San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks

The much anticipated west semifinal is finally upon us!  Avery Johnson and company will make their way to the AT&T Center for the series opener tomorrow at high noon.  This matchup promises to be an extremely exciting one. 

Dallas of course comes into the second round after taking out Memphis in four straight.  The Spurs, on the other hand, had a little bit more trouble with Sacramento.  Given the regular season split of two games a piece this series could very well stretch to seven games.  There will be some key factors in this series that play into who is moving on to the next round and who is getting their fishing gear ready.  These are a couple of questions that might hold the answer as to who wins the series.

Who will set the tone in Game 1? 

Unfortunately the Spurs head into game 1 only 36 hours after playing the Kings in Sacramento.  Parker's right thigh contusion and other ailments on his right side will definitely be hurting him.   Duncan has looked solid over the the last few games and showed signs that the plantar fascilitis isn't bothering him as much as it had during the regular season.  Ginobili also looks to be back close to 100% again.  Still, the limited rest has many Spurs fans concerned.  The Spurs have played less than .500 basketball on back to backs this year.  The Mavs come in with plenty of time off, in fact maybe a little bit too much.  They haven't played a game since Monday so the key for Dallas will be how rusty they are and how quickly they can shake that off.  However, the pressure lies more squarely on San Antonio being that they must come out and protect their homecourt.  The Spurs will have to set the tone by matching Dallas' intensity on both ends of the floor to have a chance of beating the Mavs in game 1.

Whose bench will step up?

Both of these teams possess a lot of depth off the bench.  No doubt that the edge of the bench play will be pretty even on paper.  San Antonio has enjoyed solid production from Finley, Barry, and Horry thus far in the playoffs.   Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier gave Dallas a spark off the bench is the opening round, while Marquis Daniels has the ability to give the Mavs a solid contribution as well.  Pop made a change and started Robert Horry in games 5 and 6 of the first round against Sacramento, similar to switching out Ginobili with Brent Barry in the first round last year against Denver.  Nazr Mohammed or Rasho Nesterovic will probably slip back into the starting spot for the beginning of this series unless Pop feels that he would rather keep the change with Horry starting and Rasho giving energy off the bench.  Regardless, a big key for San Antonio is winning the rebounding battle, meaning Mohammed and Nesterovic will have to give Duncan as much help as possible on the glass inside.

Who will win the battle of the big men?

For Dallas on offense Dirk Nowitzki can create mismatch problems for the Spurs.  He is not a prototypical seven-footer in that hes not a low post player.  Duncan, who is not an excellent perimeter defender, will hurt the Spurs if hes sucked out of the post.  Duncan is a dominant rebounding force and he must remain inside to prevent the Mavs from crashing the offensive glass.  Its no secret that the team that wins the rebounding battle usually puts themself in a better position to win the game.  Pop, who used Bowen at times during the regular season to guard Nowitzki, will probably give him the assignment along with Robert Horry.  Keeping Duncan inside will force Nowitzki to take more jump shots and leave the Spurs a dominant rebounder and shot blocker inside.

Will the student become the teacher?

Avery Johnson will match wits with his former coach Gregg Popovich for the first time in playoff competition.  Johnson knows the Spurs better than any head coach in the league.  Using his knowledge to exploit the weaknesses of his former team will be crucial if the Mavs want to win the series.  The problem: the Spurs don't have a lot of weaknesses.  They are the most well-rounded ball club this side of Detroit.  Still, Avery has his guys playing great basketball right now and he will bring the defensive mentality that Pop instilled in him during his playing days in silver and black.   

Fans should be happy that they get an early preview of the Western Conference Finals.  San Antonio and Dallas might be the two best teams in the league.  The winner of this series is going to win the West and has a good chance of winning it all.  So get ready for some action-packed-hard-nosed-ratings-producing basketball!

Call me crazy, but I had absolutely no desire to see four Pistons playing at once in the All Star Game.  This has nothing to do with my thoughts on whether they deserved the spot; it was simply boring.  If I wanted to watch "Pistons basketball" I would watch a DET game.  Do people really want to watch Rip running off staggered screens?  And was anyone really surprised that four Pistons plus Pierce outplayed the West?  Hell, four Raptors plus Pierce would likely beat the West, too.  Virtually any NBA team playing team basketball would beat an All-Star team featuring guys trying lobs from half court.  And yeah, I would feel the same way about four Spurs.  I know how the Spurs play.  I don't know how Manu would play with Nash, Marion, Dirk and Brand.  That's what I would want to see.

