Mavericks To Incorporate Machetes Into Hack-A-Shaq Defense:

“The X’s and O’s of it are pretty simple,” Johnson said, drawing up the play on his dry-erase board. “Once Dwayne Wade passes the ball to Shaq down low, [point guard] Jason [Terry] will drop down to double-team him and chop the backs of Shaq’s legs, especially the femoral artery and the Achilles tendon, with his lighter machete. Dirk [Nowitzki], while he’s doing that, you will curl off your man and go for O’Neal’s collarbones with an overhand chopping motion of your Latin machete. By the third quarter, Shaq will have lost a significant amount of blood, and that’s when Keith [Van Horn] and [Josh] Howard will be stabbing at O’Neal’s kidneys and the sensitive insides of his elbows with their respective weapons—Van Horn with his Bolo Machete and Josh with his Double-Edge Machete. Meanwhile, [center] DeSagana [Diop], who I understand brought his own Panga Machete from home, will be carving O’Neal’s ribs.”

Shots taken in the NBA Finals:

Antoine Walker: 35
Jason Williams: 21
Shaquille O’Neal: 16

So, you can look at those numbers and do a few things. First, credit Avery Johnson and the Mavs defense. They’re double-teaming Shaq quickly and effectively, turning him away from the basket and forcing the ball out of his hands. And once the ball leaves his hands, no one else is doing a whole lot with it. And you could also say that Shaq’s getting old and losing a step, and that’s true, but I don’t think it has a whole lot to do with his getting just 5 shots last night. And you could also say that Antoine Walker and Jason Williams are fuckheads, which would certainly be true. Let’s see what Antoine had to say after Game One:

“I’m not a supporting cast [member],” Walker said. “I’m an Antoine Walker. ‘Supporting cast’ kind of downgrades players. I’m not a supporting nothing.”

Agreed. You support nothing.

I don’t know where Miami goes from here. I actually feel like their defense has been very, very good. But Dallas is doing a great job on the Heat defensively, too, and it’s just a matter of the team with superior talent and depth doing what they do. Dallas has taken Shaq away almost completely as an offensive option, and unless Miami can find a way to get him the ball while he’s in motion, and able to make a quick move to the basket, instead of just stationary on the block, I don’t see any reason why that’s going to change. Shaq’s still making good passes out of the double, but the Heat can’t make them pay consistently enough. And Dallas is very quick to recover.

I just don’t know what adjustments Miami can make. It’s not like they have a lot of guys who have the versatility to just change their game anytime they want. They are who they are, and it hasn’t been nearly good enough.