Dirk is back baby! - article

[ReDIRKulous]

DMN Article



For Mavs, it's time to get show on the road
08:36 PM CST on Tuesday, December 9, 2003

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

Let's assume for a moment that the Mavericks will lose Friday in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

When you have lost 26 consecutive games against the Lakers on their home floor, there's a better chance of winning the lottery than at Staples Center against Shaquille O'Neal and friends.

So how much pressure does that put on the Mavericks when they warm up for the Lakers against the Los Angeles Clippers on the same court Wednesday night? Has the time come to recapture what was once a very bright fire that burned within the Mavericks on the road?

"The time has been here – and gone a few times," Steve Nash said Tuesday. "Hopefully, this time, we'll capitalize. These losses on the road are adding up. We're not saving any time here. It's really important for us to start playing better on the road and playing better in general."

There's no sense of urgency just yet. But the Mavericks' 2-6 road record has been a source of embarrassment. They have been fortunate, coach Don Nelson said, to have loaded up on a relatively light opening schedule that has been heavy on home games.

"It's clear we weren't ready to play a lot of road games early," Nelson said. "We've had a lot of home games, and we've beaten some good teams at home. We've had a break in our schedule early, and we've done the best we could with it. Now we've got to start winning some road games.

"I don't know what's crucial and what isn't. But it would be a good thing if we could start competing on the road a little bit better than we have."

The Mavericks can tip their cap to the schedule maker for having a dozen home games in the first 20 outings of the season. But at some point, the schedule evens out. And it starts with this rare two-game set in LA.

"I can't ever remember playing both of them out there like this," Nelson said.

The schedule gets worse the rest of the month. They play six of their next eight games on the road, and each of the two-game trips is perilous. After LA, they come home against a resurgent Toronto team, then have a wicked back-to-back at Boston and Minnesota. There's also that lump of coal in their stocking in the form of the Portland-Sacramento trip on Dec. 23 and 25.

"We were a great road team the last two years, and we want to get back to that," said Dirk Nowitzki, who will play against the Clippers after missing five games because of a sprained right ankle. "That separates a good team from a great team: winning in tough buildings. I don't think we have that confidence yet with this team. But I'm sure that will come once we get more comfortable with each other."

Michael Finley said the objective for the Mavericks is clear: Avoid early game letdowns and force the issue.

"We have to win, by any means necessary," he said. "We have to let it all hang out and don't wait until we get down before we start playing hard. Everybody has what they consider easy parts of the season and hard parts of the season. For us, it's been kind of in the middle so far."

For the next eight games, however, life gets tougher.

Nowitzki cleared after solid practice

Knocking the rust off has proved to be a fast process for Dirk Nowitzki.

He had a wonderful practice Tuesday before the Mavericks boarded their flight for Los Angeles.

"We noticed a lot of improvement from one day to the next," coach Don Nelson said. "It's amazing how, with these young athletes, you can see the fatigue one day and the lack of it the next. He was much better. The feeling is he'll probably play [Wednesday against the Clippers]. And if he's able to play, I'll start him."

However, Nelson said the availability of Josh Howard will be determined at game time. Howard has been fighting a sprained ankle but has said he expects to be available.

Solid food the next hurdle for Nash

Steve Nash still had tenderness in his mouth Tuesday, five days after getting elbowed by the Lakers' Karl Malone.

"It's still a pain to eat," Nash said. "There's a lot of cuts in there, and anything spicy or acidic is a pain to eat."

Nash has had his left front tooth reset and reinforced, but only time will tell if the tooth survives.

E-mail esefko@dallasnews.com


ROAD HOGS



The Mavericks rank among the NBA's best road teams since the start of the 1999-2000 season, despite losing six of their first eight away from home this year (through Monday):



Team Coaches W L Pct.
LA Lakers Phil Jackson 105 68 .607
San Antonio Gregg Popovich 105 71 .597
Mavericks Don Nelson 99 73 .576
Philadelphia Larry Brown/Randy Ayers 96 79 .549
Portland Maurice Cheeks/Mike Dunleavy 93 77 .547
Sacramento Rick Adelman 87 83 .512
Utah Jerry Sloan 87 85 .506



FULL NELSON



The Mavericks' records on the road since Don Nelson's first full season as coach:



Season W L Pct.
1998-99 4 21 .160
1999-00 18 23 .439
2000-01 25 16 .610
2001-02 27 14 .659
2002-03 27 14 .659
2003-04 2 6 .250
Totals 103 94 .523

[Chiwas]

[img]i/expressions/musicnote.gif[/img] ON THE ROAD AGAIN [img]i/expressions/musicnote.gif[/img]

Willie Nelson

On the road again:
Just can't wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is makin' music with my friends [WELCOME BACK, DIRK!],
And I can't wait to get on the road again.

