Mavs @ Cavs Post Game 25 Quotes "Perfect Example"

What the Dallas Mavericks and the Cleveland Cavaliers said 
after Game Twentyfive of the Perfect Season.

Quotes

Mavericks

Coach Rick Carlisle

(On the loss): "The combination of all the tough turnovers, 19 points off turnovers and 17 second-chance points was the difference."

(On not keeping leads): "We’re doing some good things, but we have to do a better job of sustaining and that’s on both ends of the court. We have a couple practice days. We have to put them to good use and we have to get better."

(On Kidd) "We miss Jason Kidd. This is why when I'm asked about him coming off the bench, it's a nonsensical question. And I'll remind you guys of that the next time any of you ask.''

(On 21 TO) "They're an active team, they anticipated passes, but we've got to do a better job with decision-making. Generally speaking, we're a low turnover team, but on a night when we did something that was atypical, we paid the price for it."

(On Brandan Wright): "Brandan Wright has produced virtually every time we’ve put him in the game. He’s doing a terrific job. Ian Who?"

(About that Mahinmi DNP-French) "A coach's decision."

(On Kyrie Irving): "He’s a terrific young player and we didn’t guard him very well. He’s a very good penetrator and he made big plays. He was a great draft choice and he’s going to be a foundation piece here for more than a decade."

Dirk Nowitzki

(On the Loss): "It was just another bad third quarter. We talked about having bad efforts coming out of halftime and tonight was another perfect example of it. They (Cleveland) really took it to us and really picked up their energy and had a great third quarter. It was a ballgame and then it could go either way down the stretch. That’s really our fault for not having any energy in the third quarter."

(On Culprits) "I told Jason Terry we should have been up 15 going into halftime. But all the second-chance points and all the tip-outs kind of kept them alive. We've got to push ourselves a little harder, especially on a night like that when it's a tough back-to-back when you go to bed at 4 a.m. But we've got to be able to push each other and come up with loose balls, because ultimately those little plays can end up winning the game.'''

(On Anderson Varejao): "He’s an animal. We knew that coming in and he’s just great. He’s relentless. Not that he's that strong or has unbelievable hops. He's got a great nose for the ball and he just keeps coming. There are plays when you think two guys have it and he just gets in there, tips it and someone comes up with it. We didn't do a good enough job to try and keep him away from the glass. But you've got to give him credit. He’s very active. I don’t think we’re the only team he’s done it to."

(On passing Elgin Baylor on the Alltime Scoring list) "I did? I didn't see that, I didn't even know that coming in. But like I said, stuff like that is going to be great in 10 years, 15 years, looking back at my career. As for now I'm battling and trying to win as many games and hopefully get this team in the playoffs.''

(On the Mavs) "Ultimately, we've got a lot of work to do here. Especially leading up to the All-Star game we've got a lot of great teams, playoff teams that are coming up, and then make hopefully a push and stay healthy after the break.

(BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?) "I'm busy kind of getting myself going and winning some games. And everything else, I think, is going to be great when my career is over.''

(3 Days off, 3 Game Losing streak) "Now, we’ve got to sit on this one. We have a day off tomorrow and we’ve got to sit on this one for three days. You know, it is what it is. If we get our point guard back pretty soon, I think we could definitely use him. But we’ve got to put in some work Monday and Tuesday. Enjoy this day off tomorrow as much as we can, get away a little bit and then get some good work in and work on the stuff we need to work on and then travel to Denver. And we know Denver is a great team, especially at home. They run, they're great in transition, so we've got our hands full there on Wednesday."

Brandan Wright

(On Erik Prydz) "When coach calls on me, I need to be ready to perform no matter what the situation is — first, second, third or fourth quarter."

Delonte West

(On Irving) "Big players make big plays. Irving made some big plays down the stretch."

(On his return to Cleveland): "The city of Cleveland is a hard working city and they're about the right things. These Cleveland fans are more than fans, they’re friends. It’s good seeing a lot their faces in the same seats. They have a great owner here. They have a great nucleus of young guys. This organization is on its way. I can see them being a contender a few years from now."

(On the Game) "I think we played the way we wanted to in the first half and we dictated the game. Going into the half, the momentum was kind of slowly changing and they came out in the second half and played their game. And before you know it, we were down and fighting back to get back in the game."

(On 4-7 Shooting) "I'd say one thing for sure, the basket looked like an ocean. I hit all my spots that I wanted to get to on the floor. The biggest thing is we didn't come away with a win that we wanted to.''

(On the Mavs) "We’re still missing J-Kidd, our leader, and I think once he gets back that’s gonna sort a lot of things out and we’ll be alright. We’re a veteran team and ain’t nobody hanging their heads. Of course, we lost some games we wanted to win, but it’s the NBA and any game is anybody’s. Once you check ball, it’s anybody’s game."

(On 3 Days no Games) "I think everybody is going to check that Super Bowl out today. It would be nice after a win to put our feet up and watch the game, but we've got to get back to the lab and get ready for Wednesday.''

Cavs

Coach Byron Scott

(On tonight’s game): "Anytime you beat the world champions, it’s a great win. It didn’t look that good in the first half, but I thought getting it into single digits going into the second half, we had a chance. (In the first half) we weren’t playing very well offensively. We made some defensive mistakes, but corrected some of those at halftime and did a much better job."

(On the third quarter): "The last thing I told the guys at halftime was that we had to come out aggressively on both ends. I said ‘Just be aggressive. If you have an open shot take it, just take it with confidence.’ We got going pretty good in the third quarter. Taking Kyrie out to try to save him for the fourth quarter, I thought the second unit guys really got it going. That helped us build a little bit of a lead. You knew they were going to come back. They’re the champs so they’re not going to just lay down. The way we finished the game, I thought was great."

