Mavs/Bulls, oh well.
Not that they won't lose a few highly competitive, non-stinker games, but I hope that was they only real stinker we see from the Mavs for a while. Pew! It started out somewhat ominously when Josh missed his first 3 jumpers. OK, there weren't all that highly contested, but no biggie. When he started missing those little push shots he always seems to make from the paint, that's when I started to think this game might indeed prove to be the one that would prevent a 14-game win streak (the Kings, Sonics, Grizzlies [2] and Wolves are next, with the only road game being in Memphis). Oh yeah, the Bulls, particularly Ben Gordon, seemed to be hitting every shot the Mavs were missing. All that combined is probably why the game started out 23-6 with barely two minutes to go in the 1st quarter.
Josh never really found his rhythm, going 0-10 and not hitting his first shot until his 13-14th attempt. Stack provided some lift off the bench, helping Dirk keep it as close as possible, within 6 at half. Defense and a couple Dirk 3s got them as close as 79-76, but after that, it was almost as if the defense just gave out under what the offense was doing, or not doing, at the other end.
I saw four things contribute to the loss last night, the least of which was the Bulls defense, which was only marginally better than the Mavs', which itself gave up too many uncontested 3s. Not too much credit can be given to the Bulls D when the Mavs just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, as my Dad used to say. That contributing factor should have prevented the third; poor shot selection. I was conflicted. As open as they were, my knee-jerk reaction was 'Take it'. It just wasn't their night. The last reason they lost, which was only slightly more relevant than the Bulls D, was some of the shots the Bulls hit. A couple by P.J. Brown stand out. Dirk seemed to be playing good D on him, it's just that a couple of his shots seemed meant to go in.
Just like most of the Mavs shots seemed destined not to.
Josh never really found his rhythm, going 0-10 and not hitting his first shot until his 13-14th attempt. Stack provided some lift off the bench, helping Dirk keep it as close as possible, within 6 at half. Defense and a couple Dirk 3s got them as close as 79-76, but after that, it was almost as if the defense just gave out under what the offense was doing, or not doing, at the other end.
I saw four things contribute to the loss last night, the least of which was the Bulls defense, which was only marginally better than the Mavs', which itself gave up too many uncontested 3s. Not too much credit can be given to the Bulls D when the Mavs just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, as my Dad used to say. That contributing factor should have prevented the third; poor shot selection. I was conflicted. As open as they were, my knee-jerk reaction was 'Take it'. It just wasn't their night. The last reason they lost, which was only slightly more relevant than the Bulls D, was some of the shots the Bulls hit. A couple by P.J. Brown stand out. Dirk seemed to be playing good D on him, it's just that a couple of his shots seemed meant to go in.
Just like most of the Mavs shots seemed destined not to.
posted by Chris at 8:00 AM
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