What the Dallas Mavericks and the Detroit Pistons said
after Game Ten of the Perfect Season.
Quotes
Mavericks
Coach Carlisle
(On the Player of the Game) "It’s not often you have a guy on the floor that goes 9-for-10, but there’s a guy on the floor that’s actually the best player on the court. Delonte was the best player on the court because of his competiveness. That’s what we need right now. We need consistency as a team competitively and he set a great tone for us the last two games."
(On the Win) "It’s a road win that we haven’t had yet, so that’s really important to us. Momentum has been illusive for us, so we respect how tough it is competitively in this league right now. But our goal is to build on this."
(On Defense) "Well, defense helps everything. We had to stay with it, we were active and we were stance and we were making some good things happen. In fairness, this is a depleted team and it’s a game we should win, but you have to go out and do the right things and the guys did. So, it’s a positive step and tomorrow is another big challenge."
(On Yi) "Look, we like him as a prospect. I like his size, his skills. He's a hard playing guy, which is something that will always help any team, and we'll work with him."
(On Dirk getting out of his shooting slump) "We all had a feeling that he was going to play a great game tonight because the way the schedule is set up these last couple of days."
Dirk Nowitzki
(On the Game) "Definitely a good game for us offensively. I thought we started off well. Defensively, I think Delonte set a great tone for us, getting steals, being in the passing lanes, being active and that really rubbed over on everybody."
(On the Mavs) "I really like how we approached the game. We had a long meeting and a long shoot around this morning, and obviously that’s something we talked about, how we’ve got to compete on a consistent basis.But really, at the start of the season it’s not so much about who we’re playing, it’s more about us right now. About always playing hard, about competing on both ends of the floor."
(On the Start of the Game, 19-4) "If we do that, we’re very skilled, and we’ve got some older guys that know how to play. We’ve just got to compete a little harder on both ends of the floor, we’ve got to run harder on the break, and we’ve just got to get back on the break. I’m convinced it’s more about us right now and how we approach and how we play. So I really like what we did tonight."
(On Road Wins) "Obviously last year we were a great road team, never afraid to walk into any building, always capable of winning on the road. That’s what good teams do. Hopefully we can get back to being a great road team."
(On his shooting) "I definitely had a good rhythm at the beginning, after seeing the first couple go in."
Jason Terry
(On the Win) "We’re on the road, we will take it. We have a big game tomorrow night."
(On Delonte West) "He’s incredible. His energy we’ve been feeding off of it; obviously without Jason Kidd. I think that people forget about Delonte’s ability to run the team and play point guard. That’s what he was drafted as and he’s a good one."
(On Dirk Nowitzki) "Dirk developed a rhythm. He had he had his stroke going and we needed it."
(On next game against the Celtics) "These games are tough. These are the ones you put on your schedule. It’s like Miami, it’s like the Lakers, these are big games. This is what you like as a professional."
Shawn Marion
(On the Game) "We've had some rough ones, but tonight was a good one all around. Everybody was contributing, helping each other."
(On 13 Steals, 4 Blocks for the Mavs) "Tonight, we were on their heels. We were just trying to make it hard for them."
(On Yi) "He's another 7-footer that can face-up and play. He definitely can go to the basket, and we need that. The bigger the better. I like him. He's a smart player and he definitely can help us. He's definitely going to make us that much more deeper."
Brandan Wright
(On Hammertime) "I just ran the floor. Every time I get in the game with Jet he always say, "I’m going to look for you, man I’m going to look for you. You run the floor and I’m going to get it to you. He just tossed it up and I just made a play on the ball. I was flying down the court. I didn’t even see the replay myself. It was a good play. I’m glad he hit me, and it felt good."
Delonte West
(On the 5-5 Record) "We would love to be 10-0 right now. It’s a long season and you can’t get too high or too low on wins and losses until the losses start to hurt you once you get in the playoffs."
(On B2Bs) "That’s one thing you have to take advantage of this season, teams that are coming off of back-to-backs. You see across the league that those back-to-back-to-back games are wearing on teams. That’s what we did, we just took advantage. For us, we’re going in there tomorrow against a team that’s going to try and jump on us tomorrow, so it’s already forward thinking."
(On the Confusion of his White-House-Accessability & the Rants) "The Mavs were working diligently throughout the night to get my information down to the Secret Service or whatever it needed to get it done. At the time we did the interview I was just talking off the past situations. But at that time it was just the uncertainty with the case, not so much the background check. But in the past my case wasn’t figured out, so that’s why I wasn’t able to go in the past. So I was ranting on that. But the comments that I made in regards to the media, those are just parts of, maybe a long day. That’s all it is, man."
"At the end of the day, I did what I've done most of the time in my career, I dug myself into a hole and that's just not what I was trying to do. That's not the impression I'm trying to put out to the Dallas area.''
Pistons
Coach Frank
(On turnovers in the first quarter and assessing the game) "You can assess all aspects because it's something that we do, you look at the first 13 or 15 (points) were all off turnovers, so you have to assess why they happen, how they happen and try to correct them. It's obviously been a process; part of our fabric right now. It's obviously not something that we want to do, but we have to look at why and how to correct it. Three of them (turnovers) were early on post feeds so just the ability to move hands, to feed the post and for the guys slacking off you drive first to the middle and make them cut you off and then cross back over so that you can feed the post. It's a problem but it is also part of our plan."
(On if there was carry over from last night’s loss) "No I do not think it's a carry over. I think we played a quality opponent that had one road game; we did not have the same focus or energy that we had starting the game against Chicago. Players are quick to move on in this league, I just think we obviously did not do play as well but at the same time you have to give the opponent credit, we did not just give them the ball they took it."
