions. The kind of losses that would of exploded the interwebs with nasty headlines and hashtags about the #oneanddoneboys. But for some reason unbeknownst to me, the Mavericks displayed a defense on Saturday and Sunday night that (at times) resembled the defense we all were giddy about in December.<br />
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Against Utah in the fourth quarter, Dallas held serve to allow the Jazz to score a frosty 17 points. I don't care how many possessions there are in a quarter, 17 points is atrocious for an offense. Against Phoenix on Sunday, Dallas held the Suns to a frigid 16 in the fourth and didn't allow the Suns to break 20 points in either quarter of the second half. There were some holes to be found such as the complete lack of pick and roll defense in the first quarter, and the Suns missed some open threes, but in the second half the Mavs were impressive.<br />
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Most impressive was the work done to Steve Nash. After allowing Nash free reign in the first quarter, Dallas finally bottled up and took a stand. When defending the pick and roll, there is no room for waffling. Both the on-ball and help defender have to be in the same boat: either trap the ball-handler aggressively and rely on rotations from the weak side, or fight through the screen and the help defender shows for a second before returning back to his man. Going halfway in which neither of these options is fully realized is how the Mavs got in trouble in the first quarter. Roddy Beaubois and Tyson Chandler weren't on the same page, with Chandler hovering in "no man's land" -- He wasn't recovering to the roll man or aggressively hedging the ball-handler, just waiting in between as he wasn't sure what Beaubois was trying to do either, stuck in basketball defense purgatory. The result ended up in Marcin Gortat scoring 12 first quarter points, a majority from Steven Nash's seven assists. Once the Mavs switched who was guarding Nash with a more experienced Jason Kidd or Jason Terry, the communication picked up and the rotations tightened.<br />
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The best way to cut off Nash on his pick and roll is limiting his options when he gets underneath the basket. At least two or three times in the fourth, Nash went aggressively off the screen and towards the baseline, with Chander having to check Nash. What was beautiful was Dirk or the other weak side defender picked up the roller, and the defender on Nash rotated out to a shooter Nash was looking for on the strong side. With his options cut off in front of him, Nash's only options were to kick out behind him to a shooter on the opposite baseline, which would be impossible with Chandler all over him underneath the basket. The results were some awkward, forced reversed layups that were weakly attempted. The Maverick's did something few teams do to Nash -- they flustered him, to the point that he was uncomfortable making decisions on a play he has run over a thousand times.<br />
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There's no telling if the defensive efforts of the past week can hold up to more accomplished teams such as San Antonio or Los Angeles, but some progress is better than no progress. Less than a month ago, there were complaints about the Mavs' defense against teams like the Timberwolves, Sacramento and Toronto. To see the defense hark back memories of pre-Butler-injury Mavericks, it can only mean well. Sustainability is key, but the fact that Dallas is headed in a positive direction defensively for the first time in weeks coincides nicely with the playoff run.<br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-1516473302271617002011-03-23T13:01:00.000-07:002011-03-23T13:01:42.149-07:00Free Corey B?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ej6M7tukS40/TYpQ3iKI-LI/AAAAAAAAALk/MLfq48HoxzQ/s1600/brew%2521%2521%2521%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ej6M7tukS40/TYpQ3iKI-LI/AAAAAAAAALk/MLfq48HoxzQ/s400/brew%2521%2521%2521%2521.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Here's a quote from a piece a week or so ago when I <a href="http://riceofpassage.blogspot.com/2011/03/help-wanted.html">broke down</a> two specific players (one of which was of course, Corey Brewer) the Mavericks could be searching for on the waiver wire:<br />
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<blockquote>Both these players obviously have their flaws: they're on the waiver wire for a reason. Let's not overstate what one of them could bring to the Mavericks this year. Both will be filling out the final roster spot and hell, there are rumors that Sasha Pavlovic might stop by again. Neither of these players will have a lasting impact other than perhaps swinging a regular season game or two.</blockquote><br />
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I stood by that claim. After all, the Mavericks really were looking for someone to fill out the final spot on their roster. So as I look at the public outcry of minutes for freshly signed Corey Brewer, I can't help but giggle a bit. I can't think of what people were legitimately expecting from Brewer, considering Rick Carlise's rotation patterns. But that was with a full roster. A full roster with a healthy Peja Stojakovic and Shawn Marion should only allow Brewer to play spot minutes for foul trouble or match-ups. Brewer only saw a handful of minutes in his first few games, which could only be expected for a bottom of the barrel mid-season acquisition adjusting to a new system.<br />
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Maybe I drank the kool-aid a bit much. I haven't seen Brewer play in person too much and had to rely on outside opinions to formulate my own. <a href="http://www.thetwomangame.com/2011/03/placement/">Rob Mahoney</a> and <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/25595/the-knicks-could-use-a-good-geek">Henry Abbott</a> really drew me in. I bought into Corey Brewer shutting down Kobe in the final 20 seconds of Game 6 of the Western Conference Semis. This isn't to say that the opinions of these fantastic writers are wrong, false or misjudged. Far from it. The opinions expressed were fully-formed and logical. Which baffles me why Brian Cardinal (yes, Brian "The Janitor" "Custodian" "Garbage Man" "Dump Truck" Cardinal) saw minutes at SMALL FORWARD instead of Brewer when both Stojakovic and Marion went down with injuries.<br />
