Warriors/Mavs Thoughts - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

ddh33 · 04-13-2006, 12:10 AM

That was pathetic, embarassing, and even predictable. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the fourth seed. Now, the only question is who will be #5. That's significant too, I believe. Matchups matter in this league. These Warriors play against the Mavs should be proof of that.

It's amazing to me that guys like Monta Ellis and Ike Diogu get more respect than Dirk. I don't know what to say about it. I know the Warriors were more aggressive tonight, but it's still surprising to see a player who is so good get so little respect from the officials.

I want to re-emphasize though that the Warriors were the more aggressive, better team. I honestly thought that three of the four best players on the floor tonight were in Golden State unis.

I thought Dirk was the only Mavs to show up. He had 15 points on 8 shots in the first quarter. He didn't take another shot until there was 2:50 on the clock in the second quarter. How does that happen? Seriously, guys couldn't hit the ocean from the shore, but they kept shooting. Meanwhile, the only guy who has done anything is being ignored. I thought that was one of the turning points in the game, believe it or not, even if it was early.

How many times have you ever watched a team score on 11 straight shot attempts and lose a double digit lead? Until tonight, I don't think I ever had. That's when I knew this game was over. Dallas has a nice lead in the third quarter, and they start drilling shots everywhere. The only problem is that they forgot to guard anyone.

By the way, I think a real problem that these Mavs have is a lack of discipline. When this team starts shooting well against a team that isn't known for their defense of strong play, they drift out. I can't explain it, and I can't understand it, but they do. It's happened too many times this season, and when this team is #4 despite their great effort through injuries and everything else, they can blame themselves for that.

Jason Terry, Josh Howard, and the Maverick centers were all goats in the game tonight. Terry has struggled against Golden State in every game, it seems. Perhaps my memory is just playing tricks on me, but I'm too tired to see if I'm right. Terry shot poorly, but I was most disappointed in the way he ran the team. Maybe I should say how he didn't run the team. The offense was sloppy and ugly (again). I can handle missed shots. I don't like seeing stupid turnovers and awful possessions where no one is in the rtight place and things don't get going until late. That's all I've seen so far on this road trip.

Josh Howard worked his way to nice stats, but it's misleading. Josh struggled with his shooting, and he wasn't able to pick up the slack as well in other areas.

The Maverick centers were just awful tonight. Again, it seems like they have been bad in every Warrior game this year. I remember Foyle gettiing some big baskets against them early in the year. Tonight, Diogu just killed them. Diogu is impressive, by the way.

Actually, does tonight's game actually hurt Mike Montgomery more than it helps? Why can't his team play better more often?

I'm not even going to take the time to talk about everyone else. It was just a very poorly played game by the Mavs. They were sloppy. They were careless. They lacked energy. They got beat for the third time by a lesser team. And that's why they are fourth in the West...

orangedays · 04-13-2006, 12:20 AM

*expletive*

Murphy3 · 04-13-2006, 12:23 AM

It's not good when your TO's is higher than total number of defensive rebounds + blocked shots + assists + steals...
Name that player...

nashtymavsfan13 · 04-13-2006, 12:34 AM

I really hate this loss, and man am I gonna hear about it tomorrow. I live in CA

spurs4life · 04-13-2006, 01:11 AM

How are the Mavs gonna make any noise in the playoffs when you lose to those scrubs? You foul diogu on a THREE pointer at the end? And allow two rookies to completely dismantle you?

Haha, what a god damn joke the Mavericks are.

EricaLubarsky · 04-13-2006, 01:39 AM

LOL, spurs4life thinks a game matters. Spurs lost to Oklahoma and Atlanta

irontoad · 04-13-2006, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nashtymavsfan13

I really hate this loss, and man am I gonna hear about it tomorrow. I live in CA

Yep, I can sympathize, one of my coworkers is a warriors fan... woohoo!!

