Mavericks Go Back to Basics To Beat Spurs

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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All season, the word out of Dallas touted the Mavericks’ improved defense, but it was the team’s old calling card – its potent offense – that fueled its 113-91 romp over San Antonio in Game 2 of their Western Conference Semifinal series. Their new offensive wrinkles, in fact, changed the tone of the series.

During the regular season, the Mavericks’ offense, which finished in second in Offensive Efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions), was focused on three players: starting forward Dirk Nowitzki, starting point guard Jason Terry, and reserve swingman Jerry Stackhouse. The Mavericks averaged 77.7 shots per game and that trio combined to take 44 (56%) of them.

In the Mavs’ Game 1 loss to the Spurs, this concentration of the offense increased. The Dirk-Terry-Stack trio took 59 of the team’s 77 shots from the field, meaning 76.6% of the offense ran through them.

That’s making it way too easy for a superior defensive team like the Spurs, who were able to defend five-on-three – and it showed in the box score. Nowitzki, a 48% shooter, went 8-of-20; Terry, a 47% marksman, went 6-of-18; and Stackhouse, a 40.1% gunner, improved on that slightly, but his 10-of-21 included misfiring on what would have been the game winning three-pointer in the 87-85 loss.

Since the Mavericks’ defense played well, holding the Spurs to 85 points and 41.3% shooting, it was fairly easy for coach Avery Johnson to choose his focus in Tuesday night’s Game 2. He replaced Adrian Griffin, a guard who specializes in defense, with reserve point guard Devin Harris and ran more of the offense through forward Josh Howard. This way, the Spurs would have to defend four threats, and occasionally, when the Mavericks went to the small ball lineup with Nowitzki at center, they would have to defend five.

The diversification worked like a charm. Howard led the Mavs with 27, Harris tossed in 20, and Stackhouse’s 19 points included 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Most important, the Mavericks rode the athleticism of Harris and Howard to attack the rim – 10 of the first 13 Dallas points were a result of drives by this pair – and their aggressive play put the Spurs in foul trouble and forced them to the bench.

Most notably, when Spurs forward Tim Duncan went to the pine after picking up his third foul midway through the second quarter, the Mavs blew the game open, building a 20-point lead that would not be seriously threatened the rest of the way.

Several observers noted that the Mavericks were able to win because the game was played at their pace. But there isn’t much different in the two teams’ tempos, and pace hasn’t been a factor in the series.

During the regular season, the Mavericks were the fourth-slowest paced team in the league, averaging just 87.8 possessions per game. The Spurs were, in fact, faster at 88.5 possessions. Game was played at a faster pace – 95 possessions to 89 in the series opener – but that doesn’t come close to accounting for the Mavericks’ 26-point improvement. Free throws do; Dallas took 43 foul shots in Game 2 to only 28 in the Game 1, hitting 16 more.

Dallas’s depth is the key to those extra attempts at the line. Depth is typically downplayed as a factor in the playoffs because the starters typically play more minutes, but depth becomes a powerful factor in any game when it allows you to take on different looks and team personalities from one possession to the next. During the off-season, much was made about the Spurs adding Michael Finley, Nick Van Exel, and Fabricio Oberto to their bench. But it’s been the Mavericks’ homegrown players, like Harris and Howard, who have made the biggest difference in this series and as it moves to Dallas for Game 3 on Saturday. Spurs coach Greg Popovich will have to figure out new ways to stop the newly diversified Dallas attack.

***

Since the only issue in the Cleveland-Detroit series is whether the Cavaliers will win a game or get swept, an appealing parallel has sprung up. In the late 1980s, another division foe of the original dominant Pistons team began a series of postseason clashes with them. Like this year’s team from Cleveland, that division foe, the Chicago Bulls, were led by a superstar wearing no. 23.

Since this Pistons team probably has only two or, at most, three more years at the top before the vagaries of age settle in, and since the other conference rivals, Miami and New Jersey, are led by players who are either in or near the decline the phase of their careers, this analogy seems correct at a glance. LeBron James and the Cavaliers could be making their first step toward conference dominance.

But look closer at the supporting cast around James. Among players that averaged more than 15 minutes per game, only starting power forward Drew Gooden and reserve pivotman Anderson Varejao are on the upward arcs of their careers. Far too much of the Cleveland roster recalls Brad Sellers and Sam Vincent instead of a young Horace Grant or B.J Armstrong.

Still, considering the parallel is a fun way to pass the time as the Pistons dismantle the Cavs. Cleveland’s future is almost certain to be more competitive than its present.

mjohnson@nysun.com


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