Mavs Full Court Press

Mavs postgame quotes, Game 2

Mavericks coach Avery Johnson

On the game: “Early on, everything we tried on (Chris) Paul didn’t work. We wanted to come out and get the ball out of his hands. We tried that and he split us a couple of times and got away from us. And then the main thing is their other guys stepped up big for them tonight. They were playing 4-on-3 a couple of times, which we wanted them to do, and (Morris) Peterson made shots, (Tyson) Chandler caught lobs on us, and they really jumped out on us in the first quarter.”

On the next games: “We’re going back to Dallas. We’re going back in front of our home crowd. We’ll take a look at some things, but we’ve got to have a better effort than we had tonight. Offensively, we have to move the ball a little bit more and execute. Home has been good for us, and we gotta go home and get some home cooking. That’s what we need right now.”

On wearing his championship ring for this game: “We talked about doing it during the season. It’s just a form of camaraderie, and hopefully a sense of motivation, but I guess it didn’t motivate tonight.”

On the Hornets’ play: “They protected their home court; we have a chance to go home and do the same thing. They are a number two seed that deserves to be number two. We’ve go to play better than we played in these first two games.”

On Chris Paul: “We’ve got to do a better job of trying to deny him the ball. But at the same time, he’s pretty quick. The easiest thing to do for our guards is just deny him the ball. Just because you try to deny him the ball, he’s not going to stop and give in. He’s a very strong-minded and tough player, and he’s quick to the ball. Sometimes you need two guys to try to deny him the ball, and I’m not sure that’s the easiest thing to do. I just think we’ve got to really do a better job of being much more physical with him in our traps, and physical with him on his drives, and we’ve got to do a better job of screening him on defense. He just runs around on defense and disrupts our offense.”

On his team’s effort: “Our men are disappointed, but you’ll see a different team for Game 3. Our men are competitors, and they don’t want the result that we had in these first two games. Tonight was just an awful first quarter, and they pretty much had us on our heels at that point.”

Mavericks Guard Jason Terry

On the game: “We just got out-played, out-fought, and out-worked. They out-worked us on both ends of the floor. We’re in the hole now 0-2, but we’re going home and we’ve got to take care of business at home.”

On stopping Chris Paul: “You’re not really going to stop him. You’ve just got to make him work and limit him getting other people the ball.”

Mavericks Forward Brandon Bass

On the game: “We’ve got to continue to work and defend better, but we put a hand in their face tonight, they just made shots. Chris made plays and he put the ball in the right places and he was successful. You can watch every game they played this season and they made shots, but tonight was one of those nights were they made most of their shots. I haven’t looked at a stat sheet, but they must have made seventy percent of their shots.”

Mavericks Forward Dirk Nowitzki

On the game: “It’s a disappointing loss. After the first game, we definitely wanted to get this one. We just didn’t go for it. They out-hustled us for some balls, but you’ve got to give them credit, they were on fire tonight. Paul had his thing going again and the shooters were on fire. They really had us strung out there. We can’t give up almost 130 points and expect to win.”

On the next game: “It’s not the position we want to be in. Now we’ve got to go home. It sounds dumb, but we’ve got to take it one game at a time and hopefully win that third game and put some pressure on them. In front of our fans, we’ve been great at home all season long."

-- New Orleans Hornets official Web site

Mavs interested in Lue

According to a league source, the Mavericks are in the mix for veteran point guard Tyronn Lue, who was waived by Sacramento on Friday.

The source said Denver and Phoenix are also interested in the 10th-year player out of Nebraska. Lue, who was acquired by the Kings in the trade that sent Mike Bibby to Atlanta, can sign with another team Tuesday and be eligible for the playoffs because he was waived by Friday’s deadline.

The Mavs have an open roster spot and some minutes available at backup point guard, where J.J. Barea and Devean George have played recently.

Lue, 6-0, 175 pounds, averaged 6.8 points and 1.8 assists in 33 games this season.

— Jeff Caplan

It's all about the double

After watching the Spurs and Cavs muck it up again, with San Antonio walking away with yet another NBA title, it underscores a lot of things in regards to the Mavs' situation.

1) the Mavs' defense still is not good enough.
2) the Mavs' are not mentally tough enough.
3) the Spurs aren't going away for a while.

and last, but most important:
3) the modern game is all about the double-team.