Just211 · 04-13-2006, 07:39 AM

thank god we don't play them in the playoffs. Some teams just have your #. and apparently GS has ours.
Good thing is, maybe it'll open some eyes, and get us focused on making the Suns game 2nite, a statement game

And by statement, I mean a good statement.

dude1394 · 04-13-2006, 07:49 AM

So I just read the postgame comments. AJ was quite a bit dejected about all of this. Saying no one came to play, he didn't coach well, etc.,etc.

Well I'm going to have to agree with him on it. He didn't coach well. I don't think you are telling your team to lay it all out there when you seem to be playing for the next night. I just don't think you are giving your team the right attitude when you sit guys like dirk for almost 6 full minutes in the second period and then he gets 3 shots.

To me that's saying, lets' get this one over with because tommorrow night is going to be tough. I just don't get it. Very poor job imo of not understanding that the game in front of you is the most important, not the next one.

kg_veteran · 04-13-2006, 08:52 AM

"We had no energy, no emotion, no concentration, just nothing. We were disinterested in playing basketball tonight." - Avery Johnson

I've got to agree with you, dude. A lot of that falls on the coach.

sixeightmkw · 04-13-2006, 09:27 AM

Bad game, this can't be blamed on the coach. This is theplayers fault. oh well. And Spurs fan can suck it. I guess he forgot about the game last week. And the loss to Atlanta. I love how the spurs think the Mavs suck. I don't think the spurs suck, they are a great team. They are so bitter.

V2M · 04-13-2006, 09:47 AM

That's what I was thinking watching the game... except for the MVP, no one came to play... not even the coach!

GS had nothing to play for, came in with a 9 game losing streak AND they were on the 2nd night of a B2B. Dallas had no business losing that game but we did so in such a fashion, I hope everyone get's a serious wake-up kick from this.

jacktruth · 04-13-2006, 09:59 AM

This game reminded me of Mavs-Kings games 2 years ago: The Mavs had no defense and played run and gun. The Kings (who were not a great defensive team) responded by abandoning defense. The Mavs had better offense and won.

This GS team is custom-made to beat the mavs. They run and run and run. They shoot fast. They jump high. When pumped for this game, they shoot well. The Mavs try to go to old-Mav mode and just don't have the offense for it anymore. It's the same reason the Lakers play us so well.

This team is just too fast, young, and athletic for the mavs to handle. The Mavs don't yet have enough defensive presense to force thier will. The Mavs improved defense shows against defensive oriented teams that don't have the offense to keep up.

Great win for the Warriors. I'm glad we won't face them in the playoffs.

MavsFanFinley · 04-13-2006, 10:16 AM

Mavericks Head Coach Avery Johnson

This is one of the most disappointing games that I have been a part of as Maverick coach.

We didn’t get our defense set, they were loosey goosey, playing free, playing easy, no pressure. We knew that coming in- that is what happens in these situations. I am highly disappointed because every single time we have a game like this I have to say I failed. I have been waiting for 79 games to get some internal leadership and I haven’t gotten it yet. 79 games and it’s very disappointing. This is one of the most disappointing losses that I have been a part of as Maverick coach. At the same time it’s my fault. Same thing you always get, it’s my fault ultimately.

Just blame me like we always do, blame me.

We had no energy, no emotion, no concentration, just nothing. We were disinterested in playing basketball tonight. We didn’t earn our paycheck. We need to give Mark Cubin a rebate, all of us. We need to give him a rebate on the amount of money he is paying us. But it’s not always about winning and losing, but we didn’t earn it.

sixeightmkw · 04-13-2006, 10:24 AM

wow, I like that

island_dude · 04-13-2006, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spurs4life

How are the Mavs gonna make any noise in the playoffs when you lose to those scrubs? You foul diogu on a THREE pointer at the end? And allow two rookies to completely dismantle you?

Haha, what a god damn joke the Mavericks are.

If that's the case it makes the Spurs look like a bigger joke for losing to them at home in the last game.