My favorite part of the latest Isiah trade isn't that the Knicks will be paying $60+ million a year (including luxury tax) for Marbury and Francis.  It's not that these two players are incompatible due to both of them being undersized for a shooting guard (not that they play much defense anyway).  Nor is it that the combination will drive the lying, sniveling Larry Brown to a premature demise.  The best part about this deal is that multiple media outlets are reporting that Isiah is stockpiling assets in order to go after Garnett in the summer.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  I can see only one high-quality asset the Knicks have that MIN could possibly want.  And that's Channing Frye.  They have don't have any premium draft picks over the next two years.  Meanwhile a team like CHI could offer some combination of Deng, Gordon, Duhon, Nocioni, Hinrich and Chandler plus multiple premium first round picks.

I didn't get to watch the SA-SEA game because the NBA League Pass channel was blacked out and I didn't notice until the game was already over.  I'm beginning to see the early signs of Spurs withdrawal.

Here are my quick midseason player reviews; based on minutes of careful consideration and preseason expectations.

Coach Pop, B

Clearly trying to establish a rotation ASAP but stuck with Finley in the starting lineup way too long.  Has successfully kept Manu's minutes down but needs to do the same for Timmeh; props for loosening the reins on Parker.

Mike Budenholzer, A+

I just like saying his name.  Boo-din-hol-zer.

Sean Marks, B+

He's played well when given the opportunity and helped spawn a new catch phrase:  AND SEAN MARKS FINISHES THE JOB!!!

Beno Udrih, B

Yeah, Van Exel is a better ball-handler, but that's the end of the list in my book.

Fabricio Oberto, C+

He looks less lost every time he plays and always brings the effort.

Brent Barry, D

40.3% from the field and 33.7% from 3 isn't good enough for a guy that's getting $5 million a year to shoot the ball.

Robert Horry, NA

The regular season?  We're talking about the regular season?

Nick Van Exel, D

Why do I have the feeling that Spurs fans will blame a key playoff loss on his poor shot selection and total inability to guard anyone with legs?

Nazr Mohammed, B-

I'm seeing improvement, but he needs to up his blocks and cut down on turnovers and the ubiquitous mental errors.

Rasho Nesterovic, B

As solid as ever, but he needs to cut down on his ubiquitous lack of athleticism.

Michael Finley, D-

How bad has Finley played?  The lineup of TP/BB/MF/TD/RS has outscored its opponents by a whopping 13 points in 286 minutes.  That amounts to 2.2 points per game.  For a team with a 6.5 point differential.

The Sickness, B-

Swap Manu for Finley in the above lineup and you have a squad that has outscored its opponents  by 113 points in 335 minutes; 16.2 points per game.  Certainly not the same guy we saw in the playoffs, but, well, this isn't the playoffs.  His regular season numbers from last year are similar and his grade would be higher if not for the injuries.

Bruce Bowen, A-

He's added to his offensive game without adding FGA, but I'll be damned if he hasn't lost a quarter-step on defense.  Yeah, I said it.

Tim Duncan, B

Lowest, PPG, FG% and BPG of his career.  59% of his FGA are outside of the lane which is higher than Parker and Ginobili.  Still an incredible defensive anchor but, like last year, not capable of offensively carrying this team to a title.  His plantar fascia cost him a half-grade or so.

Tony Parker, A

Better shot selection this year and maybe the best guard finisher in the NBA (his eFG% inside is 71.1% compared to 55.3% for Wade, 52.3% for Bryant and 63.7% for LeBron).  Still has the undeniable Achilles heel to his game that will be exploited without mercy during the playoffs.

Speaking of jersey sales, I don't know many people lining up to get their Nenad Krstic #12. But if they'd just stick his first name on the back - Nene style - they'd get some buyers. What a fun name. Nenad. Say it. Nenad.

(And my gay jokes and genital jokes are officially over. You may proceed.)

Vinsanity (imagine how tasteless that nickname will be once the guy gets Alzheimer's) may not play tonight; he apparently strained something or other against the Warriors Tuesday.

My guess is that he just wanted to watch Lindsay Lohan on the American Music Awards. I'm also guessing that he's not a fan of "Two and a Half Men," so he'll probably show up at ARCO tonight.

Peja's status is also apparently up in the air. I'm not listening to 1140, though, so who the hell knows. I need a source deep within the Kings trainer's office. Anyone reading?