Sure, Tim Duncan stunk, but it was all the attention he drew that opened lanes for Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to combine for 51 points. And with Parker's jump shot becoming a legitimate weapon, the outcome of the series was little more than an inevitable formality.

So with Parker, 25, emerging as a shooter and more complete player, he is going to draw more and more attention. Soon teams will have a choice to make: allow Duncan to beat them or give Parker that privilege.

The Cavs chose Parker, who is just now entering his prime, and you see how that worked out. The Finals MVP -- read that again -- is only going to get better. That's not good news for the Mavs.

Can any of you see Josh Howard rising to that status? What about Devin Harris? Jet?

And there, folks, is the key. An NBA player of stature has to either command the double, or make teams pay for doubling. There is no in-between. Dirk Nowitzki is the only player on the Mavs' roster who can do both of those things.

Will he ever have a teammate who can do the same?

He better, because the Spurs now have a pair of them.

-- Garza, Mavs Lite

Tony Parker made sure the Spurs now have two Finals MVPs on their roster. Are we seeing the birth of another Shaq-Kobe dynamic, albeit a healthier, friendlier, more positive one?

Del Harris gets lifetime deal

Del Harris once quit on Don Nelson in the middle of a Mavericks game. Or it might have been Nellie firing his top assistant.

Depends on who's telling the story. The details tend to get fuzzy over time and it has been four years since the high drama occurred during a visit to Golden State.

Either way, it's the kind of episode one might expect from a pair of close friends who also have strong opinions about the game of basketball. Both laugh about the incident now, but Harris actually left the locker room at halftime conceivably without a job.

Who played peacemaker? Mark Cuban. Yeah, really.

Cuban had no intention of letting Harris go then and he feels the same way today. Harris has moved on to the next stage of his professional career by accepting the owner's offer of a lifetime contract as a team consultant.

"I'm really thankful to Mark, and it's quite a thing when you say in terms "lifetime," but being the smart businessman he is, he knows there's not many years left," joked Harris, who turns 70 next month. "Not many owners do something like that, and you've got to love him for it."

-- Art

League won't fine Cuban

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban won’t have to dip into his wallet after the NBA decided not to fine him for saying he hopes Michael Finley would consider returning to the Mavs when his contract with the Spurs expires.

The league reviewed Cuban’s comments made last week for possible tampering charges, but an NBA spokesman confirmed Monday that no action would be taken.

Cuban also commented that he was rooting for Finley to win the NBA championship. He said his intent was to compliment Finley and surprise fans that he was cheering for the Spurs.

He said he didn’t believe he was tampering because the Mavs can’t talk to Finley until his contract expires after the 2007-08 season, even though Finley can opt out of his deal after this season.

The Mavs waived Finley in August 2005 as part of the league’s one-time amnesty provision. It allowed the Mavs to avoid paying the luxury tax on the $51.8 million owed to Finley. The Spurs signed him to a three-year, $8.5 million contract. Cuban is also continuing to pay Finley the remainder of his Mavs contract.

-- Jeff

Mavs fans, do you like Kobe?

So Kobe Bryant reportedly has asked to be traded if Jerry West isn't brought in to run the Lakers.
If you are the Mavs, do you make a play for him?

If I haven't overlooked any base compensation-option-clause nonsense, I think Josh Howard, Devin Harris and Jason Terry for Kobe works, cap-wise. Now remember, Kobe does have a no-trade clause in his contract, so if the Lakers decide to trade him, they likely won't get fair value, because Kobe has to approve the destination.

So Mavs fans, do you like that trade?  And if you don't, don't get into a huff. It's all just a speculative scenario.

-- Garza, Mavs Lite

Doug Christie loves the Mavs

Doug Christie, who played seven games with the Mavs at the beginning of the 2005-06 season before being waived, is a big Avery Johnson fan and had nothing but love for the organization Thursday. As a matter of fact, Christie is working out four hours a day and plans to return to the NBA this season. And he would love to be a Mav again.

Straight from Christie:

 

"The Mavs situation was fantastic, and Avery Johnson was a fantastic coach. The thing I enjoyed about Avery was that he had a system. You didn’t have to think as much on the court. He had an offensive and defensive system in place, so it [freed you up] and allowed you to create on the court. I also really enjoyed Mark [Cuban], and the love he had for the team really spilled over and it showed. Unfortunately, I was injured and it just didn’t work out at the time. But I know I can help the Mavs get over the hump and win a championship. The skills I have and the numerous positions I can play ... I’m a veteran who can help through the playoffs. Hopefully, I can return to the Mavs and help them win a championship. It’s something I would love to do."

