By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com
The Top 10 Things That Are Suddenly Going Right For Game 3 Winner Dallas:
10) INSIDE JOB : Of Dallas’ first seven trips on offense to begin the game, guess how many included an intentional visit into the paint?
All seven.
Walker dunks. Two offensive rebounds set up a Dirk 3. Walker with a putback. Fin drives. And on and on and on, the Mavs using a penetration game and offensive-rebounding ferocity either to score inside or to set up eventual open looks. Offensive rebounds? Dallas had 23, which added up to endless second-chance opportunities.
Michael Finley was a key player here. He still didn’t should extremely well; after shooting 32 percent in the first two games, he made just 6-of-15 Saturday. But as evidence of his aggressiveness, we offer his seven free-throw attempts – which is seven more than he’d earned in the previous two games.
Said Fin: “I wanted to be aggressive and not only set the tone for myself but for the team. Going to the basket, getting fouls, whatever it took."
Neat thing about SmallBall against Sacto: It sends the Vlade Divac types to the bench, improving Dallas’ chances to win inside. Final rebounding margin: Dallas 56, Sacto 46.
9) RECOGNIZING MISMATCHES: We counted just one time in the entire game when the Mavs failed to see an easily exploitable matchup. It came at 10:50 of the second, when the 7-0 Nowitzki was guarded by the smallish guard Anthony Peeler. Dirk went in the low post, as he’s instructed to do in such a case, but Dallas failed to feed him.
And that was it. By our count, the Mavs did a terrific job finding Nowitzki when he was guarded on the interior by Peja Stojakovic, and did an even better job exploiting the size advantage rookie Marquis Daniels has over Mike Bibby. When both were playing point guard, Bibby took on Marquis, and the Mini-Me King got roasted inside. Daniels’ production (22 points, 11 as part of Dallas’ third-quarter explosion) was a direct result of Dallas’ recognition of that height advantage.
"I'm kind of on a roll right now, just trying to do it with the help of my teammates," Daniels said. "Once I hit my first couple of shots, Coach started coming to me more and tried to keep it going."
8) R-&-R: To the players, we’re just three games in and it already feels like an arduous grind of a series. … and Game 4 is right around the corner, Monday night. For that reason, the way Game 3 unfolded was a godsend for Dallas, which threatened in the second half to bust out a 30-point lead and was therefore able to rest its standouts. Nowitzki gets just 32 minutes? Ironman Finley gets just 38? Steve Nash, saddled with four early fouls, gets just 28? Relatively speaking, that burn equals a night off for The Big 3 – meaning a large advantage over Mike Bibby’s ailing hip and his on-the-road mates.
7) ‘HI, HIGH POST!’: One of the advantages to Antoine Walker as a ‘point forward’ is that it sets up Steve Nash as a catch-and-shooter. The downside? You’re taking the ball out of the hands of Nash, one of the sport’s best triggermen, and putting it into the erratic control of AW. A better way of taking advantage of ‘Toine’s passing ability? Putting him in the high post, and running the offense through him there.
Using that strategy in the first half put Walker within 15 feet of the basket (rather than at the arc, where he is tempted to launch ill-advised shots), and at the same time drew defender Vlade Divac away from the basket. In the high post, Walker operated a give-and-go offense that helped him to a workmanlike line of eight points, nine rebounds and three assists. Those numbers will never get him back to the All-Star Game – but they could lead him to a role in extending this series.
6) EARLY TO RISE: Dallas has had problems closing out quarters against Sacto; in Game 2, the Mavs three times ended periods with failed desperation 3-point attempts. You don’t need to finish well, however, if you start like this: Leads of 13-3 and 17-7 to open the first quarter. Immediately, any doubt about the Mavs’ ability to play with the 2-0 series leader was erased.
“Nobody was scared,’’ Eduardo Najera said in explanation of how Dallas came out of the locker room. “We think we can beat these guys.’’
5) ONE DAY AT A TIME : One wonders if the Mavs paid some attention to the TV on Friday night, when the underdog Rockets returned home 0-2 against the vaunted Lakers and twisted series momentum around with a resounding win. If the No. 7 seed Rockets can do it against the invincible Lakers, why can’t a No. 5 win a home game against a No. 5?
And if Dallas can win one game to create just a 1-2 deficit, why can’ it win one more game on Monday?
If it's 2-2, it's a whole new series," said Nowitzki.
4) 2 FAST, 2 FURIOUS: Nash’s shot still isn’t there; he scored just seven points. But his motor was running, orchestrating Nellie’s run-at-all-times philosophy perfectly. Not until late in the third quarter did the Mavs bother to institute at all any semblance of a half-court offense, instead opting for at the very least controlled breaks, even off made baskets. Dallas loses momentum when it launches ill-advised shots on the break, and another downside is that rookies Marquis Daniels and Josh Howard join Finley in sometimes overrating their ballhandling ability on the break in traffic. But Nash in the middle of a break, or a secondary break, makes astoundingly good choices, and in Game 3 often did so with Webber, Divac, Miller and even Peja Stojakovic struggling to retreat to defense.
Also notable: As much as it creates immediate matchup problems when the Mavs do the rip-and-run thing (Dirk gets the rebounds and centers the break himself), we like the conventional approach even more. Dallas went conventional here often: rebound and look to release the ball to the wing to receiver Nash – and then run like hell in anticipation of getting the ball back from him.
3) HOME COOKIN’ : What is the difference when the Mavs are at American Airlines Center? What makes this bumpy-road crew virtually unbeatable at home?
All we know for sure is that the Mavs, now 36-5 at home, are believers.
"We felt like we let two games slip away in Sacramento and we wanted to come in and defend our home court," Antawn Jamison said. "We wanted to bring a lot of energy and feed off the fans."
Despite the early start 20,000 people were on their feet to begin the game, and ready to party afterwards. Even Chris Webber was impressed with the sights and sounds of American Airlines Center. Of course, he was mostly impressed with the presence of his girlfriend Tyra Banks, and Troy Aikman, and Deion Sanders, and Cowboys safety Roy Williams (who was seen holding hands with Beyonce songmate Kelly Rowland). "It's a tough pill to swallow, to come out and lay an egg like that in front of some gladiators (such as Sanders)," Webber said. "I'm disappointed.’’
Dating back to last postseason, the Kings have lost six straight at Dallas. So maybe American Airlines Center has an effect on them, too.
2) EMULATING EDDIE : Najera was a pivotal guy in Game 2, defending Chris Webber in such a pesky and physical way. Najer made his on-the-court contribution in Game 3, too; Dallas had a 23-9 advantage when Eddie was on the floor. But there is something intangible that he brought, too: What he did in banging with C-Webb rubbed off on his teammates.
Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels played defense with the same shoulder chip always worn by Eddie. And it trickled down, all the way to Antawn Jamison, who bumped and wrestled with the likes of Brad Miller. Add it up, and Sacto shot just 37 percent (for the second straight game) and scored just 79 points, the second time in two games they’ve been held under 84.
In just nine minutes, Najera had three steals. He was one of four Mavs who recorded three or more swipes. That was the cherry on top of a night in which Sacto committed 26 turnovers and Dallas notched 19 steals.
"It was a nice game for us,’’ Nellie said. “Our hands were really active and we did a lot of good things defensively.’’
Dallas’ defense was a factor in Sacramento scoring just 27 points in the second half.
1) A WIN’S A WIN: OK, maybe a win, accomplished in any matter, is all that matters. Maybe we’re overanalyzing with the previous nine points. But that’s what we do.