Bookit · 04-13-2006, 11:54 AM

Terry need to pull his head out of his ass quick. The playoffs are only a week away and his play, on both ends, sucks. We know he can play defense as he did agains Tonly Parker. But Devin can't get back quickly enough.

rabbitproof · 04-13-2006, 11:57 AM

Avery is talking about some self-accountability.

vjz · 04-13-2006, 12:09 PM

The Warriors have our number. Three losses out of four, two at home! Glad we won't see them in the playoffs.

It was the same thing with the Clips last year... just coudn't beat them.

Five-ofan · 04-13-2006, 12:41 PM

The mavs lost this game. I want that to be clear. The officials didnt give it to GS and thats not what im saying but every official who worked that game needs to be fired. They dont even need to ref jr high games. Good god that was pathetic. There were at least 4 shots that dirk CLEARLY got fouled on with no calls. Diogu on the other hand got kobe treatment. Newsflash mr official. When both teams are on the other end and the guy doesnt even think he got fouled he didnt fucking get fouled.

On a happier note this game didnt matter. The mavs werent gonna catch the spurs and they still arent.

TheBlueVan · 04-13-2006, 02:52 PM

if we win in phx tonight, i will feel much better. i dont think this loss hurts as much as the orlando loss 2 weeks ago. the warriors do play old-school mavs on us tho...i think if we had devin to handle the ball instead of marquis (who i really dont like to see at the point) we would have played much better

kriD · 04-13-2006, 04:13 PM

Johnson: 'We didn't earn our paycheck'

04:04 PM CDT on Thursday, April 13, 2006

By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News

PHOENIX – Almost 24 hours have passed and not one player or coach has offered to give owner Mark Cuban a rebate.

That doesn't mean the reverberations from Wednesday's loss to Golden State are over.

Johnson didn't go ballistic as he did after a loss to Orlando nearly two weeks earlier. But he did go passive-aggressive, suggest Cuban would be within his rights to garnish wages and question the team's leadership.

The last charge was the most provocative and holds implications heading into the playoffs.

"I'm going to stop saying every time we have games like this that I failed," Johnson said after a 114-102 loss to the Warriors. "Every single time we have a game like this, I've got to always say I've failed. I've been waiting for 79 games to get some internal leadership.

"I haven't gotten it yet."

No names were mentioned. But his words were clearly intended for Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse.

Nowitzki didn't appear upset when told of Johnson's comments, but preferred not to comment in the wake of such a disappointing loss.

"It just wasn't there," Cuban said. "We're going to have to have Dirk and Jet (Terry) and Stack kick everyone in the butt and say, 'OK, it's time to wake up.' That's where I trust those guys and I trust Avery.

"They are leaders on this team. They're not screamers on the court. They're communicators, put it that way. I think what Avery is saying is that in the playoffs, it (the leadership) is going to have to be there."

And Johnson said much more, lamenting how his team had, "no energy, no emotion, no concentration" in losing to the Warriors for the third time this season. He said he would take the blame, "like I always do," then made it clear he thought it should be shared.

"We didn't earn our paycheck," Johnson said. "We need to give Mark Cuban a rebate, all of us."

Cuban's response?

"I'll take it," the owner said. "He's right. There wasn't a sense of urgency out there."

Cuban sat in a closed-door meeting with the coaching staff for close to 20 minutes after the loss. The players were subdued, knowing the loss will likely prevent them from catching San Antonio for the top seed in the Western Conference. They echoed Johnson's disappointment heading into tonight's game against Phoenix.

But what about giving back part of their paycheck?

"If that's possible, sure," Nowitzki said.

Stackhouse had a different reaction.

"I ain't giving Mark nothing back," he said with a smile. "I mean, everybody knows Avery, man. You know what he means by what he's saying."

Murphy3 · 04-13-2006, 04:18 PM

I hate stacwhore.. Get that dumb f' out of here.

