"I don't play consistently enough" - German Interview

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"I don't play consistently enough"

Dallas - Dirk Nowitzki doesn't know what to do. The roller coaster ride of his Mavericks in the current NBA season makes things difficult for the Würzburger.

Because of the continuous weakness on the road - documented last with losses in Philadelpha and Indiana - Dallas stands only at sixth place in the Western Conference.

Eleven games before the end of the regular season, the Texans face the threat of a duel with feared opponent and top favorite Los Angeles Lakers in the first playoff round.

Sport1 spoke with Nowitzki about the reasons for the constant up-and-down. Despite the difficult situation, the national player still believes in the chance of a title for his Mavs.

Sport1: Mr. Nowitzki, the regular season of the NBA is coming to a close. How content are you with the cutting-off of the Dallas Mavericks' past?

Dirk Nowitzki: We unfortunately still don't play consistently enough. There are games in which it goes perfectly well, but then also again and again times when we play badly. I am not happy with that and hope that we improve our performance as quickly as possible and play more consistently, before the playoffs begin.

Sport1: What doesn't go well during the bad games?

Nowitzki: Well, now, it's probably no secret any more that we just defend badly. We often allow way too many points. We also have to get better at rebounding. Also, we had to find our rhythm first with a lot of new players this year. Sometimes that comes together well and we interact well, but sometimes it doesn't go so smoothly just yet.

Sport1: Was it a mistake to sign so many new players?

Nowitzki: No. The guys fit very well into our team personally. And they are great athletes. It's fun for me to play on a team with players like Antoine Walker and Antawn Jamison. But since we're not just three players any more, who are willing to score a lot, a lot has to be co-ordinated in the offense. The new acquisitions were good in any case, because we're physically stronger this season.

Sport1: Which comes to good for you yourself, because with the support under the basket you can play forward more often.

Nowitzki: Yes, that's right. But my own performance is not yet like what I can see it being. I also don't play consistently enough and can't always use advantages for myself.

Sport1: What would you like to improve in your game?

Nowitzki: I stilll have to work on my center movement and my passing game, and the ball handling could be better. Also of course my defense.

Sport1: The deficiency of the Mavericks has already been addressed. It's said that one wins championships only through defense. Was the goal of the Mavericks getting the title perhaps set a little high?

Nowitzki: No, I don't believe so. It is true, the fact that we play poor defense and lost some games that we should have had to win. And unfortunately it's not going as well as last year, where we got 60 victories in in the regular season. So the goal of the championship moved naturally into the far distance. But it is there, and I still think that we have a really good team, that has what it takes.

Sport1: That is to say, despite that the Mavericks go into the playoffs with not such a good starting position, to become champions?

Nowitzki: We certainly don't think that's been determined currently. First we have to still try in the remaining games to improve our position in the standings in order to have a better starting position. In the playoffs everything is always possible. But we must improve and then give everything from game to game. Then we'll see how far we will go this year.

Sport1: In view of the strong competition in the Western Conference, it will surely be hard to push all the way ahead.

Nowitzki: By all means. It's unbelievable how good the teams are in the west this season. The Lakers, Sacramento, San Antonio and Minnesota have very good teams and will just be difficult to beat. They all got stronger in the summer perfectly. So it almost doesn't matter against whom we play in the playoffs - it will be hard in every case.

Interview by Sarah Beckmann
Article appeared Sport1 on 27 March 2004

Link to German Article

Translation taken for this fan web site