Dallas Mavericks Playoff Thread

[Coach]

The last two games (3 and 4) have been great games to watch. Two 60 win teams going back and forth late into games with the superstars and role players hitting huge shots.

I think the Spurs let the officials get inside their head in the Game 2 rout, and they aren't focusing completely on the Mavs right now, they are so worried about the officials. This goes back to Popvich, because most of the time a team takes on the personality of a coach (not all the time). I think once Popovich started whining in Game 2, the fans jumped on the refs and then Duncan and Ginobli caught on big time. I think the Mavs actually had more fouls than the Spurs in that game too.

Last night Jason Terry was huge. He and Devin Harris have shredded the Spurs backourt, and it reminds me a lot of Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson doing the same to the Mavs a few years ago. They are getting in the lane almost at will. Terry's shot over Duncan last night was a great shot and the dagger for the Spurs.

The Mavs have confidence, and that can be a huge advantage, but they know they will have a dogfight on their hands the rest of the way, and nothing will be easy in San Antionio. This is a fun series to watch and I hope the Mavs can finally make the Finals and bring home the trophy this season.

[Coach]

Tough loss tonight. It was like games 1, 3, and 4, very close and very well played by both teams.

And how about the Cavs? They have the Pistons on the ropes, that would be a huge upset.

[PerryG2480]

Man, I wanted to close them out so bad last night. I get nervous at the idea of them getting a game in Dallas and forcing Game 7. We have to take care of business in Game 6. How did Dirk miss that tip in anyway?

Ah well, 4 close games. We made the plays to win in two, and so did they now.

As for the Pistons...there's a slight tone of overratedness floating around them all of a sudden. I mean they did dominate this season...in the East.

[untguy82]

Man the game last night was unbelievably close. I was very excited but was very disappointed when dirk didnt get that tip. Anyways they really need to close this out in game 6 so they can get some rest. What did you think about Dirk's 3 though?

[Eagle1855]

Man the game last night was unbelievably close.  I was very excited but was very disappointed when dirk didnt get that tip.  Anyways they really need to close this out in game 6 so they can get some rest.  What did you think about Dirk's 3 though?

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dirk getting stuffed by Bowen was tough to watch... almost as difficult as it was hearing the commentators talk about what a Hasselhoff fan Dirk was.

Anyways, I think the Mavs close out at home, and better for the fans!

Someone call the Cavs and tell them they arent supposed to beat detroit, because apparently they havent heard....

[Guest e-bone]

Jason Terry has been suspended for game 6. Stu Jackson said that broadcast footage didn't show the punch, but still suspended Terry anyway. Are there cameras other than those used for broadcast?

This is a big blow and will hurt the Mavs in game 6. The team will definitely need Devin Harris to continue his excellent play, and now will need Stackhouse and then someone from the bench like Daniels to step up in the absence of Terry. The Mavs can't let this series get back to San Antonio.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2006...tory?id=2450020

Edited May 19, 2006 by e-bone

[Eagle1855]

Jason Terry has been suspended for game 6. Stu Jackson said that broadcast footage didn't show the punch, but still suspended Terry anyway. Are there cameras other than those used for broadcast?

This is a big blow and will hurt the Mavs in game 6.

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this is a big blow, I wondered if something would come of that last night. Finley was backing away and kept saying "he punched me, he punched me". Guess he did. Stupid, stupid decision that could cost the mavs big time. You dont want to give another team incentive to come out and play out of their minds. Then again, they said that about the Raja/Kobe thing, and nothing came of that. Either way, it was a stupid thing to do.

[PerryG2480]

The Bowen block was a good defensive play at a key time in the game...but was far from all ball.

Ah well, water under the bridge.

How did Terry get suspended while Reggie Evans got off with just a fine after his package clinch on Chris Kaman? Or was it Kaman that got off?

Some of the fans on the Spurs boards are worried that this Terry suspension wil simply light a fire under the rest of the Mavs. Let's hope so.

[LongJim]

Ginobli rushed to the hospital...

