Thunder Leaving Mavs Defense-Less
Through the first 10 games of the 2011 NBA Playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks sported a suffocating defense that made life hell for opposing offenses. Through the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder have used their speed and quickness to pummel the Dallas D.
Thunder back-up point guard Eric Maynor, who did a great job of setting the pace when he replaced Russell Westbrook for the entirety of the fourth quarter against Dallas, stressed that this type of offensive success is nothing new for Oklahoma City.
"We’re just doing what we’ve been doing all year," Maynor said. "We execute. We’ve got some great scorers and we’re playing fast on offense."
In contrast to recent years, the Mavericks have played elite-level defense for the majority of the 2011 Playoffs.
Dallas was the final team to allow 100 or more points in the postseason after the Thunder dropped 112 on the Mavs in Game One, but were able to overcome the defensive letdown with a big night offensively. What makes Oklahoma City’s feat so impressive is that not only had Dallas not allowed a team to score 100 or more, but a team had broke 90 against the Mavericks just four times over the team’s first 10 playoff games — and the Thunder have now topped 100 in two straight contests..
"We took a step back from the first two series," the Mavs’ Dirk Nowitzki said. " Portland and L.A. are bigger teams and we’re facing a different animal. We’re facing athletes on the wing and we’re having a tough time getting some stops… We felt we had a bad defensive effort in the first game and couldn’t really get it done again [in Game Two]."
After scoring 112 on the back of Kevin Durant’s 40 points in Game One, the Thunder had a much more diverse offensive effort with seemingly everybody getting involved. This culminated with a fourth quarter in which OKC took control with a lineup of four bench players and Durant, taking Game Two 106-100.
"We gave up 26 [in the first quarter], 33 [in the second] and then 29 in the fourth, so just too many points," Nowitzki said. "Defensively just making errors, leaving shooters, [we] didn’t get to loose balls; so it just was a tough outing but you’ve got to give them credit. They wanted it more, they came out swinging and they deserved to win."
Mavericks’ head coach Rick Carlisle, always at the forefront preaching a defense-first mentality for Dallas, echoed Nowitzki’s sentiments.
"You know, scoring 100 points in a playoff game should be enough to win, but not if you’re giving up 106 or 112," Carlisle said. "It’s just too much. You’ve got to give them credit. They played an attacking, desperate-type game. They kept coming. They did not get discouraged. Their bench was dominant when they played.
"We have got to do a better job at the defensive end"
{AUTHOR_BOX}Nick Collison, who was apart of the bench brigade that diced up the Mavs D in Game Two, tells HOOPSWORLD the key is being decisive on the offensive end — especially against a quality defense like the Mavericks.
"We’re just trying to attack, space the floor and make quick decisions," Collison said. "We’re much better off when we pass the ball, drive and we don’t stand and dribble. I think that’s the biggest thing with us against anybody in the league, but against a good defensive team like Dallas you need to be able to make quick decisions and we’re doing a good job of that."
The Thunder have shot over 50 percent from the floor for the series, including a whopping 55.7 percent in the Game Two win, and it’s no coincidence this team is looking to take control of this series tonight in Oklahoma City. Judging by Durant’s thoughts after Game Two, it’s not likely the Thunder plan to rest on their laurels as the return home in Game Three.
"Going back home doesn’t guarantee us two wins," Durant said. "So we just have to come out with a mindset to try to take these games and go from there. We’ve just got to take it a possession at a time, a game at a time.
"It should be fun back at our place."
If Dallas doesn’t get back to playing the fundamental, contesting team defense that propelled them into the Western Conference Finals after years of being bounced in the first round of the playoffs; the Thunder will be riding high up 3-1 when the series returns to Big-D.
"We’ve got to take the challenge and be better defensively from the get-go," Nowitzki said. "We’ll see what happens Saturday."
Game Three is scheduled for tonight a 9 p.m. ET, and can be seen nationally on ESPN.
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