Today at 4:30 p.m. ET on TNT, the Texas-centric first round Western Conference matchup between the No. 1 San Antonio Spurs and No. 8 Dallas Mavericks will tip off after Dallas took a split of the first two contests. Live stream the game free by clicking this link; Spurs fans can hear the game on 1200 WOAI, and Mavericks fans may do the same on 103.3 ESPN.
The focus when it comes to Dallas is typically on Dirk Nowitzki, or maybe shooting guard Monta Ellis. However, the leading scorer for the Mavs through two postseason games in 2014 is reserve point guard Devin Harris.
"It's why I wanted to come back, to be in this type of situation and play in these types of games and be in this type of series," Harris said. "It's perfect." This twist is an example of how good underrated Mavs coach Rick Carlisle is; even put up against the current Coach of the Year in Gregg Popovich, Carlisle more than holds his own.
At 18.5 points per game and five assists, Harris is not only statistically outperforming Tony Parker, his athleticism is discouraging Parker from shooting as much. While it's just two games, Parker's average attempts per game is four shots less than his 2013 pace.
"He's been great," Nowitzki said. "He's a big key for us off the bench. We don't have a lot of penetrators out there. He's been great on both ends of the floor."
Parker acknowledged his decreased shot attempts, and while he's happy with his distribution admitted Popovich urged him to pull the trigger.
"I felt like I was doing good but at the same time I wanted to get my teammates involved," Parker said. "Pop told me if I have to shoot 25 times, I have to shoot 25 times if that's what they're going to give me."
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