See the additional editorial notes at the end for more details about late postings and how they are not going to be a problem any longer.
FROM MAY 4, 2009, THE DAY AFTER GAME ONE OF THE EARLY MAY 2009 WEST SEMIFINAL SERIES BETWEEN THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS
[Game One was won by the Nuggets 109-95.]
Posted by GoNugs
The Nuggets are a sound defensive team. Last time I looked, that was part of the game...no?
Yes, you have one hell of a defensive team. If you think you can win a Championship without any offensive focus or schemes other than the fast break, with your offense based entirely on your defense, then go for it. You have almost unbelievable defensive intensity and speed. So take your best shot. Basing every last thing on defense is way out there on the edge, but it is interesting to watch, and it's like a scientific experiment: how far can a team go if it does this?
All I and others here I think are saying is that the referees had better not be steamrolled by your defense along with the other team! If that happens the game of basketball is damaged.
Imperfect referees? Inevitable. Steamrolled referees? No way. That spoils the game and starts to turn it into football. We want and expect the referees to keep their focus and make sure they keep the rules in mind as they watch the Nuggets' "outstanding and intimidating" defense.
FROM MAY 4, 2009, THE DAY AFTER GAME ONE OF THE EARLY MAY 2009 WEST SEMIFINAL SERIES BETWEEN THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS
[Game One was won by the Nuggets 109-95.]
Posted by longsufferingmavsfan
Hey folks check this play out. Fast Forward to the 1:53 mark of the video, the "FOUL" on Hollins. Tell me thats not a horrible call.
What a joke of a call, but I'm not laughing.
From his statements we know that Rick Carlisle knows exactly what is going on here. This is good. Now if he can figure out the best way to contain the Nuggets defense the Mavs are in business. (Normally you are talking about containing an offense, but in this case the objective is to contain the Broncos' defense. I mean the Nuggets defense.)
So far Coach is saying the Mavs need to increase aggressiveness to close the gap in that area. I agree 100%.
It is a paradox and may not seem logical: why would you want to become more aggressive when the refs are calling more of your fouls than the other teams' fouls? Because think about it: you don't have much to lose! You are already in the hole already in the fouls.
If there ever was a series where you have to "increase aggressiveness" to get fully competitive and to wake up the referees, this is that one you have been waiting for. The objective is to eliminate any excuse the refs have for calling a game unevenly.
FROM MAY 4, 2009, THE DAY AFTER GAME ONE OF THE EARLY MAY 2009 WEST SEMIFINAL SERIES BETWEEN THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS
[Game One was won by the Nuggets 109-95.]
Posted by joemoeschmoe
If we hadn't been so sloppy (especially in the 4th), we might've been able to win the game despite the officiating disparity.
Yes, the Mavs were very much in this game. A writer for the Denver post claimed that the Nuggets "dismantled" the Mavs in this game, and nothing could be farther from the truth than that. It was not a rout in any way, shape, or form. Kidd's crazy turnovers alone gave the Nuggets roughly 8 points for free.
This means the Mavericks can win this series and that no one should be shocked if they do win it.
FROM MAY 5, 2009, JUST AFTER GAME TWO OF THE EARLY MAY 2009 WEST SEMIFINAL SERIES BETWEEN THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS
[Game Two was won by the Nuggets 117-105; the Nuggets lead the series 2 games to 0.]
I'll be dangerously honest and admit my primary objective in this game besides rooting for the Mavs was to decide once and for all whether the Nuggets pose any serious threat to the Lakers.
Note: I am NOT a fan of the Lakers, I'm not really a fan of any one team anymore. I'm just a fan of basketball, and of basketball being different from football, that is it.
The Nuggets are winning on the cheap and they are winning without any offensive scheme other than easy, cheap points off fast breaks. This is exactly like a football team relying on its defense to get some stops (yielding better field position) and a turnover or two or three. Then the offense of that football team has very little to do to win the game. Many, many games in football are won this way, maybe as many as 1/3 of them.
