Dallas Mavericks vs New Orleans Hornets

April 18th, 2008 Posted in Avery Johnson, Mavs Talk

It’s finally playoff time and the future of the Mavericks depends quite a bit on how they play over the next, if things go well, 2 months.  There seem to be only two options after this season is over, and they both are clear to me.  Make a deep run, which would mean the conference finals at the least for me, and bring back this team next year, Avery included, and give them a full year to grow together and make another run at a title next year.  Go out in the first or second round and changes have to be made.

The Mavs have already helped themselves by getting the most favorable first round match up they could hope for.  Seeing them win games against playoff bound teams down the stretch was encouraging but losses to the Trailblazers and Sonics looked like cause for concern.  But then they came to play in the regular season finale and won a game that had to be won. 

The Mavericks can win this series, and I’m actually expecting them to, but a lot of their success is going to depend on decisions Avery makes.

The rotation the Mavericks use is going to be the biggest concern until Avery shows otherwise.  The starting lineup for game one has to be, and really almost 100% will be, Dirk, Kidd, Howard, Stackhouse and Damp.  Avery knows he messed up last year and wouldn’t dare make a similar mistake this year. 

Substitution choices are going to be interesting to watch.  First, there is absolutely no reason for Juwan Howard to see any playing time at all.  He’s been getting a little playing time the last month due to injuries but now is now the time to get cute and have him on the court.  There is also no chance of Magloire, Wright and Barea getting any minutes at all, as it should be.

That leaves a bench of Terry, Jones, Bass, Allen, Lue and George.  Terry is going to be the 6th man and is going to be important in this series as he’s averaged 22 points against the Hornets this year.  Bass will be Damp’s backup, backup being key word here.  I don’t want to see Bass playing 30 minutes while Damp only gets 16, it has to be the other way around.  George will be the 8th man relieving Dirk and Josh and Eddie Jones will probably be needed about 14-16 minutes a game until Stack is closer to 100%.  Lue and Allen should only be used if absolutely needed.

The main thing I don’t want to see is 4 bench guys playing together at the start of the 2nd quarter, something Avery had fallen in love with late in the season.  Dirk, Kidd and Howard must play at least 40 minutes a game while Stack/Jones and Damp each need 30. 

Avery’s already shown a bit of a preview of his defensive plans against Chris Paul by brining out the half-court trap in the season finale.  This is a good plan and needs to continue, the more time the ball is out of Paul’s hands the better.  But once Dirk or Damp goes out to trap help has to come to whoever is left to handle West and Chandler.  Otherwise it’s going to turn into a lay-up drill and they’ll have to move away from the trap.

I also want to see more of Kidd posting up Paul.  With Kidd’s size advantage, 4 inches and 35 pounds (that’s what she said), he’s got to try and wear Paul down.  Anything that would possibly make Paul less effective on the offensive needs to be done.  Deron Williams and the Jazz have already shown that Paul has trouble against bigger guards.  Kidd’s shooting is also going to be important.  If he can stay hot like he has been recently then that will greatly help the Mavs.

The Real Josh Howard, the one that gets to basket and draw fouls, also needs to show up, not the 5-20 from the field Josh Howard that was playing earlier this year.

And of course there is Dirk.  There’s no doubt that he’s going to get doubled constantly, so he will be relying on this teammates.  But the Dirk that has been playing since coming back from the injury has been a man possessed.  If he can keep up that fire and passion and the “F-you we’re not losing this game” mentality, goods things are going to happen for this team.

There are a lot of stories in this series.  Jason Kidd against Chris Paul.  Jason Kidd against Byron Scott.  Avery coaching a playoff series in New Orleans, his hometown.  Dirk playing on one-and-a-half legs.  Both teams claiming to be the underdog. 

But the biggest story is going to be the future of the Mavericks, whatever the outcome.


