Adjustments

Dallas handily won game 5 last night 103-81. I'm not going to pretend that this was simply due to the Mavericks adjustments. The Spurs rested their starters the entire 4th quarter and gave in quite early last night. That being said, the Mavs dominated that game from tip to finish. The Mavs played like a team with their backs against a wall fighting for their lives-which is what they were. Now they have to do the same thing down in San Antonio.

This series has been infuriating to watch since game 1. The Mavs have played uninspiring basketball combined with infuriating substitution packages. The problems I stated in my opening blog have come to life. The Spurs look like a veteran group that have been lead by Tony Parker who has returned to being unstoppable. We just have nobody who can guard him. Kidd is too slow, and Barea is too small. Then, in typical Spurs fashion, when the vets don't play very well somebody else steps up (George Hill 29 pts in Game 4 win).

There are 3 key substitution issues that have hurt us this series.

1. The biggest problem though, to me, is the substitutions. Roddy Beaubois has yet to play significant minutes in the series. He is a guy who without a doubt in my mind can help us. He has proven this year that when given an opportunity, he can help our basketball team win. The Mavericks are 20-5 this season when he plays 15+ minutes in a game. He has the ability to affect the series and is not being given an opportunity.

2. Jose Juan Barea is a nice player. He's a solid contributor who is fun to watch and can be a spark plug off the bench and give us a boost. But he is NOT a guy who is going to win us playoff games. The benching of Caron Butler in Game 3 in favor of Barea was an absolute travesty. Barea had some nice moments, but after he cooled off he needed to be taken back out, patted on the back, and sat down in favor of Butler. We made a huge deadline deal to get a guy who can win playoff games, and be a legit 2nd option to Dirk. The 2 games we've won Butler is averaging 28.5 PPG on 21.5 shots and 7 FTs. The 3 losses: 12 PPG, 12.3 shots, 2 FTs. We need to get Butler going to win. We did this in Game 5. Let's hope it continues.

3. The Center position. This was adjusted in Game 5. I just want to point out that it hurt us earlier in the series. Haywood looked awesome last night in his first start of the series. Haywood makes Duncan look uncomfortable with the ball. Haywood's length and athleticism are a huge difference from Damp's girth and general slowness. Haywood played 25 minutes to Damp's 19 in Game 4. Duncan was 1-9 with 4 pts. Carlisle obviously noticed this and started Haywood in Game 5. Haywood played 31 minutes. Damp...0. Najera took Damp's minutes and that's what needs to continue. Damp has been terrible all series. Duncan's stat line with Haywood and Najera defending him: 3-9 shooting with 11 points. Duncan was an incredible 5-6 from the line to get him to double digits. Najera brings an added toughness to the lineup that we desperately need. Hopefully this adjustment has been made and will be the norm moving forward in the series.


It will be very interesting to see how Game 6 goes. The Spurs know that they need to put this series away in San Antonio. They have no interest in bringing it back to Dallas. Dallas was right on the verge of winning both games in San Antonio. Maybe with a few adjustments, this time Dallas can steal one and come home with a chance to advance to the 2nd round.