(On getting their first win vs. a team over .500): "It’s just like your first back-to-back win, winning the second night of a back-to-back. All of these little firsts are just confidence builders for us. We just have to keep going from here. Not live on this one, enjoy it for right now, but come in on Monday for practice and get ready for another game."

(On Kyrie’s layup with 15 seconds left): "Great move. Got to the basket. Great finish. I told him to just run this one play that we have been running. Just keep the ball in his hands to where he can make a decision. Be aggressive and look to score for himself or see if he can get it to his teammates and he was able to get it all the way to the basket."

(On Kyrie in the fourth quarter): "I thought in the fourth quarter, he was pretty fresh. We put the ball in his hands and let him make decisions. He has a unique ability to get to the basket. When he gets there, he has a great way of finishing. Once he gets around guys, he is just a great little finisher and he can finish on the inside with either hand."

(On getting Andy extra rest in the second half): "I think it’s very big. He’s been playing a lot of minutes lately and as hard as he plays, sometimes he’s going to be gassed. Trying to give him an extra couple minutes, as long as we had the lead and it was close, I thought was important. Bringing him back for the last five and a half minutes, I thought was a perfect time for him because he was going to be able to get his hands on the ball and do what he does."

(On his Superbowl Pick) "I hate all Teams from Boston."

Kyrie Irving

(On defeating the defending champion Dallas Mavericks): "This win means a lot more, but it’s still just a win in our column. We beat the defending champs and we gave a valiant effort. I’m happy. It feels good."

(On what he’s learning about himself): "I just feel my teammate’s confidence down the stretch. They continue to give me the ball and they have the confidence in me to make the right play, whether if it’s for myself or them. Once you have that confidence, it’s easy going into the fourth quarter."

(On what the team did differently in the third and fourth quarters offensively): "We started to knock down our good looks. In the first quarter, I missed my first four shots. They were good looks, but they just weren’t falling, like the rest of my teammates. In the second half we started getting stops and started to score the ball."

Anderson Varejao

(On the second half of tonight’s game): "The second half was big for us. We didn’t start the game the right way. The second quarter was not good for us, but we knew that if we kept ourselves within eight, we could come back and give ourselves a chance to win the game."

(On the team’s effort tonight): "That’s what we talked about before the game. We said let’s play hard on defense, get stops, and run against them because they don’t want to run. And that’s what we did."

(On playing with Kyrie): "It’s hard to guard a guy like him because he can finish around the rim. They know they have to deal with him and he’s smart enough to know when he can finish or make that extra pass and get his teammates an easy one. It’s going to be really hard to guard a guy who does what he does."

Vids

Game Recap

Postgame

Scott

Irving

Links

MMB | Tobocap MEDI-ogres, Burning Cities near you

There is a certain numbing regularity to Mavericks games these days. A first half where the Mavs make shots, look bad, make stupid turnovers, give up too many o-boards, steal their dad's thunderbird without asking, and let the other team hang around despite desperately bad shooting. A third quarter where the Mavs can't make a shot and the other team can, resulting in a reasonably sized deficit no matter how bad the opponent is. This spills into the fourth. The Mavs grittliy keep it close, with that champion grit, something they never should have had to do. They don’t keep it close enough. Not enough grit, probably.

And one more thing: If the Mavs don’t get the ball to Dirk more often, I will burn the city to the ground. If the Mavs don’t get the ball to Dirk more often, I will burn the city to the ground. If the Mavs don’t get the ball to Dirk more often, I will burn the city to the ground.

Fear the Sword

later in the day, maybe

Cavs the Blog Blurbs

The Cavs won the game tonight because they took 26 more shots than the Mavericks, a result of their 17 offensive boards (7 from Andy) and 21-9 turnover advantage (only 1 for Kyrie). Remove those advantages from the equation and consider that Cleveland shot 39.8% to Dallas’ 47.8%… Without Andy Varejao, tonight’s game isn’t close.

He is the heart of the team, and really, one of the stronger hearts in the league.

Cleveland.com Warm Welcome

After the Finals, Ohio Governor John Kasich proclaimed the Mavs "Ohioans for a day." "Wasn't that something?" said a grinning Nowitzki.

He showed up out of shape after the lockout and is down in most offensive categories, including a ghastly 18.4 percent from the three-point arc entering Saturday's game. Doesn't matter.

In a compressed season, an aging team like Dallas is a long shot to repeat, too. Doesn't matter.

What mattered is that Nowitzki stuck with his game and his self-belief, Dallas stuck with Nowitzki, and a heart-sore city 1,183 miles away came to cherish any memento at all with his name on it.

2MG's Difference

Unfortunately, this installment of The Difference will be a bit brief. An unfortunate DVR meltdown derailed my viewing of this game before it even began, making a full recap treatment a bit out of the question. But as I track down a copy of the game tape through alternative means (read: violate DRM a little), fill me in: What happened in this one and what does it mean?

A: Shit happend. It means Jack.

Hoopdata Boxscore

Mavs 15-17 at the Rim, Cavs 18-31. League Avg is 15-24. So there.......

Stats

FT-Watch

Brendan bricked three of five from the line. So far he is sporting a brickrate of 50%. Celebration for our third best Center, Beaches! [nsfw]

On the other Hand, Odom miss half his six Attempts, Wright two of his 3. No pressure, guys....

Rest

Outrebounded? Sure, 39-46 = Losing Number³

32 FG, 22 Assists for the Mavs. Liberal Scorekeepers!

Malus

Disclaimer: If you couldn't tell by now, all italic sentences are made up thoughts, not actual quotes. Also shoutout to Cavs.com, saved me an hour. I wish every teamsite would make the quotes as available.