(On how tonight’s game fit the big picture: "That is our job, we have to see the big picture. You look at it and break down every possession, from a game like that also seeing from a macro level and say ‘where are we going? What do we need to do to get where we want to go?’. This process may be very painful. There are no easy answers here; we have a lot of work (but) there’s no doubt in my mind that we will get it right. But, it won't just get right by getting right, it is going to take a lot of investment on all of our parts."
(On Frustration) "If we’re not frustrated by losing, whether it’s by one or by 21, you’re not a competitor. So I would hope everyone’s frustrated, but when you get frustrated, you’ve got two choices. You either fight harder and understand what you have to do. And the other choice isn’t an option."
Jonas Jerebko
(On what came out of tonight’s game) "Just got to think about Milwaukee; the next game. We have to learn from our mistakes this game and come back against Milwaukee and play like we want to play and like we should play."
(On 2 quick fouls trying to defend Dirk) "It got me out of my rhythm; let’s put it that way. But there’s nothing I can do about it."
(On turnovers) "You’ve got to take care of the ball to win games and turnovers are a big part of the game. You’ve got to take care of that ball and bounce back against Milwaukee."
(On the mood in the locker room) "We’re trying to keep our heads straight. It’s early in the season, there’s a lot of games left and we know how we can play, so we just have to stay positive. We’re going to get some wins. We’ve just got to stay together."
Vids
Moving the Ball the Wright Way
Game Recap
NBA.com Postchatter Pistons
Links
MMB | Bowecap More like it
Vince Carter grows more comfortable and useful by the game. Another solid night passing the ball (five assits) as Rick Carlisle is finding the right use for Carter's skill set and size. It will be hard for the Mavs to take Carter out of the lineup when Kidd returns, as Carter and Nowitzki on the court is creating havoc for defenses. The duo play off each other nicely and Carter is a more than willing facilitator in the pick and roll. Dirk and Carter played a majority of the minutes together and were a combined +75 tonight. Zoinks. (PS, It was also nice to see Carter's jumper return with him, as his percentage was hovering in the low 30s entering tonight. )
Detroit Bad Boys Sloppy gets blown (out)
Pick a stat and it was a horror show for the Pistons.
The Mavericks shot better than 55 percent for the game, including a poor-shooting fourth quarter that Dallas treated as garbage time. The Mavs starters combined to shoot 21-32, including a team-high 18 points for Dirk Nowitzki on 9-for-10 shooting.
The Pistons were outrebounded, outhustled, and just plain outclassed by the defending NBA champions.
SBNation Fansy Fans
If you look closely, you can see that the chill bros (and Vince Carter) are sitting in big, plush chairs, while West (and the rest of the Mavs) are sitting on folding chairs. Those plush chairs are VIP seats immediately next to the bench that anyone can buy -- so what's actually happening is that Carter is sitting in the stands, not fans sitting on the bench.
Piston Powered Cap Limpwristed
The Pistons five game blowout streak continued Tuesday, largely due to a familiar problem: turnovers. They turned the ball over xx times against Dallas.
Detroit is now averaging 18 turnovers per game over their last four. Against the Mavs, it was pretty easy to see why — the guards are terrible passers. Brandon Knight, Will Bynum and Ben Gordon all had turnovers because they consistently threw careless passes. One-handed bounce passes in traffic. One-handed floaters that were easily picked off by defenders. Passes at horrid angles into the post. Bounce passes when there should be lobs. Lobs when they should’ve thrown bounce passes.
TruebluePistons Downed by Dallas
White Hot -Fourteen seasons in, Dirk Nowitzki from 18 feet remains the surest thing in the NBA this side of a LeBron James breakaway dunk. The former MVP isn’t showing any signs of slippage – not, at least, if you polled the Pistons and the fans who watched him drop jump shots like layups in an 18-point, seven-rebound performance. Nowitzki shot 9 of 10 in just 27 minutes, a big reason why the Mavs shot 71 percent in the first quarter, 61 percent for the first half and 55 percent for the game in their 100-86 win over the Pistons. It was Detroit’s fifth straight loss and ends a brutal 10-game stretch to start the season that saw them play nine 2011 playoff teams. Lawrence Frank would surely say that it doesn’t really matter who they play, though, if they don’t tighten up their defense and stop turning the ball over. Nowitzki, though, rises above pretty much any defensive scheme, and even if his night was pedestrian by his standards, it reminded Pistons fans who get to see him in person just once a year why he’s been an elite player for more than a decade.
2MG's Difference
The Dallas Mavericks: still shooting terribly from beyond the arc. Vince Carter had himself a day (3-of-5) as a spot-up shooter, but the rest of the team combined to go just 1-for-10 on threes. Dallas is still creating quality looks on the perimeter, and eventually those open attempts will start following. Tuesday night just wasn’t in the cards, I suppose.
Hoopdata Boxscore
Dirk, a smooth +42 in 28 Minutes, had 7 FGs on 8 Attempts fom 16-23ft. For the Day, he trailed only Kobe in that category, who had 9 FGs. On 17 Tries.
Stats
FT-Watch
Haywood bricked three of six from the line. So far he is sporting a still solid brickrate slightly above 50%. Celebration for our
thirdbest Center, Beaches! [nsfw]On the other Hand, Dirk missed his lone FT. smh
Rest
Outrebounded? Surely not, 36-29, as DET stayed in the low 40s and Dallas in the mid 50s, percentagewise
38 FG, 28 Assists for the Mavs. Dem Ballmovers
Bonus
Disclaimer: If you couldn't tell by now, all italic sentences are made up thoughts, not actual quotes.