The more I think about it, the clearer it becomes that the Spurs game four loss had to be even more demoralizing the game three embarassment. On paper, so much went right for San Antonio and wrong for Dallas, and it still didn't matter. As Tony Parker said, Dallas just has a lot more weapons.
"We're missing Manu, and that's a big part of what we do offensively," Parker said, after pouring in 43 points in 41 minutes. "They have a lot more weapons than us. Our focus is limiting Dirk and Jason Terry, and overall we're doing good.
"But it's the other guys that are killing us."
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Sefko has an article on Dirk being okay with not scoring more since they are winning. I also loved this Dirk quote about Ryan Hollins.
"I don't know what he takes before the game, but I got to get me some of that," Nowitzki said. "He's all over the place. He's like a one-man press on defense."
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David Moore sings the praises of Josh Howard and says he is the reason Dallas is up 3-1.
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Brad Townsend says the Spurs are still optimistic, but I can't find the optimism in quotes like this.
"We have no choice," said 14-year veteran Michael Finley, when asked if the Spurs are capable of winning three straight.
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Mike Fisher's morning donuts. He also has a noteworthy stat.
The lower seed team has taken a 3-1 lead in the first round of the NBA Playoffs six times since the first round went to a best-of-seven format. The lower-seeded teams' combined record in those Game 5's in those six series?
It's 0-6.