Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on April 16, 2013 under Interviews | 
Mark Cuban was at it again with his open discussion with the media prior to the team’s game against the Denver Nuggets. His squadron was out of playoff contention, a position the team hasn’t been in for quite some time. This season definitely leaves him angry that he’s in a position that he’s not used to being in. He’s been knocked down and he’s motivated to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Even more so than the discussion prior to the game against the Suns, Cuban opened up even more to reporters about his team’s disappointing year and what needs to happen going forward. He also had some high praise for one of his veterans. Here is the quoteboard for Mark Cuban for the game prior to the game against the Denver Nuggets.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on April 15, 2013 under Interviews |
Just one night after getting to shave their beards, the Dallas Mavericks ensured they will not have a winning season by suffering a 103-97 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis used a 9-0 run from the 8:02 mark of the fourth quarter through the 6:41 mark of the period to turn a one-point deficit, 78-77, into an eight-point advantage, 86-78. The Grizzlies then led for the remainder of the contest.
Dirk Nowitzki tallied a game-high 26 points in 36 minutes against the Grizzlies. He scored 20-plus points for the third time in his last four games (19th time this season). Nowitzki is averaging 22.0 points per game on 44.8 percent shooting over his last four games.
Vince Carter totaled 22 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes against the Grizzlies. With a reverse layup at the 3:30 mark of the first quarter, Carter passed Clyde Drexler (22,195) for 27th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. The basket gave him five points for the game and 22,197 points for his career. Carter finished with 22 points on the night and now has 22,214 points for his career. Elgin Baylor ranks 26th all-time in career scoring with 23,149 points.
O.J. Mayo once again struggled against his former team. Mayo went 1-of-6 from the floor for only two points. He had four turnovers in the game. After seeing enough, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle emphatically called a timeout and benched Mayo for the remainder of the game. Mayo did not want to speak to anyone after the loss. He dressed and left the locker room by the time the media was allowed to enter.
Some notes before the quotes:
- Vince Carter scored 20-plus points for the second time in his last three games (12th time this season). Carter is averaging 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.7 blocks and 30.3 minutes over his last three games. He has shot 55 percent (22-of-40) from the field and 60 percent (9-of-15) from deep over his last three contests.
- With the loss, Dallas was unsuccessful at sweeping a back-to-back this season.
- Memphis’ 64 points off the bench is a new opponent-high. The previous high mark was 63 by Washington on Nov. 14.
- Against his former team, O.J. Mayo averaged 8.5 points on 35.1 percent shooting from the field, 30 percent from 3 and 3.8 turnovers this year.
Here is the quoteboard for Dallas’ befuddling loss to Memphis.
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Posted by Kirk Henderson on under Recaps |
Box Score — Play-by-Play — Shot Chart — Game Flow
You know the drill. The Difference is a reflection on the game that was, with one bullet for every point in the final margin.
- Memphis out-rebounded Dallas 22-20 in the first half, a respectable difference, given the talented Memphis front line. However, the second half saw the Mavericks get out-rebounded 28-16. Losing the rebounding battle by 14 makes it exceptionally difficult to win any game, particularly one as adept at grind-it-out basketball as the Grizzlies.
- At the 8:18 mark in the fourth quarter, O.J. Mayo entered the game with it tied 77-77. Over the next two minutes and fifteen seconds, Mayo missed a bad long three point attempt, committed a turnover, fouled a shooter, and committed another turnover, all while the Grizzlies built a six point lead which they would carry with them to the finish line. I’m convinced there’s a good, consistent basketball player inside Mayo, but his tendency to play his worst basketball when Dallas needs him most isn’t going to build a case towards keeping him (if he opts out of his reasonable contract, and he should). He wasn’t the lone reason Dallas lost this game, but posting a state line of two points on 1 of 6 shooting with four turnovers isn’t very helpful.
- Ed Davis, acquired in the mid-season trade of Rudy Gay, ate Dallas alive on the boards. Seven of his game high 11 rebounds came on the offensive end. Memphis has been accused of no longer possession a “go to” scorer, but one thing they do not lack is front line depth. Every single rotation big for Memphis is a better rebounder than any player Dallas has, possibly excluding Brand who has not been himself for weeks.
