Know Your Enemy Milwaukee Bucks Ford kicking Bucks into overdrive By Josh Hansen Tue, Nov 15, 2005 Complete Article -
Know Your Enemy San Antonio Spurs Spurs get three-fourths of a rout Web Posted: 11/16/2005 12:13 AM CST Johnny Ludden Express-News Staff Writer Complete Article -
Wow The Suns really live and die by the 3 ball. They put up 29 attempts in tonights game and made 13 of them! They really need Amare to give them an inside game.
Long Overdue Enemy Updates Dallas Mavericks Mavs cop defensive attitude Winning percentage is close to 100 when opponents are stifled By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News It's a constant battle for the Mavericks coaches to get their players thinking defense before offense. So any hard evidence backing them up is like gold. That makes the following statistic a 24-carat nugget: Since the 2001-02 season, the Mavericks are 196-12 (94.2 percent) when holding their opponent to the same or worse shooting percentage. They are 52-96 when out-shot. MAVERICKS NOTES Mavs focused on rebounding By DWAIN PRICE DALLAS -- Always one to pay attention to detail, Mavericks coach Avery Johnson opened Wednesday's practice in preparation for Friday's home game against Golden State by reminding his players of the value of rebounding the basketball. Johnson stressed how much the Warriors have improved and emphasized that rebounding would be crucial because the Warriors "can embarrass you with the way they play offense and the way they score." Coming on the heels of Monday's impressive 49-30 rebounding margin in a 102-80 win over the Indiana Pacers, the Mavs are 16-2 when they outrebound their opponents. And they're 11-1 when center Erick Dampier has four or more offensive rebounds. New Jersey Nets It's those guys off the bench who are keeping Nets on a roll BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO Star-Ledger Staff The epiphany occurred on the night of Dec. 16. At the time, the Nets were as bad as their 9-12 record indicated, their stars were stuck in neutral and there was no relief in sight -- at least in terms of a punch guy off the bench who could inspire them and make them feel that basketball was more than a three-man tug-and-drag toward mediocrity. Scott Padgett shot 5-for-5 from the 3-point line that night against Denver, and the Nets haven't looked back since. They have won seven straight games, and in every one of those victories, one or two or three reserves have provided meaningful contributions. Milwaukee Bucks Ford trying to stay upbeat Guard is out at least two weeks By TOM ENLUND Milwaukee Bucks point guard T.J. Ford is not at all happy that he is going to be sidelined for two or three weeks with a left foot injury, but he knows better than anyone that it could be a whole lot worse. San Antonio Spurs Starting talk on Ginobili's role with Spurs Johnny Ludden With Manu Ginobili having survived his first game in more than two weeks, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich quickly turned his attention Wednesday to making sure his All-Star guard also survived practice. As the Spurs began their brief workout, Popovich gave Ginobili some instructions: If you have a shot, shoot it. But don't even think about driving to the rim. "No one needed to tell me that," Ginobili said. Cleveland Cavaliers Intensity comes and goes for Cavs Brown seeks more consistency, especially on the road, if his team wants to remain in contention By Brian Windhorst EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Repeated over and over, it gets kind of monotonous and hokey, but Mike Brown has a point. The Cavaliers' rookie coach has a few bedrock beliefs and mottos, which sometimes lose meaning but do have a purpose. On his stationery, for example, Brown has printed ``sustain for 48 minutes.'' He says it in nearly every interview, every pregame speech and team practice. But it's a philosophy sometimes his team needs drilled in. Indiana Pacers Skidding Pacers look for answers 3-game losing streak poses questions about rebounding, turnovers and finding right mix The Indiana Pacers, a team committed to rallying around one another to overcome the loss of Ron Artest, have been hit with a dose of reality. The Pacers' chemistry might be better without their disgruntled forward, but their record isn't. "Right now we are just an average team," forward Jermaine O'Neal said after Wednesday's loss at San Antonio, which left the Pacers at 15-11. "Elite teams find a way to make plays."
