Very excited for Dirk vs. Duncan one more time.

[ImKobe]

Really have no idea what to expect from this series. Mavs are a great offensive team, but their defense sucks. Spurs should sweep them, but I see Monta & Dirk going off or at least one game. I think there will be at least 2 close games & I see Mavs taking one. Spurs in 5.

[DMAVS41]

Based on what? Seriously people keep saying this shit, how would they have caused OKC real problems? Dallas can score, but their defense is a ****ing joke compared to Memphis. OKC would've put them away in 5. The Grizzlies on the other hand could give them some real problems.

Meh...they could have, but what people meant is that they match up much better against the Thunder than the Spurs...which they do.

It's just the way it is. The Thunder have a lacking coach and play hero ball. A guy like Carlisle...even with lesser talent, finds ways to make life difficult on teams like that.

Because the Mavs have a great offense and could play zone...and because Dirk matches up much better against the Thunder...people were saying this stuff.

Doesn't mean they could win, but I think it probably would have gone 6 and it was within the realm of possibilities that the Mavs could have gotten super hot and pushed it to 7 or something.

None of that stuff exists with the Spurs. Not only do the Spurs play a perfect style to destroy the Mavs on offense...they have 4 different guys that can guard Dirk.

Mavs will have to play great in at least two games to win one...if that makes sense.



I agree with you about the Grizzlies though...they will give the Thunder a series. Probably a better one than the Mavs because they are just a better team in my opinion.

[bdreason]

One thing is for sure...this will settle all Dirk vs Duncan debates...

There is no debate.




Spurs in 5.

[DMAVS41]

There is no debate.




Spurs in 5.

I swear...just can't make a joke on here.

[creepingdeath]

I'm excited for the matchup too. More so Spurs vs. Mavs, not necessarily Duncan vs. Dirk. They don't often guard each other not to mention Duncan is a shell of what he used to be while Dirk is at the end of his prime. Feels different, not the same as the mid-2000's, but glad we as fans get to see it again for old times sake. Just the fact that Duncan averaged 19 ppg, 13 rpg, and 2 bpg against the Mavs this season is impressive for a dude who's soon to be 38 years old and played 2.5+ regular seasons worth of playoff games going into this postseason (then again Mavs aren't too strong defensively). The I-35 rivalry continues!

So just to get this out of the way: once the Mavs lose, you're gonna put that series into the "evidence of Dirk's lack of greatness" column, correct? Since you always like to point out how many times Dirk has lost in the first round without ever contextualizing it I guess that's a fair assumption, wouldn't you agree?

[DMAVS41]

So just to get this out of the way: once the Mavs lose, you're gonna put that series into the "evidence of Dirk's lack of greatness" column, correct? Since you always like to point out how many times Dirk has lost in the first round without ever contextualizing it I guess that's a fair assumption, wouldn't you agree?

I'd hope even he would agree that anything is "gravy" at this point for guys like Dirk or Duncan...

Especially as I've seen him excuse the Spurs first round loss as a 1 seed for Duncan because he wasn't in his prime...

I'd hope he'd remain consistent on things like that...

[BoutPractice]

This series is a bit bittersweet for me, with an "end of an era" feel to it. They're the two teams I like best, and I would have loved for them both to get past the first round. At the same time I've always enjoyed this matchup, especially the epic 2006 series they had. I hope the Mavs will at least make it competitive, and who knows, maybe they'll surprise again.

[goldcrow]

Realistically as a Mavs fan, I'd expect a sweep but hopeful for at least one or two games. Dirk hopefully will put on an offensive show.

[DMAVS41]

The two best win percentages in the NBA over the last 10 years regular season and playoffs combined;

Spurs and Mavs...

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Duncan has always had far more stacked teams than Dirk when they met in the playoff

[DMAVS41]

Duncan has always had far more stacked teams than Dirk when they met in the playoff

How?

Only in 01 did Duncan have a clearly better team.

The mavs were more stacked in 03 for sure...and while the Spurs got lucky that Dirk got hurt, they were still going to be up 2-1 with Dirk playing.

The Spurs were better in 06, but not "far" better...

In 09 they didn't Manu...Mavs were better

In 10 the Spurs were only slightly better

Obviously this year the Spurs are much better

01 and 14 are the only years in which it's not pretty close to be honest...and in 03 with a healthy Dirk...the Mavs clearly had more talent around Dirk.

[T_L_P]

Duncan has always had far more stacked teams than Dirk when they met in the playoff

Even DMAVS would disagree with you. Mavs were better than the Spurs in '03 (even though Dirk went down) and '06 (that might be just me). Hell, most people on here use seedings as their "stacked" metric so in 2010 the Mavs were a better team also (2nd seed vs. 7th seed, even though the Spurs were slightly better in reality). Manu was hurt in '09.

Even if he did have more stacked teams, Duncan's overall numbers are simply better. Go back and watch some basketball, why don't you.

[mr.big35]

easy sweep for the spurs

[DMAVS41]

Even DMAVS would disagree with you. Mavs were better than the Spurs in '03 (even though Dirk went down) and '06 (that might be just me). Hell, most people on here use seedings as their "stacked" metric so in 2010 the Mavs were a better team also (2nd seed vs. 7th seed, even though the Spurs were slightly better in reality). Manu was hurt in '09.

Even if he did have more stacked teams, Duncan's overall numbers are simply better. Go back and watch some basketball, why don't you.

Yea...Spurs were far better in 01 and obviously this year

Mavs clearly had more talent in 03 around Dirk...although this is negated for the most part by the injury

You and I disagree about 06...I think Duncan had slightly better players around him and then Pop coaching over Avery is too big too ignore

Mavs were better in 09 with Manu out

I thought the Spurs were better in 10 when Parker was ready for the series...and certainly with Dirk having a monster series and still losing in 6 with HCA going for 27/8/3 64% TS would support Duncan just having better players/team around him


Duncan definitely had better help and coaching, but not "far" better...

[T_L_P]

Yea...Spurs were far better in 01 and obviously this year

Mavs clearly had more talent in 03 around Dirk...although this is negated for the most part by the injury

You and I disagree about 06...I think Duncan had slightly better players around him and then Pop coaching over Avery is too big too ignore

Mavs were better in 09 with Manu out

I thought the Spurs were better in 10 when Parker was ready for the series...and certainly with Dirk having a monster series and still losing in 6 with HCA going for 27/8/3 64% TS would support Duncan just having better players/team around him


Duncan definitely had better help and coaching, but not "far" better...

I think the '06 Spurs were better than the Mavs on paper/during the season, but when it came to the Semifinals Dirk's teammates stepped up more. Now, that might not necessarily mean Dirk had more help, but the two teams were at the very least comparable, and in no way was one "way more stacked" than the other.

I agree with you on 2010 also. Even though we were the 7th seed, we had the better team (again, only slightly). I was just pointing out that most people on here judge how talented a team is by their regular season record.

There's a reason it's one of the best rivalries of the '00s: the teams were very comparable a lot of the time, and most of the vast majority of the matchups depended on how well Timmy and Dirk played.