What the Dallas Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers had to say
after the Game of the Underachiever and the Overachiever.
(Guess who is who...)
Looks good? - Well, if you disregard the higher Goals, maybe.
But still, it gets you outscored by a dozen.
KneeJerk Recap (TM) Jonthefon v1.25 (we're waiting)
The Mavs (
beat/lost to) [the Indiana Pacers ]¹ tonight (thanks to/despite) Dirk’s limited awesomeness at the sidelines. The (cloud in the silver lining/major culprit)once moreas usual was the lack of support from his team-mates, with the exception of Tyson Chandler/Jason Kidd². Especially useless was Jason Terry/Brian Cardinal/Jose Barea/Shawn Marion/Brendan Haywood³ and it is (GUESS WHAT) THEY’RE ALMOSTNOTALL USELESS.
¹ Inserted Opponent
² Only one of them, mind you.
³ Two at the minimum, up to all five of them.
Quotes
MAVS
Coach Carlisle
(On using Excuses) "We don’t have Dirk, so it’s not a topic that’s worth discussion. We’ve got to win with the guys we have."
(On Indiana's Game) "They played well. George Paul and Rush Brandon were the two guys that really hurt us. You have to give them credit for their shot making. You know your defense can always be better. Right now for us I think the key word is precise. We just have to be so precise in everything we do. For instance we only had 12 turnovers and it leads 14 points and that’s a huge number. Everything that happens, every possession is precious. We just have to keep pushing. "
(On the Pacers) "I like the team a lot, I do. What Larry’s done, they are extremely well positioned financially cap-wise. They’ve got a terrific young nucleus of players. Granger’s an All-Star. Their bigs are really good and solid and will get better, and their wing players ripped us tonight. Their point guards are really good too."
(On starting Lex) "Length is one of the strengths of our team. Ajinca has been practicing well. He’s a guy that can shoot the ball and stretch the floor. He gave us some good minutes to start the game. He’s a young player that needs a shot. He got one tonight. And as we move forward, everybody is live for an opportunity."
(On loose Balls) "That hurt. And again, it’s just that extra inch. We were this close to getting that extra rebound and being in transition, and they’d get a longer fingernail on it than us and then they’d get the ball back. And the thing is right now, when shots aren’t falling, we can’t allow that kind of frustration to carry over defensively. So far, we do. We’ve got to keep playing and we’ve got to keep getting stops. That’s what the game is about for us."
(Conclusion) "We can do better. I think from the film we’ll find that there are some areas where you can always try a little harder. And hey, we’ve just got to keep pushing forward with the group we’ve got."
Jason Kidd
Rush: "Robbery! Help! Call the Police[nsfw]!"
(On the difference in the game) "We couldn’t make shots when we needed it. And on the other side we couldn’t get stops when we needed it. That's a bad combination. The Pacers made shots. They moved the ball and they got big scores when they needed them, especially in the fourth quarter. So, they were the better team tonight."
(On the absence of Dirk Nowitzki) "We are all professionals. We are a veteran ball club. No one in this room is panicking. We just have to be patient and wait for him to get back. No one likes to talk about it. The fact is he draws so much attention when he is out on the floor that we all get better looks because of it. Also, his offense helps our defense tremendously. The bigger picture is it will just make us a better team when he does get back because we're getting a lot of shots that are contested, and when he's on the floor, we get wide-open looks. It will just make us a better team when he does get back. Right now, we’re not making as many shots with him not on the floor."
(On the Pacers) "They’ve got a lot of young talent. They’ve got a good coach. This is a great basketball city and as time will push forward they can be an elite team once again."
(On moving into 3rd place alltime made threes) "The big thing is I’m starting to hit shots, which I haven’t done all season. This is a good time to start making shots and help my teammates out as much as possible."
Shawn Marion
"Hmm, if i pass the ball now, do i get it back?....Decisions, decisions..."
(On the game) "They just made the shots. I think we were playing good defense in stretches, but we weren’t able to sustain it. They hit big shots when they needed to. And we weren’t able to close the gap."
