Source: http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/1348682.html
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Mavericks’ patience is finally rewarded
Posted on Wed, Apr. 29, 2009 / By EDDIE SEFKO
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For two years, the Mavericks have spent this time of the year analyzing what
went wrong.
It’s a lot more fun to explore what went right, and they had plenty of
things go their way in the first-round knockout of San Antonio.
The Mavericks were rewarded with a day of rest, and while they waited to see
if the Denver Nuggets could close out New Orleans late Wednesday night to set
up the conference semifinals match, the Mavericks could reflect on their
first playoff series win since 2006.
"It’s a relief," Jason Kidd said. "Over the course of a long regular season,
this team has seen it all. We did our job and won the series.
"But now we have to focus on Denver or New Orleans. If you win in the first
round, only to lose in the second, you haven’t accomplished anything."
OK, so much for reflecting.
But the Mavericks did accomplish plenty in their 4-1 first-round win. For a
team coming off back-to-back first-round losses, moving on is big. And the
road to the NBA’s version of the Elite Eight was paved with many highlights.
Josh Howard put his achy ankle and any ghosts of playoffs past behind him to
come up with a sterling series.
He averaged 18.8 points and shot 49 percent for the series, and it was his
25-point effort in Game 1 that put the Spurs on their heels for the entire
series.
And, of course, Howard’s robust play made the absence of Manu Ginobili even
more telling for the Spurs.
Erick Dampier never followed through on his pledge to flatten Tony Parker. He
didn’t have to.
Just giving that impression supplied the Mavericks with an emotional edge
that lasted the entire series. It didn’t hurt that Dampier had probably the
best playoff series of his career. The numbers might not suggest it (8.2
points, 8.2 rebounds) but he was a huge force in the paint and had
double-doubles in the first and close-out games.
Kidd had arguably the most impressive number of the series: three.
That’s how many turnovers he had in five games. Tony Parker had seven in
Game 5 alone and 21 for the series.
Kidd is the only player who could challenge Howard as the MVP of the series.
He was stellar throughout. And that comes from the people who know him best.
"I can’t say enough about what Jason Kidd means to this team," Jason Terry
said. "If you can’t rally around a guy like that — a veteran, a leader, a
hall of famer — and play hard for him, then you don’t belong in this
league.
"There is a guy that’s playing for more than just a first-round win."
Rick Carlisle seemed to push all the right buttons and had the Mavericks a
step ahead of the Spurs throughout the series.
He called timeouts when they needed to be called, and the Mavericks always
seemed to run a productive play when play resumed.
The game plan was spot-on.
J.J. Barea and Brandon Bass anchored the bench as Terry was suffocated by the
Spurs’ defense until Game 5.
Barea blinded the Spurs with his speed, and the way he and Bass teamed for 27
points in Game 1 foiled the Spurs’ defensive strategy against Dirk Nowitzki
and Terry.
To have two young players step up in the playoffs like that will have huge
benefits on their confidence in the second round and the coming seasons. The
same goes for Antoine Wright.
That the Mavericks were able to wipe out the Spurs in five games with
Nowitzki not scoring more than 20 points until the clincher speaks volumes
about the way they are playing as a unit with some of the best ball movement
and player movement of the season.
Not bad for a team that came into the season with a new coach, a point guard
still trying to fit in and more questions than a college finals exam.
"Patience," Kidd said. "That’s the key for us. As much as we wanted it to
happen last year, it didn’t. It shows the character of this team to be
patient and come back and put ourselves in this position.
"We got four big wins and now it starts over."
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