On the road again:
Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again,
And I can't wait to get on the road again.

On the road again,
Like a band of gypsies, we go down the highway.
We're the best of friends,
Insisting that the world be turnin' our way,
And our way:

Is on the road again:
Just can't wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is makin' music with my friends,
And I can't wait to get on the road again.

[Nash13]

I hope somebody really hits Malone on Friday. I don't care who, but somebody. He needs to learn how to be the recipient of a flagarant foul.

[ReDIRKulous]

Who is going to hurt malone though? The only guy capable is fortson... and he is on thin ice right now.

[ReDIRKulous]

I think someone should take out one of his knees. I don't know if we have a guy other than Fortson that could even do that. Malone seems like he is made out of iron or something. you could give any of our guys a baseball bat and i don't know if they could beat Malone in a fight. lol

[dude1394]

The Mavericks rank among the NBA's best road teams since the start of the 1999-2000 season, despite losing six of their first eight away from home this year (through Monday):

Team Coaches W L Pct.
LA Lakers Phil Jackson 105 68 .607
San Antonio Gregg Popovich 105 71 .597
Mavericks Don Nelson 99 73 .576
Philadelphia Larry Brown/Randy Ayers 96 79 .549
Portland Maurice Cheeks/Mike Dunleavy 93 77 .547
Sacramento Rick Adelman 87 83 .512
Utah Jerry Sloan 87 85 .506


FULL NELSON

The Mavericks' records on the road since Don Nelson's first full season as coach:

Season W L Pct.
1998-99 4 21 .160
1999-00 18 23 .439
2000-01 25 16 .610
2001-02 27 14 .659
2002-03 27 14 .659
2003-04 2 6 .250
Totals 103 94 .523

That lazy no good nelson. If he was half a coach he would be ahead of Phil Jackzen and Popovich. What a rotten waste of a coach!!
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

[Nash13]

I hate to come off as mean, but i hopes somebody like undercuts him or trips him, something you don't need a lot of strength.

I've been through what Nash is going through, it's not a good feeling, the worst. He needs to feel Nash's pain.

[ReDIRKulous]

I hate to come off as mean, but i hopes somebody like undercuts him or trips him, something you don't need a lot of strength.

Malone never really jumps though. That is part of the problem. If a guy tries to jump high you might be able to hurt him... but Malone is pretty floor bound so that makes it very difficult to cheapshot him. You can trip him maybe... but is that going to really do any damage to Malone? The only thing I think someone could do is to literally tackle or kick the side of his knee... and honestly... I don't even know if anyone other than Shaq could evenl hurt him that way. Taht's why he has gotten away with it for as long as he has... you can't really get him back.

[mercury_rev]

Originally posted by: ReDIRKulous

Malone never really jumps though. That is part of the problem. If a guy tries to jump high you might be able to hurt him... but Malone is pretty floor bound so that makes it very difficult to cheapshot him. You can trip him maybe... but is that going to really do any damage to Malone? The only thing I think someone could do is to literally tackle or kick the side of his knee... and honestly... I don't even know if anyone other than Shaq could evenl hurt him that way. Taht's why he has gotten away with it for as long as he has... you can't really get him back.

There are other ways to get him back. Ways you don't want to know about. Let's just imagine one day while Karl's driving his big rig up in the Utah mountains, whistling away to a Travis Tritt album, he is shocked to discover.....NO BRAKES!

Seriously though, remember Rodman's brief stint with Dallas when he pushed Malone to the floor as they were running upcourt? Maybe a little f'em attitude like that would work.

[PiusDoe]

The hell. We have a roster spot open. Sign up Dennis Rodman for one game, start him, and have him attack Malone before the tipoff. Doen and done.

[Big_Dog]

although malone is one dirty mf, it´s just stupid and childish to try some kind of a retaliation. beat him on the court... or make sure he won´t get a ring, that would piss him off

[dirno2000]

Agreed

You could give him a cheap shot and the pain may last a few seconds. The pain of playing for the minimum and losing a shot at the title at the hands of the Mavs would last a lifetime.

[EricaLubarsky]

for goodness sakes- I hate Malone for turning his back on the Jazz to get a free ring, but lets not be retaliatory.

Just think of how many times Bradley has shaken his razor-sharp elbows around and think of how many times he's caught someone with them.

[Chiwas]

It would be more worth to pulverize Shaq's toe.

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[Male30Dan]

Erica,

While I can certainly accept your point about Bradley, (we will just use Malone's analogy), Bradley is like a Volkswagen while Malone is like a Mack truck when it comes to the strength the elbows are thrown with...