- The late season rally candidacy of Vince Carter for Sixth Man of the Year continues. Shooting 8 of 11 for 22 points on the tail end of a back to back for a 36 year old basketball player is incredible. He’d probably be starting if Shawn Marion wasn’t a Maverick and I’ve been delighted with his play for almost the entire season.
- Dallas was unable to pull out a win despite Memphis not playing a single starter more than 24 minutes. The Memphis bench contributed 20 more points than Dallas, outscoring the Mavericks 64 to 44 in this department.
- The ball control issues for Dallas caught up to them in the second half. After posting four turnovers in the first half, Dallas coughed it up 11 times in the final 24 minutes of regulation. Mayo and Mike James were the primary culprits, posting three each for just over half of the Maverick total.
Kirk is a member of the Two Man Game family. Follow him on Twitter @KirkSeriousFace for ranting about Dallas basketball, TV, movies, video games, and his dog.
Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on under Previews |
You would have to think the Dallas Mavericks (40-40) will be lighter and faster as they take on the Memphis Grizzlies (54-26). With the victory against the New Orleans Hornets, the Mavericks were finally able to get back to .500, the first time they were there since they were 11-11 on Dec. 12. Dallas ended their road season with a record of 17-24 and now look to ensure they don’t finish the season with a losing record with two final home games. Winning seven of their last nine games, Memphis is still playing for playoff positioning as they still have a chance to have homecourt advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Here are the notes for the game between the Mavericks and the Grizzlies.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on under Interviews |
Talking with Mark Cuban is always a mixed bag. You get to hear about Donald Trump, Shark Tank and other things, while avoid sweat that drips off him as he’s working out on his stairmaster. Those topics come up, but there is often great discussion that comes from the chats with Cuban. The last two home games were no exception. The Mavericks were still clinging to hope and life going into the game against the Phoenix Suns.
Even with the hope, the writing was on the wall, so the media decided to see if Cuban would be pensive and start looking ahead to the summer. He obliged. Here is the quoteboard for Mark Cuban for the game prior to the game against the Phoenix Suns.
Posted by Kirk Henderson on April 14, 2013 under Recaps |
Box Score — Play-by-Play — Shot Chart — Game Flow
You know the drill. The Difference is a reflection on the game that was, with one bullet for every point in the final margin.
- Point 25,000 and 25,001 for Dirk Nowitzki came in classic Dirk fashion: he caught the ball on the left wing against Robin Lopez, faced up, jab-stepped, then released a high arcing jumper that touched nothing but net.
- Dirk was so ready to be beard-free that he actually ran to the locker room and started trimming his mane immediately. Rest in peace, Dirk’s Beard. We’ll miss you, though not what you represented.
- The Hornets were unable to connect around the rim, shooting just 40% in that area. The Dallas defense played well enough, but New Orleans mainly saw a large number of shots take bad bounces around the rim.
- One of the better developments of the season has been Brandan Wright learning to challenge shots with his length without necessarily leaving his feet. Early in the season, Wright would jump at anything, often allowing dribble penetration or offensive rebounds because his attempt to block a shot would force a rotation cascade effect. In the first half Wright challenged a number of long jumpers simply by getting his long arm up in he vicinity of the shooter.
- Dirk became the 17th player to hit the 25,000 point mark in NBA history. He also became just the 9th player in NBA history to tally 25,000 points and 9,000 rebounds. Not bad for a soft European who “only” shoots jump shots.
- The leading scorer for Dallas, Shawn Marion, did his work quietly, putting up a fantastic line of 21 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Eight of his 10 made baskets came around the rim, including two nifty fading hooks in the first quarter.
- Chris Kaman doesn’t collect many assists due to his style of play, but he helped Marion get two points off of an excellent pass from the free throw line when Marion’s man left him in the corner. Seeing the double team, Kaman passed over the top of two Hornets to a cutting Marion for the slam.
- The Mavericks shot a blistering 52% from the field, which helped hide the 20 offensive rebounds Dallas surrendered.
- The league is lucky that Ryan Anderson is on a lottery bound team. He needs virtually no time or space to get off a three pointer and is incredibly effective. I’m always shocked when Dallas leaves him alone behind the three point line, as three of his four long ball makes came on defensive breakdowns.
