What the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers said
after Game Fourteen of the Perfect Season.
Quotes
Mavericks
Coach Carlisle
(On the defensive strategy on the Lakers’ last possession) "We made the decision to get the ball out of Bryant’s hands and we just didn’t get to him (Fisher) in time. We had the full intention of rotating over to him, but he got the shot off quick and he shot it high so we couldn’t get to it. He made a great shot."
(On Lamar Odom's first half) "I was happy for Lamar. I thought he played very well. It’s extremely difficult to come in and do what he did in the first half. He made his first two shots and made plays, and I was very proud of him. He’s been through a lot, but he’s really manned up here and we love him."
(On playing the Lakers for the 1st time since 2010-2011 playoffs) "It’s different. They’re a different team and we’re a different team so there’s not a whole lot there. They’re playing a different style of defense pick and roll wise which is a big adjustment. They’re personnel is different. They’ve got three or four guys in the rotation that weren’t there last year. They’ve got a new coach, and of course they still have some of the same great players. For me this wasn’t like a rematch from the playoffs."
(On the Loss) "We competed well in the game, but you have to make more plays on the road against a team like this. We had a lot of opportunities we didn’t cash in on. We had uncharacteristic turnovers in uncharacteristic times. When that happens, on the road especially, it’s going to make it tougher. We battled our butts off, I love that. We’re going to keep battling, but this is a tough trip and all of the games are going to be like this."
Dirk Nowitzki
(On the Game Brickfest) "Both teams, it was just an ugly game. Shots didn’t fall. I think where we lost it was the beginning of the fourth where we stopped them five, six, seven times straight and that’s where we should have gotten some separation. We should have gone up 10 points but we just couldn’t get anything to drop."
(On the last defensive play) "We knew we wanted to run at Kobe. We were kind of hoping they put him on the wing, so we could rotate, rotate, rotate. But they put him at top, so Jason Terry ran at him and I rotated a little harder knowing that Fisher made a lot of big shots in his career. I didn’t want to overrun him and give something easier up, but you have to give him credit. It was a heck of a heck of a shot by him, and that’s what he does, he makes game-winning shots every now and then."
(On Legs) "I said it earlier, there are so many games and we are a jump-shooting team. All teams are going to eventually have games where just nothing seems to go, your legs are gone. You just have to fight through and find other ways to score; get to the basket, get to the foul line."
(On Carters last shot) "I actually thought Vince had a great look, had a dribble right, had great elevation and it just happened to be a little long. But he got a good look."
(On Carter's injury) "It would be tough [to play without him], he's kind of instant offense off the bench. We were posting him some, we were running some high screen-and-rolls, he's a good shooter to spread the floor for us, so that would definitely, definitely hurt us. But, I think this team is deep enough."
Jason Kidd
(On the Game) "Man, we’re setting records, both ways, probably. I thought we were competing at both ends, but sometimes you’ve got to make shots in this league, and we just couldn’t do it tonight. It was one of those NFC kind of games,just hand off the ball and run. It was just an ugly game, but, you want to win those ugly games. We just couldn’t make a shot and they made the big shot at the end."
(On the Mavs' offensive struggles tonight) "We couldn’t make a shot in the fourth. We couldn’t make a shot pretty much the whole night. I thought defensively we were competing. Sometimes you have to make shots too in this league and we just couldn’t do it tonight."
(On the Season) "It's a lot of basketball and you're going to have some games that are extremely ugly and this is one of them. We couldn't throw it in the Pacific and we still had a chance to win. That being said, we just got to stay focused and keep playing and stay together."
Shawn Marion
(On Losing a game where the Lakers score 73) "It's frustrating, especially since we should have won this. But, it is what it is. We've got to learn from it and just get better."
Vince Carter
(On his sprained left foot) "I stepped wrong and it popped. It's not broken, but it's swollen."
Lamar Odom
(On if losing hurts - yes, no, maybe?) "Anytime, especially if it’s against your guys; guys you went to battle with. Anytime you lose a close game it hurts."
(On being traded and the difficulty of coming back here and playing) "I mean it happens and it happened. I don’t want to take anything away from my time here, but in order for me to succeed, I have to move on. I plan on succeeding in this next chapter in my life, so you have to move on no matter what."
(On Fisher's Three) "I've seen that before."
Lakers
Coach Brown
(On the Lakers defense impacting the Mavericks offense) "Obviously the Mavericks are a good defensive team and I think we’re heading in that direction, in terms of being a good defensive team. They missed some shots. They had some open looks. You look at a Dallas team that shoots 39% and scores 70 points; you have to be doing a little something right defensively. They’re great shooters and I know they probably missed some, but I applaud my guys for trying to defend the right way."
