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05-15-2003, 12:38 AM
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Nowitzki, Mavs learn 'free swing' comment comes at a price
Not all talk is cheap 05/15/2003 By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Dirk Nowitzki said it, regrets it and won't repeat the mistake. And neither will any of his teammates. The scene was the post-game locker room at Arco Arena after Game 4. The Mavericks had taken a beating from the Sacramento Kings. The series was even at two wins apiece, and the Mavericks were happy to have regained the home-court advantage. "We wanted a split here, and this one was a free swing," Nowitzki said. "We missed it, but now we go home." It was the sort of thing that a young athlete says in the heat of the moment. Nowitzki heard somebody mention the phrase in the locker room, and he repeated it. The comment circulated quickly. Before long, it made it to the desk of Charles Barkley, who has grown into one of the biggest voices in the league as part of TNT's coverage of the NBA. Barkley wasted no time saying Nowitzki's apparent lack of attitude is the reason why the Mavericks aren't ready to seriously contend in the Western Conference. "They're not greedy enough," Barkley said. That's a nice way of saying the Mavericks don't think like champions. But as they prepare for a chance to close out the Kings Thursday in Game 6 at Arco Arena, the Mavericks are determined not to make the same mistake twice – or more, if you include each wasted opportunty in the first round against Portland when they botched three potential close-out games and had to win Game 7. "We have to be greedy," Nick Van Exel said Wednesday. "It doesn't make sense to rely on a Game 7. We have to get that out of our heads. "Game 6 is so much more important, because if you close out a series on another team's home court, that's just demoralizing right there. I want the fans to leave [ticked] off. I want the fans to be mad at us when they see us next year. That's what it's all about. They're very good fans, but they're brutal also. We can win a Game 7, but we want to prove that we can end this thing in six." Van Exel has been the heart and soul of the team throughout the playoffs. And his advice is being well-received again. "We want to get this thing over," said Nowitzki. "We've played a lot of games already in the playoffs. Every day or two of extra rest would be great. We don't want to relax. We have to go for it." One of the keys to avoiding a fate like Game 4, when the Mavericks fell behind early and got waxed, 99-83, is to not fall behind early. They have fallen into a bad habit of digging themselves a first-half hole. These game experiences, however, usually produce residual benefits. The Mavericks survived one Game 7 against Portland. "That's experience," coach Don Nelson said. "We learned some of those lessons in Portland. But there's another team, and they have as much to say about what happens as we do. But we're definitely going to treat Game 6 as a serious game. "The more playoff games you play, the more you mature and the more at-ease you are in those big-pressure games." The toughest thing after gaining experience is to fight through human nature. "We have to have the same attitude as we did [in Game 5]," Steve Nash said. "You have to play every game in the playoffs like your back is against the wall and not treat any game like a free swing." It's something the Mavericks say they have learned the hard way.
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05-15-2003, 01:01 AM
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#2 |
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Join Date: May 2002
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<< "We have to be greedy," Nick Van Exel said Wednesday. "It doesn't make sense to rely on a Game 7. We have to get that out of our heads. "Game 6 is so much more important, because if you close out a series on another team's home court, that's just demoralizing right there. I want the fans to leave [ticked] off. I want the fans to be mad at us when they see us next year. That's what it's all about. They're very good fans, but they're brutal also. We can win a Game 7, but we want to prove that we can end this thing in six." Van Exel has been the heart and soul of the team throughout the playoffs. And his advice is being well-received again. >> hahaha... funny.. I want the fans to leave [ticked] off. I want the fans to be mad at us when they see us next year. That's what it's all about.
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"This guy has ICE in his veins!" "This is a player that can single handedly take over a game" (referring to nick) |
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05-15-2003, 01:11 AM
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#3 |
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 651
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Thank God Nellie didn't say it.
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I write because of love. I finish because of discipline. |
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05-15-2003, 08:44 AM
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 8,141
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Nick is coooooooooooool.
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BELIEVE IT. |
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05-15-2003, 08:50 AM
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#5 |
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a bit overblown
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05-15-2003, 09:57 AM
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#6 |
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Golden Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
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<< a bit overblown >> Had the Portland series not gone 7 games I would agree. Had the Mavs already won a title I agree. Since neither happened it just goes to show a weak mental approach. I remember back in 89 when the Lakers were up 3-0 on the Sonics in the 2nd round and the Sonics came out with a vengance and built up a 20 point first quarter lead capped with a McKey dunk to end the quarter. It would have been easy to pack it in and close out on the Lakers home court in game 5 but the Lakers got the lead down to 12 by half time and pulled the game out. They had no buisness winning that game, the Sonics were playing possesed. Winning is all that matters and I'm surprised that a Mavs would make such a stupid comment considering they witness first hand how quickly a teams fortunes can turn around. A team like the Mavs that would be devastated without it's star player should NOT take and extra game here and there so lightly.
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"History shouldn't be a mystery" "Our stories real history" "Not his story" "Lakers hate causes blindness" |
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05-15-2003, 09:59 AM
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#7 |
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if something similar were said before the game, then yes, maybe it's there's something to it.
but after the game? much ado about nothing |
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05-15-2003, 09:59 AM
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#8 |
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moderately impressed
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Home of the thirteenth colony
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<< "Game 6 is so much more important, because if you close out a series on another team's home court, that's just demoralizing right there. I want the fans to leave [ticked] off. I want the fans to be mad at us when they see us next year. That's what it's all about. They're very good fans, but they're brutal also. We can win a Game 7, but we want to prove that we can end this thing in six." >> HELL yes!!!! That is what I AM TALKING BOUT!!!!!! Kill em!!!!!!!!
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05-15-2003, 10:04 AM
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#9 |
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Join Date: Dec 2002
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<< Nowitzki heard somebody mention the phrase in the locker room, and he repeated it. >> Wonder who that might have been? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]
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Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. |
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05-15-2003, 10:23 AM
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#10 |
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Banned
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Location: Nowhere
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<< Van Exel has been the heart and soul of the team throughout the playoffs. And his advice is being well-received again. >> Which is why Nick is the clear choice for playoff MVP candidate. |
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05-15-2003, 10:24 AM
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#11 |
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Guru
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 17,057
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<< << Van Exel has been the heart and soul of the team throughout the playoffs. And his advice is being well-received again. >> Which is why Nick is the clear choice for playoff MVP candidate. >> F'em!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
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