I will just say this... I dont think that retaliation is necessary UNTIL he does it again in a game... If that happens again, BY ANYONE on the Lakers, I think SOMEONE needs to immediately get in the guilty parties' face and either push or punch the hell out of them... It just comes down to protecting your men... Hell I need not remember back too far to see Mr. Zimmer getting his old ass tossed to the ground by Pedro to know how some people truly care enough about their players and team to go to war for/with them... This is the mentality our Mavericks need... If nothing else, we can shed some of the soft label if our guys stand up for the team, but my hope is that a little bit of respect will go our way, as well as disrespect towards the guilty Laker player by the refs...

[sike]

Originally posted by: ReDIRKulous
I think someone should take out one of his knees.

ReDirk, do you really mean this, you can end a guy's career with this kind of stuff!...
how about we just hope that the Mavericks win!...
that would be more than enough for me!

[ReDIRKulous]

Originally posted by: sike

ReDirk, do you really mean this, you can end a guy's career with this kind of stuff!...
how about we just hope that the Mavericks win!...
that would be more than enough for me!

We are talking about a guy that INTENTIONALLY and LITERALLY dislocates Dirk's shoulder everytime we play him. He will literally PUNCH Dirk in the shoulder to dislocate it. But he doesn't use his fist. He uses his "wristbo". lol I am serious. He bends his wrist and punches guys with his "wristbo". I saw him almost break peja stjakovics jaw doing this. Have you guys seen the Isiah Thomas foul? Or other flagrants he has laid on people? Did you read this article?



Dave Ramer - Rice University - elbow to face, never plays again

Isiah Thomas – elbow, 40 stitches

Derek Smith - elbow to face - almost ended career

David Robinson - elbow, knocked him unconscious

Brian Grant - elbow - 10k fine, but foul was called on Grant

Greg Anthony - elbow, in same playoff series as Grant

Joe Kleine – elbow, required plastic surgery

Othella Harrington - threw punch

Christian Laettner - elbow to head

Steve Nash - elbow to face, even though Nash was behind him and no one between him and any other player to pass it to

Shawn Bradley - Knee to stomach after elbow thrown at his head earlier in the game

Dirk Nowitzki - Pulled on already injured shoulder

Derrick Coleman - Malone throws an elbow at Derrick Coleman who throws a punch and is thrown out, fined and suspended
‘A one-game suspension?’ Cuban says, sarcastically. ‘As you can tell, at least the NBA has been consistent with him.’ Back

______________________

So, yes. if I was in the NBA I would literally take this guys knee out. But hey... I am a hothead, and can't stand bullies. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

[sike]

no one is saying KARL is good human being....but to call for a hit is too Buddy Ryan for my taste.....you just dont lower yourself to their standards...no matter what. You play tough...but not dirty, even if the other guy does....

[ReDIRKulous]

Well I would much rather have the NBA meter out justice... but that hasn't happend, and it aint gonna happen. So I would turn into Batman and take justice into my own hands... vigilante justice.

[sike]

Originally posted by: ReDIRKulous
Well I would much rather have the NBA meter out justice... but that hasn't happend, and it aint gonna happen. So I would turn into Batman and take justice into my own hands... vigilante justice.

Well, as long as you put on the tights and cape I'll be happy.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[ReDIRKulous]

[Austin Powers voice] Rubber, baby! Yeah! [/Austin Powers voice]

[sike]

Originally posted by: ReDIRKulous
[Austin Powers voice] Rubber, baby! Yeah! [/Austin Powers voice]

EXTRA! EXTRA! read it here first, ReDirk is going to put on a rubber baby!....I not sure what this means, but stay tuned to this same Bat Channel for the latest news![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

[FilthyFinMavs]

It's sickening to wish injury on anyone I don't care who it is. Malone does not intentionally dislocates Dirk's shoulders everytime they play. I'm no fan of Malone, but think about what you are saying when you post on a message board.

[ReDIRKulous]

Malone does not intentionally dislocates Dirk's shoulders everytime they play

Did you watch the first Mavs Lakers game this season?

[FilthyFinMavs]

Originally posted by: ReDIRKulous

Did you watch the first Mavs Lakers game this season?

Yes. What in the world makes you think Malone even gives a damn about Dirk?

[Walkerforthree]

Originally posted by: FilthyFinMavs
It's sickening to wish injury on anyone I don't care who it is. Malone does not intentionally dislocates Dirk's shoulders everytime they play. I'm no fan of Malone, but think about what you are saying when you post on a message board.

I agree about not wishing injury on anyone, malone included, but yes, Karl DOES intentionally go for Dirk's shoulder, he's done it everygame since he hurt it and it is immutably intentional, i tape the games, trust me.

[FilthyFinMavs]

Originally posted by: Walkerforthree

I agree about not wishing injury on anyone, malone included, but yes, Karl DOES intentionally go for Dirk's shoulder, he's done it everygame since he hurt it and it is immutably intentional, i tape the games, trust me.