- It’s always surprising to see a defender close out hard Shawn Marion when he gets a pass in the corner. Though he’s shooting a respectable 33% from the corner this season, he’s taken less than 50 shots. Whenever a defender challenges him, he seemingly always puts the ball on the floor and drives middle, which causes a number of problems for an opponent’s defense. Late in the second quarter, Anderson closed hard on Marion and Marion drove middle and was able to fling up an odd left lay up which bounced in.
- To continue my trend of piling on O.J. Mayo, not a single one of his six shot attempts were within 15 feet of the basket. Whereas his New Orleans counterpart Eric Gordon attempted seven of his 17 shots in the area near the rim. It’s not that Mayo had a bad game (eight points, four assists); rather he’s invisible, so much so that the New Orleans announcers made it a discussion point.
- With the departure of Tyson Chandler, it’s become clear how much more effective the Mavericks can be with a defensive minded center paired with Dirk. A player like Robin Lopez is a solid example of such a player. He is a large body, defends the post reasonably well, and has enough offensive skill to keep opposing defenses honest.
- To be fair, Mayo was involved in my favorite fundamental basketball play of the game. In the second quarter, Shawn Marion grabbed a rebound and threw a bounce pass to the streaking Darren Collision. Collison took one dribble and fed the cutting Mayo, who left the ball for the trailing Marion for an and-one. It’s always delightful to see the ball move while rarely hitting the floor.
- The differential in bench scoring, 42 to 23, was nearly the same as the final margin.
- The Mavericks did something rare to start the fourth quarter after a small rally from New Orleans in the third: they went to their superstar. Dirk made Al-Farouq Aminu look silly, first by drawing fouls on jump shots on back to back possessions. Then he received a pass after slipping a screen and immediately fed it to a cutting Chris Kaman for a dunk. He finished his one-man show by hitting another jumper after getting Aminu off his feet with a pump fake. The Hornets never seriously challenged Dallas the remainder of the game.
- Vince Carter was once again a difference maker, putting up 15 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Dallas has finished too far out of the standings for any Sixth Man of the Year consideration, but it’s safe to say that Carter has become the third most indispensable Maverick behind Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion for the 2012-2013 season.
- With the game well in hand, recently signed guard Josh Akognon saw some playing time. He managed to shoot the ball three times in three minutes. It’s unclear what future, if any, Akognon has with the team.
- Elton Brand recieved a “Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision” after returning Friday against the Nuggets. One can hope it’s to give him rest as Dallas will need him tomorrow night against the big and talented Memphis front line.
Kirk is a member of the Two Man Game family. Follow him on Twitter @KirkSeriousFace for ranting about Dallas basketball, TV, movies, video games, and his dog.
Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on under Previews |
The Dallas Mavericks (39-40) will once again be in a shave game as they head to the bayou to take on the New Orleans Hornets (27-53). Since their game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Mar. 26, Dallas has had three opportunities to get back to .500 and have failed miserably in each attempt. On Mar. 28, they suffered a 103-78 loss to the Pacers. In the biggest game of the year, the Mavericks brought a dud to their game against the Los Angeles Lakers, suffering a 101-81 loss on Apr. 2. The most embarrassing of the previous three attempts came against the Phoenix Suns as they fell asleep in a 102-91 loss on Apr. 10.
Their fourth opportunity sends them to an unfriendly location. Dallas is looking to hit the .500 mark since they were 11-11 on Dec. 12. Pride and beards are on the line.
Here are the notes for the game between the Mavericks and the Hornets.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on April 13, 2013 under Interviews |
The Dallas Mavericks played for pride and found a way to squeak out a 108-105 overtime victory over the playoff-bound Denver Nuggets. Dallas used a 19-2 run (from the 8:22 mark of the third quarter through the 3:53 mark of the period) to turn an 11-point deficit (61-50) into a six-point advantage (69-63) en route to their victory. Dirk Nowitzki recorded his sixth double-double of the season (375th career) with a game-high-tying 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes against Denver. He scored 20-plus points for the second straight game (18th time this season).
Another veteran helped lead the charge for the Mavericks as Vince Carter posted his first double-double of the season (89th career) with a game-high-tying 22 points to go along with a season-high 12 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in 34 minutes against Denver (previous high: nine rebounds on three occasions).
O.J. Mayo went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and scored 20 points to go along with three rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block in 42 minutes. Shawn Marion totaled 15 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 30 minutes against the Nuggets. Marion is averaging 20.5 points and 9.0 rebounds over his last four games.
