FanPost

Playoffs PGQ Round 1, Game 1 "Gnats vs Dogs"

I_medium

Unstoppa-Ball.

[I'm waiting Earl K.....]

Quotes

Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich

I_medium

Zum Haaresträuben.



On the Mavs' different look from last year - "I’m not going to compare their teams. I only care about the team they have now. So it’s not much interest to me to compare how they are now to Josh. I know what they are now and that’s who we have to play. They played better than we did, they played very well. I felt the first half was just a killer, half their points, 27 points off boards, putbacks and turnovers. That’s just a sloppy game. There’s no reason for that, so I was very disappointed in us not being very sharp. I think we’ve got to have a few more people step up and play worth a damn. I thought we had a lot of guys that played like dogs."

On his strategy to foul Dampier - "We wanted to put him at the line because and hoped he would miss free throws rather than Dirk killing us the way he was."

On Dirk playing special tonight - "There aren’t many nights when Dirk is not special. He was special tonight, but he had a lot of help. A lot of other guys played really well. Butler killed us and both big guys were really good on the boards defensively. Jason [Kidd] was a gnat. He was a focused, driven individual, as usual. They had a lot of people play well. They played sharper than we did."

On not double teaming Dirk - "They had scorers last season too. You pick your poison and whatever you pick you try to do it well. Dirk got the best of whatever we tried to do with him tonight. We tried a lot of different things, but he beat them all."

On whether the sloppiness was avoidable - "Sure. Some turnovers were caused for good reason. But there a good number that were unnecessary, and I felt we did a poor job on the boards as far as team defense is concerned."

Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle

Jimcarrey80_medium

Puh...got the first one out of the way.

On the game - "Damp was a real presence for us on the inside. Duncan had a big game offensively, he scored a lot of points, but Damp made his job harder. He [Dampier] got his hands on a lot of balls, got us a lot of rebounds, and when they went to the fouling tactic he made 4 out of 6, which was great for us."

On the game turning around with 5 minutes left in the fourth - "It was a factor. Anytime you can get into the bonus early it helps. It was a very hard fought, aggressive game; the whistle was blown some and there was contact both ways. Getting to the free throw line is a really important thing in the playoffs"

On Jason Kidd's play - "Kidd played great. He was sensational in really all areas. In the second half he gave us a spark defensively—on Ginobili and when he was guarding their point guards. He’s been great all year and it’s no surprise that he carried it into tonight."

On whether he was surprised that the Spurs didn't double team Dirk - "There were some double teams and we’re going to see everything before it’s over. Butler got double teamed, but he got going. Marion got double teamed a couple times. They’re going to give you different looks and we’re going to give them different looks, too. We’ll have to adjust when those things happen, and we’ll have to be ready to make plays."

On the pick-and-roll defense - "We struggled a little at the beginning of the game, and then when we finally got our bearings we did a better job. It’s very tough because such a high percentage of their plays are pick and roll plays, and they’ve got really great facilitators and good screeners and rollers and a bunch of three point shooters out there. It’s going to be challenging. The important thing is five guys are engaged in it defensively, even though it’s a two man game. Everybody’s got to be involved because so many different things happen on their screen and roll."

On Caron Butler's game - "He got it going in the first half and a lot of his early points were not necessarily out of plays we were running for him, but out of just playing basketball. Then we started to run some stuff for him and he delivered. There was a period in the third quarter where he really carried us for a three or four minute stretch. They adjusted and double teamed him and we got other guys the ball. But he’s a guy that’s not afraid; he wants the ball in those situations. He’s been in the playoffs multiple times and he played well for us."

Mavs guard Caron Butler

Caron-butler_blog_medium

Pick your straw...

How did it feel to get that first playoff game with the Mavs under your belt?
"It felt real good. The energy, the atmosphere for basketball was unbelievable and the fans really uplifted us and helped us get this win."

Talk about the Spurs double-teaming you defensively tonight?
"They threw a lot of different looks at me and I’ve got to be prepared to either take the shot or make a quick decision and the right play that will help my teammates."

Talk about when the Spurs kept intentionally fouling Dampier in the 3rd quarter?
"That’s something we’ve seen before in the past with Pops. He’s a great coach and has a great basketball mind that does a lot of things on the fly. Damp was ready, stepped up and made most of his free throws during that stretch and that was a key factor."

Talk about Dirk’s offensive performance only missing two shots tonight?
"That’s just what he does. When you got so many guys around him to keep the double-teams coming for the most part and making it difficult for the defense he’s going to have his way. He did a great job of making decisions, creating for others and at the same time hitting shots."

Mavs guard Jason Kidd

I_medium

I'm too old for this layup-thing.

"We got off to a really good start tonight but we have our work cut out for us. Tonight was just the beginning and it’s going to be a tough series."

"Our defense really played a part tonight even though we missed a lot of wide open shots. We never got discouraged on the defense end and we deflected a bunch of passes and we were active and we tried to limit them to one tough shot and if they made we had to come down on the other end and make those guys work. We were able to get out a little and run and really eliminate them from double-teaming Dirk or Caron. Everybody pitched in and it was a good win."

"Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili put a lot of pressure on us on the defensive end and when you’ve got a guy like Tim Duncan setting screens our bigs our going to have their work cut out defensively and you just try to make it tough on those guys because they are all all-stars and no how to play at a high level especially this time of year. But I thought our bigs did a good job."

Talk about Dirk tonight?
"Early on they weren’t doubling and they were just going to sit in his lap and see what he was going to do and early on he put a lot of pressure on them by taking the ball to the basket. In that third quarter he was great."

"We want to be aggressive on the offensive end. I think the scouting report on us probably says that we rely on the jump shot, but I thought tonight was a great example of us not doing that and coming out and being aggressive, driving the ball to the basket and getting to the free throw line. That got us off to a good start and from there we just started driving the ball and guys started to get some wide open looks and we made some big shots in the third and fourth quarter."

Bonus:

Holger Geschwindner

250px-holger_medium

He missed a shot [or two]. We're working on it.

Game Pictures

I_medium

Just in case somebody forgot...

091124_ns_24mavsq_medium

Ok folks, remember, first to 100 gets free beer!

I_medium

Old man basketball.


I_medium

"Kille, kille...".- "Ich bin nicht kitzlig, Dice..."

I_medium

Different year, same [stuff].

I_medium

In the Air tonight.

I_medium

Either a SF2 Move or....BALL!

I_medium

Amazing is Belief...that i can still dunk. [According to John.]

I_medium

To close [ to the fetal position ] for comfort.

I_medium

A clean look? Taken!

I_medium

Merde....

I_medium

Bier her oder ich fall um!

I_medium

Give us our BEER!

I_medium

We got this [Beer].


Videos

Manu

I loved it.

Pop

"Were you surprised by the number of turnovers that your team had tonight?" - No we've been capable of doing that before. "

Dirk

"Pop is like Nellie."


Coach Carlisle

Hack a Damp? C'mon Son!

Clips

Game Recap

TNT Lookahead

Summary:

I_medium

We held the Spurs at arms length.

Reader submitted. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of our editorial staff.