Popovich's countermoves haven't resulted in a Spurs win

[spurssheriff]

Popovich's countermoves haven't resulted in a Spurs win

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dw....173d8dd0.html

09:04 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 16, 2006
By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News


There were many nights when Avery Johnson played for San Antonio that he found himself on the couch at Gregg Popovich's house after the game, breaking down what happened.

Now, he's trying to beat him.

This is one of those matchups between mentor and student that the media loves.

"Avery is probably so sick of hearing that, the poor guy," Popovich said. "Give him a break.

"Avery has grown. He's been in the league 90 years. He's nobody's protégée. He's doing quite well on his own."

A 3-1 lead by the Mavericks indicates that Johnson has more than held his own. A look at some of the key moves in this series:

• Game 1: The Mavericks have a shot to tie or win the game at the end of regulation. Johnson calls for a variation of a play his team hasn't run all season. The ugly possession ends in a missed shot and a Mavericks loss.

• Game 2: Johnson inserts Devin Harris into the starting lineup for Adrian Griffin. Harris' speed results in a win and alters the course of the series.

• Game 4: Popovich makes a change in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game, this time replacing center Robert Horry with guard Michael Finley. The move is a concession that San Antonio's interior defenders can't keep up with the Mavericks, and the only chance his team has to win the series is to go small. The Spurs lose their third straight.

[GathDawg]

Just once I want the opponents adjust to the Spurs move. What about playing with Rasho and playing zone? I dunno..just thinking out loud.

[Lwin]

Technically the Mavs did adjust to the Spurs by having Harris start.

[Alka-Seltzer]

Originally Posted by GathDawg

Just once I want the opponents adjust to the Spurs move.

That's the bitter thing about this series - it seems we've been on our heels since day one.
This ain't your father's Mav team, and so far the Spurs don't look like the team they were last year.

[Buzzsaw]

Enough with the complaining about coaching. We're right there in both games, ready to win. The players don't execute down the stretch and we lose.

[Brooklyn Dave]

This may not be your fathers Mavs team but it sure does seem like Bob Hill's Spurs team.

Spurs have allowed an average of 113 points over the past three games. This is a full 25 points higher than their average points allowed during the regular season.

Maybe - just maybe- the small ball strategy is not optimum?

[geeter]

Take away the cheap officiating calls ----- Pop's moves with the players have been right on target.

The rotation, does need to be kept to 7 - 8 players, no NVE---too slow. The rest periods ---like I think Pop has noticed, need to be shortened.

The Spurs-Mavs teams are very well matched. So, barring a total meltdown by one team, the games are going to be very close.

(ref's need to call real fouls ---- no ticky tack - bs calls that have, definately, favored the Mav's)

[Uwe Blab]

Zone might work, if the Mavs didn't have a bunch of zone busters. They can all shoot, except for their center. If you do the zone, it's because they are obviously having an off shooting night, which hasn't been the case so far.