Well how about that?

-- Garza, Mavs Lite

Doug Christie returning to the Mavs? How does that sound, Mavs fans?

Cuban under review

So the league is reviewing Cuban's comments on Finley. Cuban was only trying to be nice, but under rigid NBA rules, it could be considered tampering...here's what Cuban, who said he was rooting for Finley to win the NBA title said in my column from Tuesday:

"I would hope that after his contract is over in San Antone, he would consider the Mavs as an option. I don't know that he would, but our entire organization has that much respect for him."

Seems pretty harmless, especially since Finley has another year left on his deal and the Mavs can't talk to him until after the 2007-08 season.

Anyway, that's pretty much how Cuban felt. Here's what Cuban says about it:

"It was just meant to be a compliment to Mike and to surprise people that I was rooting for the Spurs. We can't sign him for a while due to the amnesty provision, which to me meant tampering couldn't be an issue."

The league should have a decision in a day or two. They can fine him I suppose, but it's more than likely they'll let it blow over or make it a small fine.

-- Jeff

Draft disorder

With the order of the first 14 picks now decided, let's take a light-hearted look at how things could shake out with the top talent available in the NBA Draft on June 28.

1. Trail Blazers    C Greg Oden, Fr.    Ohio State
Portland passes on chance to pair Longhorns Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge to form softest frontcourt duo in the league.

2. Sonics    SF Kevin Durant, Fr.    Texas
A bittersweet selection: Seattle gets Durant, but in doing so breaks from its tradition of wasting lottery picks on 7-foot projects.

3. Hawks    SF Corey Brewer, Jr.    Florida
Atlanta is more than happy to stick with its game plan: ignore team needs and always — always — take a small forward.

4. Grizzlies    PF Brandan Wright, Fr.    N. Carolina
The Grizz had an enigmatic power forward named (Lorenzen) Wright for five seasons. Now they get his ideal replacement.

5. Celtics    PF Yi Jianlian    China
The Celtics have loads of unproven youth at every position. Now they get unproven international youth, just to cover all the bases.

6. Bucks    PF Al Horford, Jr.    Florida
The Bucks, who are almost NBA-ready, take the most NBA-ready prospect in the draft.

7. T’wolves    F Julian Wright, So.    Kansas
Minnesota needs a point guard and frontcourt power. It takes Wright and gets neither, instead settling for an underachiever with no true position.

8. Bobcats    PF Joakim Noah, Jr.    Florida
Last year, Charlotte took Adam Morrison, a player who could do only one thing: shoot. This time they get a player who can do everything but shoot.

9. Bulls (from the Knicks)    C Spencer Hawes, Fr.    Washington
Chicago needs experience and veteran toughness, and you can’t find that in the draft. So when GMs don’t know what to do, they simply go big — in the worst way.

10. Kings    PG Mike Conley Jr., Fr.    Ohio State
Sacramento, no longer enamored with Mike Bibby, selects an undersized replacement who looked really good while Oden was being triple-teamed.

11. Hawks (from Indiana)    SF Jeff Green, Jr.    Georgetown
Don’t act surprised. Atlanta looks at its cheat sheet and quickly snaps up the top-rated small forward left.

12. 76ers    PG Acie Law, Sr.    Texas A&M
After years of dealing with Allen Iverson’s brushes with the law, Philadelphia sticks to the letter of the Law with Acie.

13. Hornets    SF Thaddeus Young, Fr.    Georgia Tech
New Orleans gets an athletically gifted player who can finish on the break to spare us the sight watching Peja Stojakovic hobble up and down the floor.

14. Clippers    SG Nick Young, Jr.    USC
The Clips save the scouting department lots of money by drafting a player from their own backyard.

-- Garza, Mavs Lite

 

Greg Oden could be the biggest thing in the Pacific Northwest since coffee, grunge and Microsoft.

Sam Vincent going to Charlotte

The Mavs are losing assistant coach Sam Vincent. He's getting his first head coaching job with the Charlotte Bobcats, according to an NBA source. The Bobcats are expected to have a press conference on Friday once minor details of the contract are worked out.

Vincent is one of a possible two openings on the Mavs' staff. Del Harris, the lead assistant, might not be back on the bench. His contract expires this summer and he could either be headed to another position with the Mavs or a candidate at other openings around the league.

-- Jeff