Milles · 04-13-2006, 04:44 PM

Could it be that the Mavs were looking beyond the Warriors, to the Suns. They got a nice lead, put it in cruise control and the couldn't get back in gear? Were they mentally saving themselves for the Suns game?

Nemesis · 04-13-2006, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milles

Could it be that the Mavs were looking beyond the Warriors, to the Suns. They got a nice lead, put it in cruise control and the couldn't get back in gear? Were they mentally saving themselves for the Suns game?

Huh?

kriD · 04-13-2006, 05:51 PM

Milles is right. It was the less important game of a back-to-back, so they were trying to save some energy (including AJ). It's the usual thing you do on those moronic B2Bs but of course nobody admits it. In this case it didn't work out but if they win against the Suns the whole discussion will die out quickly anyway.

Nemesis · 04-13-2006, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kriD

Milles is right. It was the less important game of a back-to-back, so they were trying to save some energy (including AJ). It's the usual thing you do on those moronic B2Bs but of course nobody admits it. In this case it didn't work out but if they win against the Suns the whole discussion will die out quickly anyway.

I don't buy it. The Mavs had to win every game. It doesn't matter if they beat the Suns when they lose to Golden State. Any coach or player who thinks this way is asking for it. I don't think Avery or the players are that idiotic.

dude1394 · 04-13-2006, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blab's Nemesis

I don't buy it. The Mavs had to win every game. It doesn't matter if they beat the Suns when they lose to Golden State. Any coach or player who thinks this way is asking for it. I don't think Avery or the players are that idiotic.

Well it looked like avery was coaching that way.

TheBlueVan · 04-13-2006, 08:57 PM

so are we just in that bad of shape?

Murphy3 · 04-13-2006, 09:37 PM

No, they lost a game...

Nemesis · 04-13-2006, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dude1394

Well it looked like avery was coaching that way.

We (people outside of the NBA) don't have a clue as to how players, coaches, ball boys, and mop crews think and act in their circles. All we have is perception and opinion which is based off of our emotions. Emotions that make us all sound like complete idiots when we try and think what is going on VS reality in the NBA. We should just enjoy the game. Stop trying to predict when Dirk is gonna take his next dump.

Murphy3 · 04-13-2006, 10:31 PM

What in the hell are you talking about?

dude1394 · 04-13-2006, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blab's Nemesis

We (people outside of the NBA) don't have a clue as to how players, coaches, ball boys, and mop crews think and act in their circles. All we have is perception and opinion which is based off of our emotions. Emotions that make us all sound like complete idiots when we try and think what is going on VS reality in the NBA. We should just enjoy the game. Stop trying to predict when Dirk is gonna take his next dump.

I'm not going off of emotion you knucklehead and to be honest you can kiss my ass. What I was talking about was the way that AJ changed his normal substitution patterns that looked as if he was trying to save some energy for tonights game. If you don't think so then say so. But you are obviously just making posts based on perception and emotion because you don't have a clue how I think and act in my circles. You should just enjoy the message board and quite trying to predict when I'm going to take my next dump.

Nemesis · 04-13-2006, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dude1394

I'm not going off of emotion you knucklehead and to be honest you can kiss my ass. What I was talking about was the way that AJ changed his normal substitution patterns that looked as if he was trying to save some energy for tonights game. If you don't think so then say so. But you are obviously just making posts based on perception and emotion because you don't have a clue how I think and act in my circles. You should just enjoy the message board and quite trying to predict when I'm going to take my next dump.

AYE AYE, SIR! i CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE SPLASH

orangedays · 04-14-2006, 12:28 AM

You are such a clown. Why do you even come here?

kriD · 04-14-2006, 04:45 AM

Don't push, General, just pass the hat

By GIL LEBRETON
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

The General couldn't get through to their heads Wednesday night. So Avery Johnson aimed below their belts.

To their pockets and money clips.