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Brewer has seen three of the dreaded DNP-CDs. Those three games were the losses to New Orleans, Portland and San Antonio. It's hard to imagine what Brian Cardinal brings to the table at the small forward other than floor spacing and taking charges. Again, this is no knock on Brian Cardinal since he's done more than what should be expected of a player in his position. But how Brewer hasn't seen any time whatsoever with the injuries to Peja baffles me to a degree. But as much as there is to gripe about Brewer's playing time, he hasn't shown much of anything in his limited time on the floor.<br />
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In Brewer's first game he picked up five fouls in a little over five minutes of play. His next game was a huge improvement, with only three fouls in just under nine minutes. Brewer even managed by the graces of the basketball Gods to only foul 11 times in his next 45:72 minutes played. The fact that we're celebrating this defines how badly Brewer has been fouling in his short stint. There in lies the problem -- the coaching staff can take all the blame for Brewer's lack of minutes or rotation time, but when Brewer checks into a game (usually halfway through a quarter) he puts the Mavericks into the penalty in only a few minutes.<br />
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There's no way Rick Carlisle can have faith in Brewer when he is that much of a liability to the team when he is on the floor. Defensive stalwort he may be, but Brewer picking up three fouls in four minutes isn't helping anyone. That's all on Brewer and it is up to him to impress the coaching staff continuously in practice and show he can perform on the court like his reputation suggests. Until then, it wouldn't be beneficial to the Mavericks to have Brewer on the court for long stretches in games.<br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span></span></i></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-81681939215157329632011-03-18T16:42:00.000-07:002011-03-18T16:42:54.103-07:00Deciphering Tyson Chandler's Defensive Impact<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.streetball.com/public/user/1000000/25000/24584/23246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://www.streetball.com/public/user/1000000/25000/24584/23246.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
Tyson Chandler is a so-so individual defender. I said it. There's no going back, so I might as well try to explain myself for making such a blasphemous comment against the savior of this year's Maverick team and the one player who is single-handily able to erase the memory of the Erick Dampier era completely.<br />
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I've been formulating this opinion for a couple of months now, ever since I watched Chuck Hayes drop a couple of jump hooks over Chandler on Jan 27 and finish 8-for-10 from the floor. Now, before I begin, I'd like to first start by saying that Chandler is a fantastic <i>team </i>defender. His ability to cover ground after guards break down the defense is second to only Dwight Howard. Chandler cuts off lanes, rotates to the baseline and hedges on pick and rolls as good as any other big man in the league. And the numbers back it up. The Maverick defense overall is three points per possession better when Chandler is on the court. Don't forget the rebounding too, since the Mavericks have trouble in that department anyway and Chandler's ability on the defensive glass allows the Mavericks to close out the few defensive stops they do get (especially in the last few weeks).<br />
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But I don't need to be telling you this, you already know. If you want to know more, better take it from Ian Levy from Hickory High and The Two Man Game <a href="http://www.thetwomangame.com/2011/03/the-lions-mane/">breaking down Chandler's overall team impact on the defense</a>. He does a better job than I ever could.<br />
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What I am here for is to debate or bring to your attention the individual defense Chandler plays, 1-on-1 with another player. Not covering screens. Not rotating over after Jason Terry was caught flat-footed. Mano y mano defense.<br />
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Unfortunately there are even fewer advanced stats that back up individual defense then there is team defense. The site <a href="http://www.synergysportstech.com/">Synergy Sports</a> breaks down how certain players perform in individual situations (for instance, what Dirk Nowitzki's shooting percentage is in spot-up shots and catch and shoots) that go towards defense. But being the starving artist that I am, I don't have an account to the site and have to rely on the eye-test and the few (accessible) advanced stats that are out there.<br />
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First, the eye-test. It's clear that Chandler isn't the bulkiest of centers in the league, a more slim, fit, athletic type which is becoming the standard of NBA big men. Because of this, Chandler is easily pushed out of position on defense from the likes of Amare Stoudemire, Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge. When opposing post players catch the ball on Chandler, it is usually right on the block which only requires a simple jump hook or turnaround jumper and no dribbling. Chandler's biggest strengths -- speed, athleticism, quickness and vertical leaping -- are neutralized when a post player catches deep in the paint against Chandler and has a variety of release points to shoot quickly, which most above-average post scorers have. If there is one thing Chandler will have to improve, it's preventing post-players from getting deep position on the catch.<br />
