Dallas or OKC?

Great game 1. Dallas came out on fire. You have to give up to the Thunder for not going away. They kept coming back and putting pressure on the Mavs. This will help give OKC some momentum going into game 2. OKC needs to steal game 2 in Dallas to have a shot in this series.

Both superstars showed up tonight. Durant was as aggressive as I have seen him. He got into the paint and to the line by driving to the basket. However his amazing game was overshadowed by Dirk hitting 12/15 from the field and hitting all 24 of his FT attempts. I thought he got a little bit of the superstar treatment on some of those foul calls and he wasn't having to drive to the basket in order to get them. However his FG% and ability to hit all of those FTs was absolutely amazing. 48 points with just 15 FG attempts and not 3 point attempts. Don't think we'll ever see a box score like that again. Probably his best playoff performance ever...which roots well for the Thunder as they have to think that he can't repeat that. I didn't like Crawford being the one calling most of those perimeter fouls and the not explaining the reasoning to the Thunder player when he went over to ask about it.

Too many FTs in this game overall and I think the NBA has to do a better job of policing their refs. You have to be consistent from game to game and series to series. If they do this then the rest of this series is going to be a bit boring as we will see approximately 79 FTs per game.

What cost the Thunder the game was Dallas going on that big run to close the 1st half. OKC had a small lead and then was in a hole to start the 2nd half. In addition Westbrook was not great form the field. The X factor for Dallas in Barea showed up and gave them the push over the top while for OKC they had Robinson come in off the bench and go 0-3.
 
wtf with the fouls Dirk got. you cannot even gaurd him without getting a foul called. Durant got 2 fouls in less than 30 seconds gaurding Dirk. Seriously let them play. That was the game changer. OKC got back into the game, but they could not put Durant on Dirk. for fear of a foul being called.
 
It was really comical watching KD try to defend Dirk. KD is known for a lot of things, but a great defender he is not. It was the epitome of a mis-match. The scrawny KD trying to defend a very focused Dirk who has turned into a monster by going to the basket.

I thought the fouls against Dirk were all warranted (and for those crying about the fouls, OKC had 43 FT attempts to Dallas's 36 FT attempts). OKC had no idea how to stop the guy. You cannot body check him every time he tries to make a move and go to the basket. That is a foul. You cannot hand check him. That is a foul. Dirk is just on a mission and nothing is going to stop him.

I also thought that the way this game played out is perfect for the Mavs. Dirk took the laboring oar and JKidd and Peja had to do very little. One of the few times when OKC brought the double team on Dirk, Dirk passed to JKidd and JKidd nailed the 3 pointer from the top of the key. This will be critical to the series. JKidd and Peja (and to a certain extent Terry) will need to knock down their open 3 pointers if OKC double teams Dirk. And I think this is the strategy that OKC will have to go with. Make the other guys beat you. Dirk has already proven that if you guard him one-on-one then he is going to beat you by himself.

A good start for the Mavs. There is a long way to go. OKC showed they have a lot of fight and just refused to go away. The easy put backs and dunks in the 4th quarter were very disconcerting. But it almost appeared the Mavs did not work as hard on defense because they knew OKC could not stop them on the offensive end. If they continue to take this approach, then they may very well lose the series. The defense has got to be better.
 
I'm sick of everyone complaining that Dirk was being given charity all night by the officials. Of all the calls he received, there was only one, and possibly two that were truly questionable. On the other hand, OKC had quite a few questionable calls themselves go their way, in particular the 6th foul on Marion and the technical on Terry. They also shot 7 more FT's overall than the Mavs. There was nothing I saw that showed me that the Mavs were getting any better treatment by the officials than OKC.

OKC's strategy last night was to play Dirk one on one and try to out-physical him. The refs set the tone early that this game was going to be called close. OKC did not adjust. Stupid on their part and they paid for it. Regardless, with how Dirk was shooting, it was either watch him hit a 10 footer over your head or send him to the charity stripe. That man was not going to be denied last night come hell or high water.
 