Is Malone the incredible Hulk? He can just dislocate Dirk's shoulders like that without the league notifying him? I'm interested in knowing how this looks because i've seen every Dirk vs. Malone matchup a jersey ago and i've never seen Malone dislocate or even try to dislocate Malone's shoulder.

[ReDIRKulous]

I have the first Mavs LAkers game on tape too. And he does INTENTIONALLY DISLOCATE Dirk's shoulder every time they play.

Do you not think that Malone was intentionally trying to take Nash out of the game by elbowing him in the face? If you don't you are incredibly naive. If I was a player I would hurt Malone before he could hurt me or one of my teammates. Would you let someone hurt your family? Or would you hurt them before they hurt your family? Same thing to me.

[ReDIRKulous]

Originally posted by: FilthyFinMavs

Is Malone the incredible Hulk? He can just dislocate Dirk's shoulders like that without the league notifying him? I'm interested in knowing how this looks because i've seen every Dirk vs. Malone matchup a jersey ago and i've never seen Malone dislocate or even try to dislocate Malone's shoulder.

The guy is so strong he could probably rip someones arm out of the socket ig he wanted to. He only had about 10 inches to build up force when he elbowed Nash... but it was probably the equivalent of Dirk punching Nash in the face as hard as he possibly could. The guy is built like a greek god. lol

If you watched every matchup you would know that Malone uses his bent wrist rather than his fist andf literally punches Dirk's shoulder, redislocating it. But this is what Cuban was talking about... if you use anything but your fist , like an elbow or a wristbo you can get away with it. But the biggest thing is that Malone is so subtle about it. It looks like he is barely tapping the other player... but that is like a full blow from anyone else.

At the end of the first Mavs Lakers game Dirk was holding his shoulder because Malone gave him a shot right on the same spot he goes for every time.

[FilthyFinMavs]

Originally posted by: ReDIRKulous
I have the first Mavs LAkers game on tape too. And he does INTENTIONALLY DISLOCATE Dirk's shoulder every time they play.

Do you not think that Malone was intentionally trying to take Nash out of the game by elbowing him in the face? If you don't you are incredibly naive. If I was a player I would hurt Malone before he could hurt me or one of my teammates. Would you let someone hurt your family? Or would you hurt them before they hurt your family? Same thing to me.

No he wasn't. You think he wanted to get suspended a game by the league? Hurting my family is alot different then hurting professional basketball players who are 6'6. I don't care if Malone did intentionally hurt Nash and hope there is no retaliation by anyone. That is then stepping that Malone's level. I'd love to hear how Malone dislocates Dirk's shoulders everytime they play because I don't see the league letting that happen.

[FilthyFinMavs]

Originally posted by: ReDIRKulous

The guy is so strong he could probably rip someones arm out of the socket ig he wanted to. He only had about 10 inches to build up force when he elbowed Nash... but it was probably the equivalent of Dirk punching Nash in the face as hard as he possibly could. The guy is built like a greek god. lol

If you watched every matchup you would know that Malone uses his bent wrist rather than his fist andf literally punches Dirk's shoulder, redislocating it. But this is what Cuban was talking about... if you use anything but your fist , like an elbow or a wristbo you can get away with it. But the biggest thing is that Malone is so subtle about it. It looks like he is barely tapping the other player... but that is like a full blow from anyone else.

At the end of the first Mavs Lakers game Dirk was holding his shoulder because Malone gave him a shot right on the same spot he goes for every time.

And that means he intentionally hurts Dirk shoulders everytime they play?

[ReDIRKulous]

And that means he intentionally hurts Dirk shoulders everytime they play?

I don't know if it is EVERY SINGLE TIME they play... but MOST everytime I see Malone play the MAvs he tries to hurt Dirk, or someone else. I have seen Malone redislocate Dirk's shoulder SEVERAL times. And try who knows how many times.

Isn't that enough? What would be going too far in your opinion? lol Killing someone? Then can you retaliate?

[Walkerforthree]

Originally posted by: FilthyFinMavs

Is Malone the incredible Hulk? He can just dislocate Dirk's shoulders like that without the league notifying him? I'm interested in knowing how this looks because i've seen every Dirk vs. Malone matchup a jersey ago and i've never seen Malone dislocate or even try to dislocate Malone's shoulder.

No no no. Not what I said. I believe Malone dislocated Dirk's shoulder one time. I said everytime SINCE THEN HE HAS GONE AT DIRK'S SHOULDER, as in he'll take a cheap shot or hard foul, or hit while the refs not looking at Dirk's shoulder that has been pre-injured by Karl. Obviously he doesn't dislocate it everygame (he has before though), but he does try to inflict further pain to that inured shoulder every meeting, that is imuutable.