Although everyone knows defending is more intense and more important in the playoffs than it is in the regular season, it is not true that Championships or Conference finals have been won to any extent at all by teams doing what the Nuggets are doing. Were the Nuggets to beat both the Mavs and the Lakers, it would truly be a science fiction type of event.
So all the Lakers (or the Mavs, still) have to do is to man up and take care of the ball. This is not as difficult for a team to do as it may seem from watching the Nuggets games lately. The Nuggets have temporarily created an alternate universe here, where basketball is different than in our universe.
So I am confident that even if the Mavs keep turning it over, even if the Mavs keep being heavily victimized by the free points of the fast break, and even if the Mavs keep being hammered by the referees, so they lose this series 4-1 or whatever, that the Lakers will defeat the Nuggets and restore my faith in basketball.
Go Mavs, you have a good, quality team regardless of what happens in this series. Your team looked great for three quarters (again) and then the 4th turned goofy and didn't seem like basketball anymore.
FROM MAY 5, 2009, JUST AFTER GAME TWO OF THE EARLY MAY 2009 WEST SEMIFINAL SERIES BETWEEN THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS
[Game Two was won by the Nuggets 117-105; the Nuggets lead the series 2 games to 0.]
VERY IMPORTANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In this game, game two in Denver, the Mavs and Nugs played almost even through three quarters; it was 86-83 Denver after three. Mavericks superstar Dirk Nowitzki asked for and received extra rest time at the beginning of the 4th quarter.
The problem was that Rick Carlisle installed a small lineup at the start of the 4th, which was promptly routed by the Nuggets due to the Nuggets' relentless driving into the paint, mixed up nicely with a fast breaking attack. The Mavs super small lineup to start the 4th was:
--JJ Barea PG, 6'0"
--Jason Terry PG, 6'2"
--Antoine Wright SG, 6'7"
--Brandon Bass PF, 6'8"
--James Singleton PF, 6'8"
We need to take a time out from our regularly scheduled posting of past writing.
If you are a coach or manager and you are reading this, learn this right here and now: Never, ever ever put a small lineup on the floor in the 4th quarter of a tight game against a hard charging, aggressive, athletic team that is favored to win the game. Never, ever do it; this is an obvious blunder against a team that is relentlessly driving the ball into the paint on offense and is relentlessly fouling on defense. The more aggressive your opponent, the more your opponent is relying on getting fouled on offense and on fouling on defense, the more you MUST NOT late in the game put a small lineup into a close game. Don't ever make a fool of yourself the way Carlisle inadvertently did here.
After Dallas mistakenly inserted the much too small rotation at the start of the 4th, the Nuggets took full advantage. They scored the first nine points of the fourth to take a 95-83 lead. The Nuggets then scored 7 of the next 9 points, and took an insurmountable 102-85 lead with six minutes left in the game. The Mavericks had been demolished by an incredible 16-2 in the first half of the fourth quarter!
The quote and response below refers to the fatal mistake of the too small Mavs lineup that went in at the start of the 4th.
Posted by CadBane
Don't try to be clever, because you're not. Yes, it still only has one, but it also isn't a HUGE liability on D like the lineup sporting JJ Barea and NO center. And it at least gives Kidd a guy to get dunks on (Damp or Hollins).
That lineup was a big mistake, very true. The Nuggets will usually eat alive any team that tries to play small. I have to respect Dirk needing rest, and I don't know enough about the Mavs players to say who should have been in early in the 4th, but there no doubt should have been another big man in there. Having two small point guards in there was an absolute killer.
========== Editorial Notes ==========
--The above was written in early May, 2009.
--As promised, we are finally posting material written and posted on forums in the spring. Obviously, if you have your own site, you should be posting at least simultaneously on your own site when you for whatever reason post elsewhere. But there has been a bad habit of not doing so, a bad habit that is being beaten down due to new content sharing regulations that have teeth.
========== VIDEO PLAYERS ==========
DALLAS MAVERICKS 2009 MOST POPULAR VIDEOS PLAYER
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