Heheheh...

[UNTLifer]

Ginobli rushed to the hospital...

Heheheh...

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What else do you expect from a player that grew up in a soccer country?

[Coach]

What a great game. You will be hard pressed to name of many playoff series that were better. Dirk's three point play against one of the premier perimeter defenders in the league was nothing short of clutch. I questioned the Diop signing when it happend, but he was the difference in OT with his defense on Duncan. This team has all the tools to win it all, just 8 more wins to go!

[MeanGreenBuzz]

Man the refs did everything they could for 2+ quarters to foul call the Spurs back in the game. When they started calling it even again the better team came out ahead.

[Coach]

At one point the free throws were in favor of SA 28-7 and after a call, the Spurs did their whole "shrug shoulders, open eyes wide, hold hands out" routine. I laughed out loud.

I used to like Duncan, I liked watching him play and would pull for the Spurs when the Mavs were out (especially against the Lakers). He was the Big Fundamental, never said a word during a game much less incessant whining. That changed this year, for some reason. And it is not just Mavs fans noticing this...there was a piece about it in the Sports Guys latest article, and Steve Kerr, Duncan's former teammate, made mention that he had complained a lot this series. He is a very likable player, even on a rival team when he just plays ball, but this year something got into him. Popovich needs to tell him to focus on basketball and not things out of his control. On second thought, I don't want him to get any better (scary idea), so whine away Tim.

I'm watching Game 7 of the Suns-Clippers and the West Finals will be very tough. Brand is playing perhaps even better than Duncan right now and Maggette will pose problems, and then the Suns have Nash with an athletic, fast team that can shoot. Either way, it will be a battle.

[LongJim]

Great, great series. NBA makes me yawn, but I love the playoffs.

Ridiculous calls for SA during the first half. Bad ones at the end, too.

Two great teams battling it out.

[NTEagle08]

Now I know the Mavs had a better record than the Suns in the regular season, but why is it that they get home court advantage. The NBA is the only league to my knowledge that doesn't give an incentive to winning divisions. For instance, remember that this past year Jacksonville had a better record than both Cincinatti and New England, but they had to play on the road since they didn't win their division. The way the NBA does there playoff seeding and whatnot does not make any sense.

[MeanMag]

Now I know the Mavs had a better record than the Suns in the regular season, but why is it that they get home court advantage. The NBA is the only league to my knowledge that doesn't give an incentive to winning divisions. For instance, remember that this past year Jacksonville had a better record than both Cincinatti and New England, but they had to play on the road since they didn't win their division. The way the NBA does there playoff seeding and whatnot does not make any sense.

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Mavs DO get HC advantage. It is based off of regular season record. First game is Wednesday night in Dallas.

[Coach]

Now I know the Mavs had a better record than the Suns in the regular season, but why is it that they get home court advantage. The NBA is the only league to my knowledge that doesn't give an incentive to winning divisions.

The incentive was getting to play the 6th and 7th seeds to make the Conference Finals while two 60 win teams slugged it out in the semis. No matter what, the Suns were guaranteed to not play a team with over 47 wins until the Conf. Finals. I would say they were rewarded for winning the division.

The way the NBA does there playoff seeding and whatnot does not make any sense.

I agree. Stern said they would fix it in the offseason however.

[Eagle-96]

I agree.  Stern said they would fix it in the offseason however.

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He has already fixed it. Next season the 3 division winners plus the best 2nd place team will be the top 4 seeds. The teams will then be seeded according to record. If it was in place this year it would have been:

1 San Antonio

2 Dallas

3 Phoenix

4 Denver

5 Memphis

6 Clippers

7 Lakers

8 Sacramento

[NTEagle08]

realistically the way it should work, or at least the way I think it should work, is that the 3 division winners should still get the top 3 spots in the conference. Re-seed after the first round is over, that way the Spurs would have played the Clippers, and the Mavs would have played the Suns. And the higher seed gets home court advantage, why have seeds in the first place if they don't really mean much, especially in home court advantage. Also if the Cavs would have won game 6, they would have had two rounds going at the same time, which would have not made a whole lot of sense. The NBA should wait for all teams to be done with one round, before starting another one. This is the way every other major sports league operates their playoffs, I don't know why the NBA has to do it differently.

