Mavericks vs New Orleans (Game 2 Preview) Part Two

Defense:
Ah, the side of the ball no one in Dallas was supposed to worry about. Stopping the Hornets comes down to two players. CP3 and Tyson Chandler. David West is nice and Peja is a dead eye shooter but the two players that pump up this team are CP3 and Chandler. Every time Chandler gets an offensive rebound and dunks or CP3 makes an alley-oop pass, the team starts feeling good about itself. So....

Box out Chandler. Sounds simple and someone like Diop or even Mbenga would work wonders but my suggestion is to put Malik Allen on him. Juwan Howard and Dampier are too slow. Brandon Bass doesn't have the size. Every time we've actually done a good job containing CP3 and highly contest a Peja or West shot, Chandler rolls in and gets an offensive rebound and possibly flushes it home. It's extremely deflating and the Hornets know it.

Unlike everyone else, I don't think you should double or press CP3. He's going to beat anyone Dallas throws at him. The best thing Dallas can do is play him like opposing teams play Kidd. Play off him and dare him to make shots from outside. You can use the extra space to clog up Chandler or sag toward Peja. CP3 wants to pass the ball. He's more than capable of hitting the shot but eventually he'll press to get the ball to West, Peja or Chandler.

There you go, those are my adjustments for Game Two.