Kind of like the phantom foul on Terry against KD where Terry had his hands behind his own back as KD went up to shoot and KD got a foul call?
 
Was talking with my bro over the weekend and it was agreed that OKC has no answer for Dirk. They just don't have a man-up body that can deal with his game. He destroyed them yesterday. I told my bro that KD had the length, but not the strength, and, if he exerted the effort to properly D Nowi his O would suffer. If he didn't, he'd pick up fouls like flies.

As in the Lakers series, Dallas has so much depth, especially with Terry as a sixth that basically starts. They aren't built to smother the Thunder on the perimeter, but they have the bodies to deny easy scores if they so desire. I don't think either team is a defensive-minded squad, so the scoring should continue to flow.

Dallas' only concern is Westbrook suddenly taking over while Durant continues to score. Durant's point won't hurt a team like Dallas so long as they keep Westbrook in the 15-22 range. Harden can't be ignored, but Westbrook has to be tuned into a black hole if he is to be allowed a 30 point night -- the Thunder O has to be made inefficient if he gets that many points.

Dallas is the better team. I hope they get to the finals and play the Bulls, because that will be a test of wills and style.
 
Props to Dirk. Was one of the best playoff performances I've seen in the past decade.

Westbrook looked awful.

There were too many whistles in general. At least 3 or 4 each way that should have been no-calls. Collison got two whistles for having the temerity to try to hold his ground when Dirk was backing into him. Likewise, Westbrook got a couple of bailouts where he was initiating contact in the process of taking a bad shot. The one perimeter foul on a Durant shot (on Terry?) was absurd. That's about 12 too many free throws right off the top of my head.
 
Remember that the Mavs were basically running the same offense all night because OKC refused to adjust. They have multiple offensive sets and they have offenses set up to handle a defense if they double team Dirk. In his post-game press conference Carlisle was basically saying he was suprised Brooks did not run the double team at Dirk more often. I think Carlisle was basically baiting Brooks into running the double team at Dirk more often so that he can implement all of the other offensive sets and get easy baskets with good ball movement.

Or else OKC can continue to man up on Dirk and get 48 poured down on them.

Will be interesting to watch the adjustments made by the coaches.
 
It almost seemed like OKC would have been better off giving Dirk more space and taking a chance he'd miss his jump shot. As it was they would foul him and it was an automatic 2. I love NBA playoffs and the "adjustments" that are made by both coaches. This early storyline of "who and how to guard Dirk" is delicious!

It's a long series and lots of basketball still to be played. As hot as the Mavs are right now, we've all seen those games when they can't do anything right. Here's hoping they're firing on all cylinders Thursday and can keep OKC down and out of their game.

Hook'em!!!
texasflag.gif
 
Peja had a great game 4 against the Lakers, but other then that has been way off lately. If he could hit 4-5 3s that would take a ton of pressure off Dirk. Need another scorer to step up besides Dirk, Terry, and JJ.
 
Old dudes taking the young dudes to school. OKC looks lost against Kidd right now. Still early though, but damn at 38 Kidd is amazing.
 
OKC shot lights out tonight. Mavs hadn't lost one at home, Dirk hadn't missed a free throw in 2 games. This one worried me and all the little things went OKCs way. Whoever hits their outside shots is going to win and OKC made them tonight.

I thought Dirk played too unselfish tonight. He did get doubled, but there were still times he passed when the shot was there. Don't think he's going to do that again, but any game where OKCs bench outplays the Mavs bench, they are going to win.
 
OKC shot really well when they needed to, including some ridiculous Js in the clutch. Their bench really showed well, obviously, and Harden is a squirrelly, effective offensive option that I personally have a hard time taking seriously. Maybe its the Grizzly Adams beard. Guy is tough.

The Mavs missed too many bunnies. I hate that about a team. Finish at the rim or go to the line. Don't miss three ******* layups in the 4th.

Dirk and Chandler need to step up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top