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Mavericks Must Regroup Immediately

Authored by Daniel Sonnenberg - April 24, 2005 - 12:20 am

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If the Dallas Mavericks want to regain any control of the series, which they now trail 0-1 against the Houston Rockets, there are several things that they are going to need to do.

The first and foremost is to find a way to contain Tracy McGrady.

The Mavericks, not known for their defense had a host of problems guarding Mc Grady in their 98-86 loss to the Rockets. If Dallas can live with giving up 30+ points to McGrady, they cannot live with allowing 16 points to Mike James, 8 points to Jon Barry, and another 8 points to Dikembe Mutombo.

In addition to their defense, they definitely need more points from Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finely (who combined to shoot 7-27 and scored 26 points). Things don’t bode well for Dallas, when Tracy Mc Grady outscores Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finely, and Keith Van Horn 34-31. If the Mavericks want to go into Houston with the series tied at 1-1, they’re going to need to tighten up their defense against Mc Grady and get more offensive production out of Finley and Van Horn. Expect to see more shots fall for all three of these stellar players.

Also, look for the Mavericks to shoot better than the paltry 35.3 % that they shot today as well. The Mavericks will play with much more urgency on Tuesday knowing that they face a possible 0-2 hole in Dallas.