Some notes before the quotes:
- Dirk Nowitzki now has 24,990 career points and needs 10 points for 25,000. He will become the 17th player in NBA history with at least 25,000 points.
- Vince Carter had his first double-double since Apr. 16, 2012 at Utah (18 points and 12 rebounds). It also marked just the second time in his career that he totaled at least 22 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in the same game (46 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 blocks in 47 minutes vs. Washington Apr. 7, 2007. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 9-2 this season when Carter scores 20-plus points, and 12-3 when he scores 20-plus points over the last two seasons. He also tied his career high with eight offensive rebounds. He pulled down eight offensive boards as a member of the New Jersey Nets against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 5, 2005.
- With the win, the Mavericks improved to 6-1 this season when O.J. Mayo makes at least five triples in a game. He recorded his 22nd 20-point game of the season (15-7 record), but his first since Mar. 8 at Detroit (22 points).
- With the victory, the Mavericks snapped the Nuggets’ five-game winning streak.
- The Mavericks played their 11th overtime game of the season against the Nuggets on Friday. Prior to the 2012-13 campaign, the franchise record for the most overtime games in a season was eight (in 1995-96, 1997-98 and 2009-10).
Here is the quoteboard for Dallas’ prideful win over Denver.
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Posted by Connor Huchton on under Recaps |
Box Score — Play-By-Play — Shot Chart — Game Flow
You know the drill. The Difference is a reflection on the game that was, with one bullet for every point in the final margin.
- Mark Cuban may love Vince Carter (9-19 FG, 22 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists) more than I do, but I too admire the aging guard’s resolve. Carter had regressed a bit over the last month or so, but tonight reminded me why I was so enamored with his vitalized play in late-February and early-March. His performance was one of immense substance and resolve for a team no longer fighting for the playoffs, no longer fighting for much of anything other than a .500+ record and a lower lottery pick. Thank you for a season of stalwart professionalism, Vince Carter, and I hope to say the same as next season ends.
- When Corey Brewer (6-20 FG, 18 points, five steals) scored off a steal as regulation dwindled to a close, I did not expect the Mavericks to rise up and control the overtime period. But so they did, mostly thanks to O.J. Mayo (7-13 FG, 5-7 3PT, 20 points, six assists, two turnovers), who made a late bid for changing Mavericks’ fans perceptions with a commendable scoring performance. Mayo’s ability to find rhythm and function as a key offensive weapon in the Carlisle offense seems largely dependent on his ability to limit turnovers. With an offseason and another season in Carlisle’s system, it’s a problem Mayo may be able to address and quell to some extent. There’s no guarantee of that essential improvement, but Mayo is still only 25 years old.
- Though he tired a bit down the stretch, Dirk Nowitzki (9-17 FG, 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) provided a very resilient and potent 40 minutes tonight. He’s not the Dirk of old – he’s the old Dirk – but he’s still capable of charging an offense and bringing rebounds down with the most tenacious of elbows. Time has been the Mavericks’ bane for the last two years, and while it may be presumptuous of me, I’d like to ask time to freeze until next season, and allow this basketball Dirk to begin and end the 2013-2014 campaign in the same impressive form of recent months.
Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on April 12, 2013 under Previews |
It has come to this as the Dallas Mavericks (38-40) are now playing the string out as they host the Denver Nuggets (54-24). Coupling the loss to Phoenix and Los Angeles’ win in Portland, Dallas is officially out of the running for the playoffs.The streak of 12 consecutive trips to the postseason was the longest in franchise history and the second-longest in the NBA (San Antonio will be making its 16th straight postseason appearance in 2013). The Nuggets, who will be making their 10th consecutive postseason appearance in 2013 (2004-2013), now own the second-longest active playoff streak. During their 12-year streak, the Mavericks made three Western Conference Finals appearances (2003, 2006, 2011) and advanced to the NBA Finals twice (2006 and 2011). They captured their first NBA championship in 2011.
It will be interesting to see how the players react in playing a game that really has no major significance. There’s a mix of veterans who have a lot of pride with young players who might not be sure how to react to this situation.
Despite the Mavericks being out of the playoff mix, there are still things to play for and those will be covered at the end.
Here are the notes for the game between the Mavericks and the Nuggets.
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