"We didn't earn our paycheck," the head coach said after the Mavericks' listless 114-102 loss to Golden State.

"We need to give Mark Cuban a rebate. All of us."

A bad game tax. I like it.

"I'll take it," Cuban said after the game. He thought his coach was right.

Hopefully, the owner doesn't lose any sleep waiting at the ATM. The word "rebate" isn't in the NBA dictionary.

The numbers might be slightly off, but a one-game bad game tax would cost Dirk Nowitzki an estimated $168,818. Erick Dampier would have to cough up around $105,640.

Jerry Stackhouse's one-game assessment would be $102,038. Jason Terry would have to hand back around $81,300.

And while Cuban's passing the hat, injured Keith Van Horn might want to rebate his one-game check of -- brace yourself -- $191,393.

It'll never happen, of course. What Avery wants is for his team to feel the anger, if not heed the suggestion.

Johnson's message couldn't be plainer. He believes the Mavericks are championship contenders, and he expects them to behave accordingly. He wants them primed for the playoffs, not cruising to them.

Admittedly, the first reaction Wednesday night was to pull the sheet over the Mavericks' heads and proclaim the division race over. Only an unexpected alignment of moons, planets and Spurs losses could enable the Mavericks to finish ahead of San Antonio.

The knee-jerk refrain of the day: What's the matter with those Mavs? Don't they want to win?

Sure, they do. On the grand scale of seasonal motivators, experience tells us that seedings and home-court advantages rank stunningly low. After a six-month season, everything in an NBA player's body is telling him that early April is for recharging the batteries.

Nobody wants to be dead on arrival at the playoffs.

But General Johnson had ordered a forced march. Western Conference finals, home-court advantage, or bust.

"Every single time we have a game like this," Johnson scolded after the Golden State game, "I've got to always say that I've failed. I've been waiting 79 games to get some internal leadership. Haven't gotten it yet."

Johnson was talking about, more than anyone, Nowitzki, Stackhouse and Terry. Avery wants them to lead the way that he was taught to lead.

But he needs to be careful. If a modern athlete feels that he's being prodded unreasonably, he won't respond.

Excuse my arithmetic again, but Johnson seemed to be expecting the Mavericks to march unblemished, 9-and-0, through the month of April and then to steamroll into the postseason.

The bar was set so high, the talk was so passionate about finishing ahead of the Spurs, it's understandable that the Mavs' minds weren't focused on a then-30-47 Warriors team.

Not unlike ... surprised? ... the Spurs themselves were Thursday night in a loss at home to Orlando.

Doesn't anybody want to win the NBA's Southwest? Sure, they do. Which of the 60 victories that the Mavericks are going to have makes you think otherwise?

Avery's passion is what has made him a good coach. It defined his own NBA career.

But he has to be careful about stacking "must-win" games on the backs of his team. Their past shows that they can't keep it up.

And, besides, what purpose would it serve to play two weeks of perfect basketball in the weeks leading up to the playoffs, and then have your drained team lose the first game of its first series?

Avery, of all people, knows the Spurs are the NBA's most notorious slow starters and fast finishers.

The Mavericks need some on-court leaders to assert themselves. No question.

Couldn't that sermon be delivered privately, however, to each of the would-be leaders themselves? Why call out some players in front of the media? It hasn't worked yet.

Catching San Antonio was always going to be a long shot, uphill battle.

Now, maybe the Mavericks will focus on the real money games, the playoffs.

EricaLubarsky · 04-14-2006, 04:48 AM

I likes that article a lot, actually. Its how I was feeling. The thing I really hate though was not getting to have the final laugh on those cocky @ss#oles.

dude1394 · 04-14-2006, 08:59 AM

I like that one as well. AJ (imo) is talking out both sides of his mouth right now. I still don't understand the GSW sub patterns and if he goes off on a rant on this one, he might lose some respect from some players.

AJ is a fiery one but I think many have speculated that being so fiery has it's perils as well.