(On the Lakers Offense) "They're still learning. For instance, I put in three new plays on Sunday. I put them in because I feel like they're better for our team than what we've been doing. So, that may continue to happen from time to time until I put my thumb on it and have a great feel not only for where Kobe needs the ball, but where everybody else needs the ball to be effective."
(On the Defense) "I like the fact that if we don’t score we can still win games because eventually we are going to score and we’re going to score at an efficient clip. So for me that’s exciting and hopefully our guys understand that we can win ugly games, we can win pretty games, we can win high tempo games, however you want to bring it we can get down that way."
(On Derek Fisher) "He’s a professional obviously and he always keeps himself ready. It was a little tough for him this summer because of all the stuff he was doing with the labor stuff but he’s slowly getting back in shape and starting to understand what we want on both ends of the floor. It’s hard work as of late and it really paid off today."
Kobe Bryant
(On playing against Lamar Odom) "It was just like practice."
(On fouling in the last seconds of a game) "It depends on who’s on the floor and it depends on the rhythm of the game. A lot of it depends on who’s on the floor."
(When will we see the Offense at 100%?) "The next game. The next game."
Andrew Bynum
(On Derek Fisher’s performance) "Oh man, he was great, especially down the stretch. He got one steal against Kidd and then he hit the three, and he got a bucket before he got on the opposite side of the court. He came up big tonight."
(On Derek Fisher, Lategame Option #1) "He definitely is able to make big shots, it’s something that he’s always done throughout his career. He’s on the same quest level as Kobe and he’s always able to lock down big shots."
Derek Fisher
(On 13 Points) "For me, and for a lot of guys on our team, it’s just an opportunity thing in terms of letting the game unfold. You know, I’m not a volume shooter, I’m not going to get a lot of shots, but I’ve just got to stay ready and be there to help my team. With Steve Blake out, I’m getting more minutes in the fourth quarter, and I’m just glad I was able to help the team win tonight."
(On his winning three-pointer) "Uhm....yeah.... It’s what I do. When opportunities like that present themselves, you know, I’m confident in my abilities to just step up and make the right play, whether it’s making the shot or making the read that creates something for someone else."
(On Kobe passing the ball to him) "I don't think he knew I was going to shoot it, but he trusted me to make the right play. I wouldn't want to be within 100 yards of him had i missed."
(On both teams’ bricking) "Some nights it’s like that. I think us and the Mavericks have played the most games in the league to start the season, but we’re two of the most experienced teams. So to have our fourteenth and fifteenth game in 20-21 days, you probably can’t be too surprised that it was a little bit sloppy and a little bit ugly. These are games that as we’re trying to improve and make progress and get comfortable with what Coach wants from us, you have to figure out how to win."
(On HIS bricking before hitting the three) "You just have to try and block out as much as possible the way the overall game is flowing and really try and zone in on your impact on the game."
(On the Offense) "We're a big-time work in progress. Offensively, we're really, really struggling. We have to find a way to be more efficient on the offensive end. We're thinking about what we're doing. We're thinking on the offensive end, and until we stop thinking on the floor offensively, we're going to continue to struggle.""
Vids
Odomovation (Well done, Crowd)
The Man with a Rug said YES to the Man without one.
Game Recap
Postgame
Brown on Gasol's DonDirk
Kobe
Fisher
Links
MMB | Bowecap Loose Move
Dirk Nowitzki finally showed signs of life, scoring 21 and making 8 of his last 11 shots.
Everybody else on both teams was terrible. [The End]
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I hated everything about this game. There’s no way that Brendan Haywood is unaware that there is not now, nor has there ever been, any reason for him to move with the ball, ever, at any point, even if the ball is itself an atomic bomb and he is moving it away from my children.
Even then, he would presumably brick it off the side of the backboard and on to my children so whatever.
I don’t have children.
I hated the fact that the announcers apparently felt that preparing for this game wasn’t remotely in their job description. It was with mounting incredulity that we all listened, again and again, as they mentioned the Mavs defense weakness in a first half that ended 39-35, and a 3rd quarter in which the Mavs outscored the Lakers 16-7.
SilverscreenandRoll Don't puke too quick | Derek Fisher Highlight Tour, brought to you by Prudential
The Lakers just barely put away an opponent that couldn't shoot or sometimes even complete a pass. Quality of play-wise, the game was poop
Do you believe in miracles??? Never mind... that would be overstating things wildly. Tonight's Lakers win, 73 to 70 over the Dallas Mavericks, was sludgy and gross for all but about 12 seconds.