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  1. 8 Responses to “Dallas Mavericks vs New Orleans Hornets”

  2. By selke99 on Apr 18, 2008 at 3:36:26 pm

    Greg, I agree that Damp has to start. He has really elevated his play with Kidd and has been fun to watch. But if you look at the box score from the recent Mavs win over NO, Damp did in fact play 17 min (and started), while Bass played 30. I believe this series in particular, while Damp has earned the starting spot, Bass may end up playing twice as many minutes due to the NO bigs being so active and fast. It looked like they were running circles around Damp and getting to more rebounds and loose balls.

    Also, I’m not sure if Stack should start over Terry. JET can be so effective when his shot is falling, I wonder if they should go back to what they had 2 years ago with Stack coming in as the 6th man. Didn’t he win the award or was in the running for it 2 years ago? I guess it doesn’t matter if JET ends up playing twice as many minutes like the last game, it just seems like Stack is injury prone when given an opportunity to start and play extensive minutes.

    Should be a great series! Go MAVS!!

  3. By PininFarina456 on Apr 18, 2008 at 4:30:46 pm

    I agree with Greg 100% on the line up. If AJ doesn’t mess that up, we are good to go.

    I still think JET should come off the bench, that gives him more energy to prove himself. He fits the role well. There’s more than enough offense on the court w/o JET starting.

  4. By WyldMavsFan on Apr 18, 2008 at 4:50:35 pm

    That’s how the rotation should go, but you know Avery won’t do it. Bass will play more than Damp (especially in game 1) and we will have 4 bench guys in at the same time, which forces Terry to create every shot he shoots by himself.

    I would like to see a lot of George on David West, I think we can guard him which would put Dirk on Peja which I like as well.

  5. By olddecrepitbastard on Apr 18, 2008 at 9:40:56 pm

    i honestly do agree with you about a lot of things, particuarly the need for damp to be on the floor as much as possible. but, honestly, if you want this blog to be taken seriously (and perhaps you don’t…), take care of your issues with mechanics and punctuation. not to sound pedantic, but some of your sentences are incomprehensible on the first (and sometimes the second) read. as a fan of your blog, i felt that i needed to say something.

    (and, yes, i’m aware that i capitalized nothing in this message.)

    mavs in 6.

    keep up the good work - after all, if avery keeps up the “work” he’s been doing, someone needs to be around to say something about it.

  6. By olddecrepitbastard on Apr 18, 2008 at 9:46:40 pm

    sorry: ‘particularly’ not ‘particuarly’.

    i’ll shut up now.

  7. By mrtwister on Apr 18, 2008 at 11:25:00 pm

    It’s great to have a game plan in terms of who starts and who gets how many minutes and when, but expecting it to pan out that way is unrealistic. It’s like saying we should make 52% of our field goals and out-rebound the other team and we will win. When does it ever go to plan?
    Agreed, Damp should start but don’t give him the minutes because he’s Damp. See how he goes, maybe Bass will be better suited to NO’s game but maybe Bass will stink it up this series despite his ‘blinder’ the other night. The point is, who knows?
    I think Stack should start, simply because Terry is performing better offensively. If the starters aren’t firing with Dirk, Howard and Stack then having a quick and dangerous shooter to come in is more effective than having someone come in and fill the gaps. I see Terry being better suited to this than Stack these days, the boy is getting old which he has shown with his run of injuries. You shouldn’t always start your best or most dangerous 5, especially when you don’t need ALL your firepower out there at the same time.
    The first game will set the tone for the series so let’s hope Tuesday’s game was a sign of things to come and not a final played too early.

    And as a thought…….

    How many people need to pick the ‘underdogs’ to win before the ‘underdogs’ become the favorites? Check out ESPN’s ‘expert’ reporters and who they’ve picked for the first round.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/series?series=dalnor

  8. By georgia on Apr 19, 2008 at 2:21:26 pm

    I agree 100% with what you’ve written, down to the last dot.

    plus…No scrubs on the floor,Avery…… AT ALL !!!!
    Avery, you better listen up !!! Don’t mess this one up!

    GO MAVS ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

  9. By georgia on Apr 19, 2008 at 7:02:50 pm

    Well, beginning of second quarter….and who does Avery put out there ?????
    Juan Howard (hot potato)………..and he’s still changing them around. Losing a double digit lead to single…

    ??? Avery what are you doing??

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