Denver Nuggets @ Dallas Mavericks Post Game 30 Quotes "No choice"

What the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets said 
after Game Thirty of the Perfect Season.

Quotes

Mavericks

Coach Rick Carlisle

(On Brewer) "He became a fan favorite here because of his high energy and his attacking style of play. This guy's a winner and now he's a world champion."

(On Odom) "Odom is really doing a nice job for us now. When he plays the way he's playing, it gives us an opportunity to bring Dirk Nowitzki down to 32 minutes, which is huge for us. That's why it's important not to get carried away with Lamar's stats. The way he's fit into our team is important and meaningful."

(On the Win) "It’s an important win. We obviously have some upheaval now with the roster, guys with injuries and personal situations. It’s a bit of a scramble, but we’ve got a good scramble team. We’re gonna just have to piece it together here."

(On Marion) "Marion's defense again tonight was so key in the game because Lawson's penetration is something everybody in the league is trying to solve. Again, Marion's versatility defensively, he came up huge. And if you look at his offensive numbers, they were great."

(On not having another third quarter meltdown) "We had a very good third quarter. The third quarter was key, because they'd gone on a 4-0 run to end the half and had a little momentum. The third quarter had been challenging for us."

(On Defense) "Right now our efficiency on offense really helps our defense. It's going to be even more pronounced when we get on the road."

(On Jason Terry's strained right quadriceps muscle) "We don't believe it to be serious. It's something that's been there a little bit.. We're going to try and knock it out of there."

(On Delonte West's fractured finger) "He’s going to be out for a while."

(On Injuries putting Jones in the rotation) "We'll have to make it work. With Kidd we're going to have to keep his minutes reasonable, and Dominique Jones is going to have to play some. We’re going to need him. He’s worked hard and this gets his feet wet for Friday."

(On Jones at Point Guard) "He plays it a lot in practice when we have practice, every month or so. It’s probably in many ways a more natural position for him than 2, because he’s very good with the ball. He sees things, has a good feel for passing and he causes problems with his penetration. This is an opportunity for him."

(On Lineups) "We may have to be creative in some our rotations. We may have some bigger guys playing the shooting guard spot at times.''

(On this year vs last year) "The ability to be resourceful and resilient is what defined us last year and I don't see this year as being any different, probably more so in many ways just because of the way the schedule's condensed. And it's one reason why we go get players that are versatile, that can play multiple positions."

(On the 76ers next) "Philadelphia is going to be a different kind of team than these guys are, same kind of quickness, but a little bit different style. Their home floor is a very tough place to play. We’re going to have to carry some momentum from tonight into Friday, but that’s going to be a tough game."

(On skipping morning shootarounds altogether now) "That was a decision we made following the two overtime game last Saturday against Portland. I don't know if it's going to be an every day thing. Going forward we've got to see."

Dirk Nowitzki

(On 32-15 in the 3rd, for a change) "We wanted to be aggressive coming out in the third quarter and got good stops and made some shots. J-Kidd got hot and made some threes, so that was good."

(On Marion) "He looks comfortable. On the defensive end, I thought he was always great. Offensively, he’s being aggressive, running right to the post and his floater game is there. He just plays with a lot of confidence, and we all know this league is a lot about confidence. He has it. He’s been probably our most consistent and best player this season."

(On Delonte West's Injury) "He’s a good defender, so we’re going to miss him. Injuries are a part of the game and we’ve got to fight through it. This is how fragile this league is. You can go from a healthy squad and in one game you're depleted in one position."

(On Dominque Jones) "He’s a great driver, slasher. He can finish in the paint and once in a while, he’s going to make a shot. Defensively, he’s a workhorse. He’s a big guy, he can move, he can be active. He’s definitely going to get some opportunities here and he’s going to make the best out of them like he did tonight."

(On the upcoming schedule) "We’ve got a lot of great opponents coming up, we’ve got four games on national TV, so it’s gonna be a fun four games. A lot of challenges and we’ve just got to play. But I like where the team is. Unfortunately, we’ve got some injuries and some personal issues, but hopefully we’ll be OK and fight through some of this stuff."

Jason Kidd

(On the Game) "We knew they got in late last night, so the way we started the game was getting out and running and getting some easy baskets."

(On Jones) "D.J. played great tonight. He hasn’t played in over a month, and four points in thirty minutes, I thought he did well. He was attacking the basket and making all the right plays."

(On playing less minutes even with injuries all around): "I won’t fight it."

(On backcourt injuries) "We've got a couple of point guards, umm Dirk, 'Trix, Cardinal, umm Lamar, .... so we'll be fine."

Dominique Jones

(On playing Point Guard) "I’m pretty comfortable playing the one. I think this is a big opportunity for me to go out there, maintain and show that we can’t miss a beat. So, my main thing is just looking at film, looking at different teams and different players and getting better at the things I can get better at so the team can be better."

Shawn Marion

(On Injuries) "We’ve got a deep team here and now everybody’s got to step up and pull their weight."

(On the Depth) "Everybody who put on a uniform contributed. We came out aggressive and attacked them and had them on their heels."

(On posting up point guards) "We recognize mismatches. We’re definitely starting to exploit on that."

(On exploiting those mismatches) "I’ve got no choice. I like to score, too!"

(On considering himself an All-Star, still) "I don’t sell myself short for nobody. If I didn’t have high expectations for myself, I might as well just hang ‘em up."

(On the Mavs) "We’re just playing the game and playing it the right way. When it’s like that it’s exciting to watch and it’s fun to be a part of."

(On his Game) "I'm just doing what I do every game. Y'all are just not paying attention to me. I'm just playing my game and I pride myself in being the best basketball player I can. Not position-wise, but as a player as a whole. I do it all."