[Guest e-bone]

Also if the Cavs would have won game 6, they would have had two rounds going at the same time, which would have not made a whole lot of sense. The NBA should wait for all teams to be done with one round, before starting another one. This is the way every other major sports league operates their playoffs, I don't know why the NBA has to do it differently.

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Umm, that is not the case at all. One semi final series wouldn't have started if a quarter final series or two on the opposite side of the bracket were still being played.

I like how the seedings were changed for next year's playoffs. This year was ridiculous.

[NTEagle08]

Umm, that is not the case at all. One semi final series wouldn't have started if a quarter final series or two on the opposite side of the bracket were still being played.

I like how the seedings were changed for next year's playoffs. This year was ridiculous.

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The NBA had Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals scheduled for Sunday afternoon if the Cavs had pulled through and won game 6. This while neither series in the West had been finished, but thankfully it didn't happen since the Cavs lost game 6.

[Guest e-bone]

The NBA had Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals scheduled for Sunday afternoon if the Cavs had pulled through and won game 6. This while neither series in the West had been finished, but thankfully it didn't happen since the Cavs lost game 6.

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I did not know that, and that is pretty dumb. I guess Stern couldn't have waited to pull in those advertising bucks.

[Coach]

Mavericks related items from the Sports Guy's latest.

You couldn't ask the franchise guys on each team to raise their games any higher -- Duncan was absolutely heroic in defeat (all the whining aside), and Nowitzki elevated his play to the point that he's probably the best player alive right now (capped off by the gutty three-point play to tie the game in regulation).

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I don't care if Dallas ended up winning -- that was still one of the defining Dick Bavetta Games of all time. Hold your head up high, Dick. Hold your head up high. Duncan shot about 75 free throws and was allowed to jump over everyone's back on every rebound. You did your job. You still have the touch.

...

Did we ever figure out why Dallas fans were booing Michael Finley all series? "You jerk! ... We cut you to save $55 million on the luxury tax even though you wanted to stay here. ... You ... you jerk! You go to hell!" Let's just let Texas secede from the United States and get it over with.

...

I can't believe Tim Duncan has made it through nine years in the league without committing a foul.

[LongJim]

I don't care if Dallas ended up winning -- that was still one of the defining Dick Bavetta Games of all time. Hold your head up high, Dick. Hold your head up high. Duncan shot about 75 free throws and was allowed to jump over everyone's back on every rebound. You did your job. You still have the touch.

[LongJim]

For those wondering about Dick Bavetta...from Wikipedia:

Dick Bavetta has been given the nick name Dick "the fix" Bavetta for his part in many questionable calls throughout the NBA playoffs in his tenure. This is from an article from a Utah paper:

"Apparently not just Utah Jazz fans hate seeing Dick Bavetta in a referee's uniform prior to a game. Bavetta, as many Jazz fans will never forget, was the guy who waived off a Howard Eisley 3-point shot in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals — won by the Chicago Bulls by just one point. Eisley's shot, replays clearly show, beat the shot clock, but Bavetta disagreed. He's been a top enemy of Jazz fans ever since — although, truth be told, Bavetta has seemingly bent over backwards to give the Jazz the benefit of the doubt ever since then."

But Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse doesn't like the 31-year veteran referee, either. "Somebody saw Bavetta get off the bus . . . and I thought, 'Oh, (expletive).' I knew what was coming," Stackhouse told The (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram. 'It's tough to come on the road in this environment and have to play against the refs, too. (Expletive) Dick Bavetta. I'm tired of his (expletive). It's like the game is about him. He just needs to call the game and call the fouls.'"

"Knick" Bavetta was the nick name given to Dick Bavetta by Miami Heat point guard Tim Hardaway during the 2000 NBA Playoffs.