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Now let's get into how some post-players have faired in games against Dallas this season. Amare Stoudemire averages over 28 points and 48 percent shooting. Tim Duncan averages 16 points and 54.6 percent shooting. Luis Scola averages 17.7 points on 55.8 percent shooting. LaMarcus Aldridge gets 31 points on 51.4 percent from the floor. Maverick killer Zach Randolph hasn't been phased by Chandler, getting 24.3 points per game on a ludicrous 61.4 percent shooting. Even Chuck Hayes, who might be the most offensively challenged PF/C in the league, averages 68.4 percent shooting against the Mavs this year.<br />
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I understand that all these players (besides Hayes) are great big men, All-Stars and former MVPs. I also understand that Chandler isn't solely responsible for the big numbers these players are putting up. Not all these players are scoring in isolations against Chandler (again, wish I had the Synergy Sports account) and this isn't taking into account guards allowing penetration and so forth. But it still isn't a great trend to see against your defensive stalwart.<br />
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Luckily, there are some numbers to back up these claims. According to <a href="http://82games.com/">82games.com</a>, Chandler is allowing opposing centers a PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 17.7. A 15 PER equates to an average player. Chandler also allows opposing centers to have an effective field goal percentage of 53. To compare, Dwight Howard limits opposing centers to a 12 PER and only a 46.2 eFG percentage. And Chuck Hayes, who is significantly more challenged physically in the post than any other PF/C in basketball, allows only a 16.4 PER and centers to have a 47 eFG percentage.<br />
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Ready for the heartbreaker? Bust out the tissues because Erick Dampier this season only allows opposing centers to have a 14.2 PER and shoot an eFG percentage of 46.6. Of course, Howard and Dampier are surrounded by better perimeter defenders this season, but Hayes plays on one of the worst defenses in the NBA at Houston. And, Dampier is putting up similar individual defensive numbers to his last seasons in Dallas, compared to Chandler.<br />
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Tyson Chandler is a great player and easily the Mavericks second-most important player this season. But all the talk about his impact on the defensive end is held together by tape and paper clips from the Mavericks early start to good defense this season. Dallas has now sagged to the middle of the pack in defensive efficiency. There's no doubt Chandler makes the Mavericks defense better when he's on the court. But let's no overstate how good a defender he really is. In fact, I'd argue Chandler is more important to the Mavericks offense then the defense, being a scoring option at the center positon the Mavericks haven't seen in the Dirk Nowitzki era. Dallas still has trouble with effective post-players, and Chandler shouldn't be exempt from the problems the Maverick defense has encountered over the last month.<br />
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<i>(Editor's note: Apologies for being absent. If you don't know, I've been awarded a sports writing gig at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and for obvious reasons have focused my time to that. After getting used to my new schedule, I should be able to post more. Sorry, again for the wait.)</i><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span></span></i></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></span></span><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Be our friend! Join The Rice of Passage <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rice-of-Passage-Sports-Blog-Podcast/301127508886?ref=ts" style="color: #777766; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page! </i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></span></i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Want to tell me how dumb I am? Follow my dumb thoughts? Then check me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/boweman55" style="color: #3d81ee; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></i></span></span></span></i></i></div>Josh Bowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04186382128116372537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-419365933141588612.post-26953165852213650712011-03-07T13:07:00.001-08:002011-03-07T15:07:26.496-08:00Take Dat Wit Chew: The Rice of Passage Podcast Episode 4<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7yooRPh1FH4/TXVLros_HeI/AAAAAAAAAA0/ve61ydK-fFQ/s1600/TDWY.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581450526228159970" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7yooRPh1FH4/TXVLros_HeI/AAAAAAAAAA0/ve61ydK-fFQ/s320/TDWY.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 101px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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Do you remember two days ago? Things were going pretty well in Mavland when we recorded this. Wins were plentiful. Smiles were plastered across the faces of the children. No one was questioning Rick Carlisle. <br />
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It was truly a simpler time.<br />
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Hop in your Delorean and take a ride back 48 hours to hear discussions of Corey Brewer, Jason Terry, and the state of the Western Conference. <br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Figure out how to download the .mp3 <a details="" href="http://www.archive.org/details/TakeDatWitChewTheRiceOfPassagePodcastEpisode4" http:="" takedatwitchewthericeofpassagepodcastepisode4="" www.archive.org="">here.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Follow the members of the show on Twitter @Boweman55 and @TheFullerTron</span>FullerTronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01862356863761539321noreply@blogger.com0