All year long, throughout this record-setting season, I have repeated I didn't care - the playoffs are what matters. I'm not sure why I got lumped in as a "quitter" because I had a lack of confidence from what I had witnessed through three (now four) games:
-I see Dallas getting outcoached by Don Nelson. I could always count on Avery to make the necessary adjustments by game 2, but he has not been able to do anything to stop Baron Davis and Co. Nelson has done a fantastic job of shutting down Dirk and getting his team to believe.
-I see GS outhustling the Mavs to the ball and outrebounding them (unbelievable) when their tallest starter is 6'8".
-I see GS playing great defense with a hand in the Mavs' faces every possession. I see Dallas getting split in two by Davis' penetration to the basket and a defensive scheme that is apparently "give perimeter players ten feet of space and then run at them with your hands up when they shoot."
-I see our best player, Dirk, getting taken out of the game by the GS double and triple teams.
-I don't see his teammates making shots when he passes it out to them.
-I see the Mavs making a lot of dumb mistakes and stupid turnovers.
-I see GS's best player Baron Davis carrying that team along with their fans, who were crazy throughout games three and four.
-I see a #8 team DOMINATING a team that won 67 games during the regular season. And I mean that by every definition - offensively, defensively, coaching, hustle, confidence, swagger, poise.
I haven't given up on this team, but I meant what I said in my previous post - my confidence in a title run is gone. Nelson has exposed the Mavs much like Sean Payton exposed the Cowboys. As Dwayne Wade did in last year's Finals, Baron Davis has shown how to beat the Mavs.
If you have a guard that can distribute the ball and penetrate the paint, you just run it down the court and into the paint. If you have a shot, take it. If not, pass it out to a wide open perimeter shooter and knock it down. They do not have an experienced lockdown defensive guard that can neutralize said attacker.
They also lack an athletic post up player that can score when the jumper is not falling. When Diop and Damp are on the floor Nelson knows they are not an offensive threat, so as long as he keeps them outside the paint he can double whichever Mav has the ball. It's basically five on four when we're on offense.
I am not done with this team, win or lose Tuesday night. If we can win (and I fully expect one if the Mavs have any heart at all) then we go back to GS with some momentum and if we take that - we're back home with a winning streak.
In recent memory the Suns came back from a 3-1 deficit in the first round last year, and San Antonio came about as close as you could last year in the second round down 3-1. It can happen. I still believe Dallas is the better team, but they are getting killed by turnovers and settling for jumpers. Unfortunately, I am with this team through good and bad - and is a reminder why the Finals loss last year hurt so much for me last year.
When you have a chance to take a championship - you take it. Because you never know when you'll get another shot.