Lamar Odom

(On spreading the Wealth) "Depth is the strength of our team. Tonight, it just so happened to be that the depth was in scoring. Everybody kind of felt comfortable and we’re deep in so many different ways."

(On the Mavs) "Everybody's getting better and better as far as their game and their conditioning. We're having fun playing together."

(On Injuries) "That's how we all learn is through adversity. That's how we get better, even as men, even if we're not talking sports and just talking life. That's how we live and learn is through adversity. And sometimes what happens is somebody who wouldn't get a shot gets a shot at confidence. Because hopefully this team will be playing through June, so to have everybody confident, everybody prepared mentally first and have their confidence is a big deal."

Denver Nuggets

Coach George Karl

(On the Game) "There are a lot of areas that you could talk about. But my disappointment was early in the game. I thought the game was saying that we had to defend aggressively to get some offense from our defense."

(On Odom) "It's the best I've seen Odom play offensively all year. Their big boys didn't even have to come into the game.''

(On Marion defending Lawson decently) "I saw him do similar things to Chris Paul. They are using him all over the court in different ways, in different positions. I think he's getting the first option of most teams' offense, from a defensive standpoint and doing a great job of it."

(On the Mavericks) "Dallas has turned into an incredibly good defensive team. We were struggling to find points."

Ty Lawson

Marion's D was so dominant, there wasn't even a Game Picture including Lawson available. He played 28 Minutes.

(Tuesday Night on Dallas) "We owe them one. We beat them [in the first game] and they came out here [Denver] and made a point to beat us by a lot. [10 Points, in fact]"

(Wednesday Night in Dallas) "....."

Al Harrington

(On the Mavs) "They made shots. We struggled on offense and that affected our defense. They were just a better team tonight and we've got to move on."

Corey Brewer

(On the Mavs) "It was a tough night for us. They played great defense tonight and we couldn't penetrate them. They like Wu-tang or somethin'..''

(On returning to Dallas) "I was really happy to come back not only to get my ring, but to come back to the city of Dallas. It's a great city. When you win championships it's always good to come back.''

(On his Game in the Lakers-Series) "I was just hoping to play. And we were down bad, and we didn't have any energy. Coach called my name, and I thought he made a mistake. So I just went out and tried to make a few things happen. At least I helped us do something.

"Everybody was like, 'You played a lot, I said, 'I played eight minutes'. It might have been the best eight minutes of my career. Everything happened like bang, bang, bang, bang."

(On the Loss) "You've got to move on. It's just one of those games, and it's a short season this year. You've got to move on."

Vids

Game Recap

Postgame

Brandan Wright

DoJo

Links

MMB | Tobocap WIN-MOVE

Shawn Marion guarded Ty Lawson, scored 16, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished 6 dimes, had a +/- of 29 and cured a leprous baby.

Not of the leprosy though, kid had a cold. Shawn can’t do everything.

Denverstiffs Embarrassed

Shawn Marion killed Ty Lawson. He should be embarrassed by not being able to get by the 33 year old. Not sure if Lawson is injured or not, but as my buddy Rich pointed out, "He hasn't tried to drive all night." Is that aggression issues or injury? Lawson with 3 points and 2 assists in 28 awful minutes.

Roundball Mining Company RR

Odds and Ends: The Mavericks lead grew to 31 points at its apogee, which is the biggest lead I can ever remember any team having on the Nuggets in recent years. While the Mavericks continued to play tough defense the entire night, holding Denver to 84 points total, the Nuggets let Dallas do virtually whatever it pleased on offense. There were times when guys didn’t even contest shots. No matter how bad you’re losing or how depleted you may be, you can’t give up on the defensive side of the ball like that. Credit Rick Carlisle for his outstanding team defense and conversely, scold George Karl for his.

2MG's Difference

Shawn Marion (16 points, 8-14 FG, 10 rebounds, six assists) spent another game guarding a highly effective point guard, although this particular assignment may be his most unexpected yet. Ricky Rubio? Still unusual, but does make some bit of sense. Chris Paul? As a matter of necessity, Dallas needed to throw Paul off guard. But Ty Lawson (three points, 1-8 FG, two assists, two turnovers)? Marion should have struggled to stay in front of him, even with height and length providing theoretical counters. But he kept up, and when the Nuggets tried to free up Lawson with screens, the Maverick bigs did a terrific job of containing the speedy point man and preventing him from turning the corner with a burst. The sequestering of Lawson was a showcase of wonderful defense on pretty much every level — a smart (and unconventional) assignment, persistent on-ball defensive effort, and terrific, well-timed help.

Oh, and when Lawson wasn’t in the game, Marion guarded Andre Miller (zero points, 0-5 FG, two assists, two turnovers), too — just because he could, and because Rick Carlisle apparently likes embarrassing opposing point guards.

Hoopdata Boxscore

Denver from 10-23 feet: 2-19 FG. From 10 feet out: 8-46 FG.

Stats

FT-Watch

Brendan bricked noneof zero from the line. So far he is sporting a majorital brickrate of 51%. Celebration for our third best Center, Beaches! [nsfw]

On the other Hand, the Mavs made as much FTs as Denver, in 9 fewer Tries..

Rest

Outrebounded?Yes, 45-49, a little deceiving because of the 4th Quarter Garbage time.

37 FG, 28 Assists, 9 Steals, 5 Blocks, 12 Turnovers for the Mavs. This is how we do it.

Bonus

Malus

Disclaimer: If you couldn't tell by now, all italic sentences are made up thoughts, not actual quotes.

Sidenote: Personally, i thought if the Mavs do not beat Jeremy Lin and the Knicks on Sunday, the lunatic New York Media would be talking Championship. Turns out, they're already starting. Good Times.