Mavericks coming at bad time for Spurs
Web Posted: 01/04/2007 11:58 PM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
The Dallas Mavericks visit the AT&T Center tonight, and that’s usually enough to get the locals frothing.
Spurs. Mavericks. Bitter rivals. Likely championship contenders. Possible playoff preview. Sellout crowd. National TV audience.
By now, nearly everyone along I-35 knows what awaits when the teams share the court. Just excuse some of the Spurs if they’re not buzzing with the same anticipation.
“For the first time since I got here, it’s not a game I’m looking forward to,” Michael Finley said. “We have things at home, within ourselves, we have to take care of. They just happen to be our next opponent.”
Having lost two in a row and four of their past seven, and awaking Thursday to find themselves in fourth place in the Western Conference, the Spurs have reached the obvious conclusion that they need a victory, regardless of who they’re playing.
“We’re not as happy as we were a week ago probably,” Manu Ginobili said. “… But we believe we’re a tough team. We’ve been good in situations where we are not playing well, so hopefully we’re going to see the best Spurs.”
The Spurs delivered their most impressive performance of the season one week ago by routing Utah, the only notable team they’ve beaten since the middle of November. But instead of using the victory to launch themselves up the standings, they suffered back-to-back losses in Cleveland and Minnesota before returning home early Thursday.
Coach Gregg Popovich complimented the team on the competitiveness it showed in digging itself out of a 17-point hole in the second half to force the Timberwolves into overtime. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that the Spurs dug the hole in the first place.
Or that they yielded 38 points in the fourth quarter of the previous night’s loss to the Cavaliers.
“It’s just about trying to get to the point where we’re playing a lot better for 48 minutes,” Tim Duncan said, “instead of trying to dig back out over a 24-minute period or whatever it may be.”
The Spurs have had to do just that the past two times Dallas has visited. The Mavericks jumped out to a 20-point lead in Game 7 of the teams’ conference semifinals series last season and led by 17 in the first half of the Nov. 24 meeting.
In both games, the Spurs rallied to take the lead but were unable to complete the comeback, which is similar to what happened Wednesday night.
“I think the team in the past had success because they were consistent defensively,” Finley said. "Night in and night out, despite what the offense was doing, defensively you knew what you were going to get.
“But our defense is too up and down right now. It’s not as consistent as we want it to be.”
While the Spurs’ defense has slipped, the Mavericks’ has improved considerably since Avery Johnson took over as coach. Dallas entered Thursday ranked third in the league for fewest points allowed (91.9) and sixth in field-goal percentage defense (.447). No team has reached 100 against Dallas since the Lakers on Dec. 13.
Asked if he had seen enough of the Mavericks to comment on their defense, Bruce Bowen said, “No, but I’ve seen their record.”
After beating Indiana 100-91 on Thursday night, the Mavericks have a 12-game winning streak, their second of that length this season. They’ve gone 26-3 since opening the season 0-4.
“At this moment,” Ginobili said, “they are playing better than us for sure.”
That’s reflected by the three-game lead Dallas holds over the Spurs in the Southwest Division. The teams split their first two games, with each winning on the other’s court, but won’t meet again until the final week of the season.
While the Spurs will be missing starting center Francisco Elson, whose athleticism would help in defending Dirk Nowitzki, tonight’s game should still help them better evaluate how they match up with the Mavericks.
“It’s a game we’ve got to win,” Duncan said. "It’s a situation where we’ve lost two here in a row on the road. It’s a game at home where we’ve lost too many already. It’s a division opponent.
“There are so many reasons for it to be whatever you want to call it: a measuring stick, a good game, whatever. It’s a game we have to be focused and ready to play. It’s going to be big for us.”