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Mavs have little time to celebrate after Game 7 win

DALLAS -- The Mavericks didn’t have much time to celebrate their Game 7 victory over the Kings here on Saturday night.

With Game 1 of the Western Conference finals slated for Monday night in San Antonio, Mavs players and coaches barely had time to let out a collective sigh of relief before getting on with preparations for the Spurs.

"Game 7, you’re on an emotional high, and then two days later you play another game," Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki said at Sunday’s practice at American Airlines Center. "We have to make sure we forget about this now and get ready for San Antonio."

Another 48 Hours Here’s a look at the Mavs schedule in the 48 hours as they prepare for Monday night’s Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Times are estimated. Saturday, May 17 9:30 p.m. CST –- Game 7 of the Kings-Mavs series ends. Within an hour or so, the Dallas players and coaches have showered, dressed, met with the media and left the American Airlines Center. Sunday, May 18 10:00 a.m. -- Mavs assistant coaches begin to arrive at American Airlines Center to go over Spurs tape, which has been previously edited and catalogued by the team’s video staff, and to make final adjustments to scouting report. 1 p.m. -- Mavs head coach Don Nelson arrives, meets with top assistants Del Harris and Donn Nelson Jr. to go over the basic game plan. 2 p.m. -- Mavs practice. Players and coaches meet with the media on the AAC floor for 20 minutes, then the floor is cleared for a brief practice involving mostly light shooting. 3 p.m. -- Video session. Players and coaches leave the floor and head to the locker room to review film and go over the San Antonio scouting report. After a general film review, players will be separated by position (guards in one room/bigs in the other) for more specific viewing. 4 p.m. -- Players leave AAC for Love Field, where they will board a custom 757 jet for the flight to San Antonio. During the flight, players and coaches can read scouting reports, view film on their headset TVs or catch a cat nap. 5:15 p.m -- Players arrive at the team hotel in San Antonio. After checking in and unloading their bags, they will be free for the evening. They will go out for dinner, visit the trainer to get last-minute treatment or stay in and play video games. Monday, May 19 10:45 a.m. -- Mavs players, coaches board bus for SBC Center for morning shootaround. 11:00 a.m. -- Shootaround: More light shooting, followed by a walk-through of Spurs plays and certain strategic objectives. 12:00 p.m. -- Players board bus back to hotel. For the next six hours or so they will be free to kill time. Many will visit the trainer. Some will order room service. Some will take naps. Some will visit the local shopping mall or catch a movie. 6:15 p.m. -- The first of two team buses departs for the SBC Arena. For the next two hours, players will get dressed, get treatment, shoot around on the court, hang out in the locker room and talk to the media. 7:45 p.m. -- Pre-game skull session. Coaches will show more video on the TV in the locker room, and Nelson will go over last-minute strategies and points of emphasis. 8:20 p.m. -- The Mavs leave the locker room and head onto the SBC Center floor. Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals tips off in a few minutes.

It’s not unusual for NBA teams to face a quick turnaround in the playoffs. The Mavs faced a similar situation two weeks ago after needing a Game 7 to knock out the Blazers. Unfortunately for them, they came out flat as a Texas prairie the following game and got spanked by the Kings.

Mavs coach Don Nelson hopes to avoid a repeat this time around. Accompanied by his dog, Lucky, Nelson was at the office by 1 p.m. Sunday to meet with his assistant coaches and go over the game plan for San Antonio. By then, his video staff had already spliced together game film and tapes of the Spurs, including breakdowns of individual players and their tendencies.

By the time Nowitzki, Michael Finley, Steve Nash and the rest of the Mavs players arrived for Saturday’s 2 p.m. practice, Nelson and his staff already had a 2-3 page printed scouting report for each player to study. The team then went through a light shooting session before repairing to the locker room for about an hour to watch film and go over specific matchups.

"We’ll go through every play they run, what every player on their roster likes to do," backup center Evan Eschmeyer said. "We’ll go over each guy’s tendencies, sometimes even their personality traits."

For the Mavs, preparing for the Spurs is especially tough because of San Antonio’s style of play. With Tim Duncan and David Robinson, the Spurs are more of a post-up team, as opposed to the perimeter-oriented attack of the Chris Webber-less Kings. After spending the past two weeks honing their defense one way, the Mavs have to shift gears rapidly.

"We’ve learned that every series is different," Finley said. "Teams are different. The sense of urgency is different and the stakes are different."

After the video session, the Mavs headed to the airport for the charter flight to San Antonio. During the 40-minute flight, players can opt to watch more game tape on the private TV screens in the chair back. Or they can opt to take their minds off basketball for awhile.

"One guy will be watching game film, and three rows over another guy will be watching Sex & The City," Eschmeyer noted.

Nelson notes that preparation for any playoff series actually begins months before, during the regular season, when his video staff compiles tape around the league. By the time the postseason rolls around, the Mavs have a full catalogue of tape for each team and each player. The focus then narrows as teams get eliminated.

In some ways, Nelson also prepares during the regular season by calling certain plays and actions. For example, Nelson might have the Mavs defend the pick-and-roll a certain way in a game just to get a read on how an opponent responds. Even if it’s not the best strategy at the time, it can pay off later when it counts.

The most important thing, the Mavs say, is to refocus mentally. Since both teams in any series are starting over, the first game is usually a feeling-out process. The real adjustments, in terms of Xs and Os, will come later.

"The first 24 hours are really about shifting your state of mind," Eschmeyer said. "These long playoff series can be draining.

"I went to dinner with my wife after [Saturday night’s] game and I was completely exhausted mentally -- and I didn’t even play!"

 

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