Forumblueandgold Derek Fisher is Derek Fisher
Honorable mention #1 goes to the Laker defense and, specifically, the late game D of Pau Gasol on Dirk. Much was made of how Dirk ate Pau’s lunch last spring and those critiques are fair. Dirk was a monster in that series and Pau had front row seats. Tonight though, in the closing minutes, it was different. Pau knew all of Dirk’s pet moves and made his life tremendously difficult. Pau sat on his right shoulder and forced him to his left. Whenever Dirk would step back Pau would read it perfectly and step into his shooting pocket, arms extended, and give the big German no room to get off that deadly jumper. When you look at Dirk’s final line (8-17, 21 points) you’d probably think that the D was only average. You’d be wrong, though. Pau gave an inspired effort down the stretch and deserves his kudos. Without that D, the Lakers may end up losing this game as Dirk definitely had his jumper going after not being able to buy a bucket early.
Land o' Lakers Warm Welcome, Cold Night | K-Bros Replay, Postgame stuff
What would the crowd reaction be when Lamar Odom checked into the game wearing a Mavs uniform?
The answer to the last question is that Lakers fans were the loudest they've been all season outside of a "We want tacos!" chant, showering Odom with a hearty and lengthy standing ovation in the first quarter.
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Before the game, Brown was asked what his ideal offensive chemistry would look like.
"Kobe getting 25 points … [Andrew] Bynum getting 22 points … Pau [Gasol] getting 20 points … Fish [Derek Fisher] getting 12 points … Metta [World Peace] getting 15 points …" the coach rattled off.
After a game in which only one of those five reached those marks (Fisher, with 13) and the Lakers shot just 38.2 percent, Brown's remarks sound as preposterous as LeBron James' infamous stated championship goal of, "Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four. Not five. Not six. Not seven."
It wasn't much fun to watch, not until the end at least, but when it was over the Lakers had a three point win. Better to describe it that way than give the final score, because 73-70 just isn't appropriate for an NBA game.
This is what you get when two teams have played a combined 29 games over the course of about 22 days.
Lakers Basketblog Running Diary
"Ugly" probably doesn’t suffice to describe the offense in the first quarter.
A better second quarter for L.A. ended with a 24-17 margin, turning a three-point first quarter deficit into a 39-35 lead at the break.
How close was this to the worst offensive quarter in Lakers history?
We mentioned that big spark Fisher gave in the middle of the quarter … and he sure knew how to put a big cherry on top by, with three seconds on the clock in a tie game, pulling up for a game-winning three-pointer after Bryant passed out of a double team.
2MG's Difference (didn't take very long)
Poor shooting is the great equalizer, and though one could certainly build a case in support of the defensive efforts of either team, I have a hard time seeing this outing as anything other than Dallas and Los Angeles attempting to out-miss one another. I guess the Mavs won.
Marion was given the impossible assignment of defending Kobe Bryant in the midst of one of his crusades, and yet he limited Bryant to 14 points on 22 shots with four turnovers. Plenty of other Mavericks factored into that shoddy statistical line, but Marion was the wall denying Bryant from quality attempts, whether by getting an outstretched hand in his face or by controlling the ways in which Bryant got his touches in the first place. Gasol played some pretty questionable defense against Dirk Nowitzki in the first half, but somehow managed to keep a rooted base on all of Dirk’s second-half shot fakes. Considering how potent a shooter Nowitzki is (or, in light of recent struggles, can be), that’s pretty outstanding. Gasol shuffled, played the spins, dodged the fakes, used his length, walled the paint, and made the isolation offense that earned the Mavericks a championship last season into a losing affair. No team in last year’s postseason came even close to matching what Gasol did on Monday night, and though Nowitzki didn’t quite approximate his playoff self, that kind of singular defensive impact is worth noting — and appreciating.
Hoopdata Boxscore
Long 2PT-Jumpers Kobe: 3 of 12, Dirk 4 of 9, Lakers 8-27, Mavs 9-20. If it weren't for those longer threes.....
Stats
FT-Watch
Brendan bricked one of two from the line. So far he is sporting a weak brickrate below 57%. Celebration for our
thirdbest Center, Beaches! [nsfw]On the other Hand, every Dallas Player that too FTs missed at least one, mostly going 1-2.
Rest
Outrebounded? Nope, 49-44
28 FG, 16 Assists for the Mavs. It's like Jason Kidd didn't return at all. Then again, he missed 8 Threes.
Malus
Disclaimer: If you couldn't tell by now, all italic sentences are made up thoughts, not actual quotes.