With the Dallas Mavericks beating the Spurs in San Antonio Wednesday night the series now heads to Dallas tied 1-1. The Mavs have to be feeling great beating the Spurs in every quarter in Game 2 resulting in a 113-92 victory.
The Game at Hand:
With Game 3 headed to Dallas the Mavs soar in with the momentum. After giving up Game 1, they won Game 2 pretty easily outscoring the Spurs in every quarter. Devin Harris continued his outstanding playoff series scoring 18 while Shawn Marion was vintage “Matrix” scoring 20 points shooting only 10 shots. The Mavs will need production once again from both of these players as the Spurs will more than likely not turn the ball over 24 times again.
While the role players have played great the production of Dirk Nowitzki has not been there scoring 16 in Game 2 and 11 in Game 1. This could seem like bad news, but I view it as a positive. The Mavs gave away Game 1 and dominated in Game 2 with Dirk not being the leading scoring. Expect to see the Dirk we all know on Saturday in front of our home crowd. We have shown the ability to beat the Spurs without Dirk being at his best; if Dirk turns it on we can take control of the series.
Keys to the Game:
1. Continue Guarding the Perimeter:
One of the Spurs best offensive weapons is their three point shot. Despite struggling in Game 1 shooting 3-of-17 from deep, in Game 2 they turned it on shooting 10-for-20. Although the results of both games don’t reflect based on their three point shooting I don’t look for that trend to continue. If they get hot from behind the arc the Mavs could be in trouble. Good rotations and contesting open three point shots from Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobli will be key to jumping ahead of the Spurs two games to one in the series.
2. Mavs Stars and Spurs Stars:
The second key to the game is the production each team gets from their two stars. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker both had really off games Wednesday which really helped the Mavs grab the lopsided victory, I don’t look for this trend to continue. At the same time, as stated before, Dirk Nowitzki has had a bit of an off series so far and I also don’t look for that trend to continue. Monta Ellis needs to continue to be aggressive putting pressure in the paint while Dirk needs to simply be Dirk for the Mavs to capture Game 3.
Matchup of the Night:
Benches
My matchup of the night is going to the team’s respected bench. It is no secret that the Mavs X factor of the series has been Devin Harris. Harris scored 19 in Game 1 and 18 in Game 2.
Devin Harris still saves best for Spurs: DALLAS – Perhaps this series is a reward to Devin Harris for all his … http://t.co/bxSxLYWNYe
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 25, 2014
Not only Harris but positive production from Brandan Wright, Vince Carter and Jae Crowder will also be needed Saturday. On the other side of the ball the Mavs will need to contain Manu Ginobli who has had a solid series so far while continuing to limit Patty Mills, Boris Diaw and Marco Belinelli who all have not been much of a factor so far.
MFFLSTRONG:
The Blue-out “MFFL Strong” shirt that will be placed on every AAC seat for Game 3. pic.twitter.com/Z29fqvTqO1
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) April 25, 2014
When and Where:
Tip-off is in Dallas, Texas at American Airlines Center and will start at 3:30 PM CST. It will be nationally televised on TNT, locally on TXA 21.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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