(On the Pacers offensive rebounding at critical times) "We weren’t coming up with loose balls. They were getting every loose ball. Everything was bouncing their way."
(On loose Balls lost) "Long rebounds, it was tough. We weren’t able to come up with the loose balls. They were getting every loose ball and everything was bouncing their way."
(On where the Mavs’ scoring will come from with Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler out) "Everybody. We have people who can score on this team. We’ve been very effective this season when everybody is contributing. You can see the balance on this team."
(On San Antonio next) "It is what it is. We know what we’ve got to do and we know what we’re capable of. The last time we played San Antonio at home we were right there until like the last couple of minutes of the game. We know what they’re gonna do, we know how they match up with us, and we’ve just got to go out there and get it done."
Jason 'Cropduster' Terry
(On the Game, Cpt. Obvious) "They made shots, we didn’t. That’s the ballgame."
(On the Spurs next) "It’s a tough game. It’s gonna be a tough game if Nowitzki goes or if he doesn’t. So, pistols loaded, excuse my language, but I’m cocked and ready to go and play like a Mason."
PACERS
COACH JIM O'BRIEN
(On winning two straight) "It’s two quality back-to-back wins for our team. I’m proud of the intensity and effort put forth the last two games. Jeff Foster was terrific. The small line-up opens up the court for us and we want to make it as difficult as possible to guard us. "
(On Paul George) "He is shooting with confidence and he’s in and out defensively. But by and large I thought he was very good defensively tonight. He can shoot it. He is going to be a terrific basketball player. I thought we had two very good fourth quarters the last two night, taking good shots, getting stops and being unselfish. I’ve seen good signs in every game in 2011 except in Atlanta."
Paul George
"9 Shots, 16 Points. This is how we do it, right Darren?"
(On his game) "Other nights, I would have been hesitant to shoot the ball. Tonight, I just wanted to play with confidence. I know within myself, if I play with confidence, I'll start getting into a flow, and that's what happened tonight."
(On his season) "As a rookie I have been able to sit on the bench and to follow the movement of Brandon Rush, Danny Granger and others. I stay after practice to get a little extra work so that when I get in I am able to contribute. I try to improve my game every day in all aspects."
(On Jason Kidd) "We knew he was a great player. We knew he moved well without the ball and it was going to be a tough assignment for us. I feel pretty good as to where I am today."
Brandon Rush
(On the Pacers) "We must keep working and practicing helping each other out and string back to back wins together and move on. We definitely defended well tonight."
(On the offense) "We took what they gave us. They gave enough, thanks Rick! We must move forward with these two wins to play Chicago Friday and hopefully go on the road on a positive note."
Danny Granger
"As you can see, things got ugly in the 2nd half."
(On the game) "We defended well, which resulted in turnovers and some points. We had good movement in the fourth quarter and did not bog down as we have in the past. We were ready, focused and I think ready to get more wins if we play the way we did tonight. Dallas is a good basketball team and they have some good players. At least that's what i've read in the papers."
Vids
Game Recap
Links
Hoopdata Boxscore (The Mavs got beat at what they were good the whole season w/ Dirk: the long 2pointer-game. Craaaaaaazaaaayyy)
2MG's Difference
Indy Cornrows Recap
8Points,9Seconds Recap
FT-Watch
Chandler bricked two of 9, Haywood one of 2 from the line. Celebration for our third-best Center, Beaches! [nsfw]
20-20-4 Watch
Chandler 13-9-3 in 35 Minutes. Haywood 1-4-1 in 8 Minutes. Mahinmi 2-2-0 in 5 Minutes. Will they ever do it?
PIP-Boy
Chandler with 4 Points and 7 FTs. IND 18, DAL 26 Points in the Paint. Allergic?
Bonus
"If you need me as an excuse, take a ticket and wait in line. The Mavs players are still occupying that spot."
Disclaimer: If you couldn't tell by now, all italic sentences are made up thoughts, not actual quotes. Also, this year's dropoff looks a lot like last years....