Anyways, here's my best guess at tonight's starting lineups:

THE FLYING NENADS
PG - That Jason Kidd guy.
SG - Vince Carter. Or not.
SF - Dick Jefferson
PF - Not Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Ha ha.
C  - Nenad.

SACRAMENTO
PG - Mike "Justify My Thug" Bibby
SG - Bonzi "Lucifer" Wells
SF - Peja "Change Clothes" Stojakovic. Or not.
PF - I've got 99 Problems, but Shareef ain't one.
C  - Brad's got some dirt on his pickup, could you wash it off for him?

The line: ESPN says -5. I think I'd take that, if I knew Peja was going to play. But I don't, so I won't. (Have I advocated betting on the Kings once this season? I don't think so.)

Fun bet o' the night: Francisco Garcia minutes played, should Peja get the OK (from his little finger) to start. I say take the under at 12.

Sideshow most likely to be entertaining: Brad Miller, who had better be upset over his Monday performance, abusing the Nets D. Angry Brad is awesome!

Best matchup: Shareef vs. The Jason Collins Experience. Oh yes.

Grant Napear, in brief and in advance: "That's why Geoff Petrie is the best in the league, alright? Right there, Shareef Abdur-Rahim. What did Rod Thorn get? He got Marc Jackson. Geoff Petrie is the best in the league."

Forgotten note from previous Spurs game recaps: Impersonating Grant reminded me of the vomit-inducing moment of Monday's game: Jerry Reynolds and Grant Napear discussing how Robert Horry stole a championship ring from them. JR is one thing - he's an executive or some sort, he probably deserves a ring. But Grant? The play-by-play guy and a local radio host? He would've gotten a ring? That sickens me.

Well, wait: Do I get a ring if the Kings win it all? I am an unofficial blogger after all. If I have to battle Alex Carnavale for it, I will! Dammit.

Enjoy the game. I might get an update in early Thursday morning, though one might not want to hold one's breath. Not that one would hold one's breath or anything.

Let's go Sha-, err Kings! A winning percentage above .400 awaits!

Link: ESPN.com - Reports: 'Big Shot Bob' agrees to contract with Spurs

After cementing his name in the big book of NBA finals all time heroic players, did anyone actually expect Robert Horry to leave the Spurs? I could understand many team would be picking up the phone to get the best clutch shooter in recent playoff history on their bench, but Horry seems to only leave a team when he sees the team's future going quickly down the drain, as he did with the LA Lakers.

Horry has become the canary in the proverbial mine shaft on the NBA. He can be the signal of bad times to come on a team. I need to rub his head for luck sometime soon.

Gillette argues that instead of Horry being a great team player, he has really only been a teammate of great players. What kind of f’d up logic is that? Did Gillette see what happened to Shaq this year? That’s what happens when a great player is surrounded by people (like Eddie Jones, Dooling, and even an overeager Wade) who, in crucial 4th quarter situations, make one too many extra passes, bobble the ball, or take a shot that isn’t makeable. Horry doesn’t do those things. He serves a to cement team chemistry, not destroy it through his own cowardice.

Robert Horry is just like John Paxson or Steve Kerr with Michael Jordan. They are the role players who hit big shots when the superstars create the opportunity for them. It just happens that Horry is taller and athleticker than those guys, giving him the ability to be a famouser version of the so-called role player.

Horry has also had the good fortune of playing with people like Hakeem, Shaq, Kobe, and Duncan. I’m sure that if he’d played for the Hawks, Grizzlies, and Clippers instead of the Rockets, Lakers and Spurs there would be approximately 0 articles/posts about him at this point. I’m sure that he wouldn’t deny that either. I bet he realizes that he’s had it good, but it also seems like he appreciates that. At the same time, I think he (and his teammates) recognize that he’s a much better role player than a lot of the other guys out there to choose from. (The above mentioned Eddie Jones and Dooling) Maybe I’ll take a page from the Bill Simmons playbook and do an analysis of the best role player of all time. Of course, if it’s been done, feel free to let me know and I’ll move on… Otherwise, expect more procrastinatory posting unrelated to fantasy basketball. Hmmm… maybe I’ll just metamorphasize into a “general basketball” blog, and get a shout out in USA Today.

There is More FreeDrafto.

Versatile. Just wanted to say that.

Thursday, Felix Gillette referred to Robert Horry as "a con man" and questioned just how clutch he really is.  Sunday night against the Pistons, Big Shot Bob issued a retort.

Sideshow Bob - Is Robert Horry the NBA's best clutch shooter or its best con man {Slate}
Horry's game-winning 3 pointer gives Spurs series edge {ESPN}