[外電] Mavericks will go as far as Dirk can carry them

看板Mavericks (達拉斯小牛)作者Paraguay (巴拉圭)時間17年前 (2009/03/06 08:57)推噓1(1推 0噓 0→)

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Source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/030509dnspotaylor. 3ef9e7a.html ********************************************************************* Dallas Mavericks will go as far as Dirk can carry them 01:48 AM CST on Thursday, March 5, 2009 ********************************************************************* Dirk Nowitzki did what star players are supposed to do Wednesday night. He took over the game at winning time. In the process, he made sure the Mavs beat San Antonio. First, he penetrated the lane and fed Erick Dampier for a two-handed dunk, pushing the Mavs' lead to 93-88. Then he hit a 3-pointer from the left wing that had Mark Cuban dancing a jig in his courtside seats and Dirk, tongue wagging, bouncing down the court as the Spurs called a timeout. Next came a pull-up jumper from the left wing as the Mavs took a 98-88 lead, their biggest of the night. Josh Howard and Jason Kidd then hit key buckets to help the Mavs beat San Antonio, 107-102. This is the way Dirk must play all of the time. It's not up to Kidd or Jason Terry to lead this team. The responsibility belongs to Dirk. It's his team. For better or worse. "At that time of the game," said Rick Carlisle, "You want the ball in your best player's hands." No kidding. Leading, however, is about more than scoring points. Or facilitating the offense. It's about Dirk taking control of the team and letting his teammates know that the raggedy performance they turned in the other day against Oklahoma City is completely unacceptable. It starts with Dirk being emotionally and mentally engaged at the start of every game. You knew the Mavs would play well Wednesday night because they had plenty of incentive. In addition to the embarrassing loss to Oklahoma City, San Antonio whipped them by 17 points last week without Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili, and Cuban had threatened everyone's job. He had every right after Oklahoma City, which has won just 16 games this season, built a 20-point third-quarter lead and coasted to a win over the Mavs on Monday. Before the game, the owner didn't back off his harsh criticism or his promise to turn the entire roster over if the Mavs play too many more games without energy or effort. Of course, there's no guarantee his rant will work. It didn't work for Avery Johnson last year. Dirk certainly didn't seem inspired by the owner's words. "No, he didn't say anything to us. I guess he decided to say something to the media yesterday," said Nowitzki, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. "I don't even know if everybody was aware he said something. "But we knew that was one we should've had. We didn't need Cuban to tell us we're out of here if we didn't play with more effort." The Mavs, as Carlisle has been trying to tell them all season, are simply no longer good enough to win games when they go through the motions. And against the NBA's best teams, they must play with a high intensity level just to have a chance to win. That is their new reality. It's not up for debate. All you have to do is look at their 10-23 record against the other eight playoff contenders in the Western Conference. It's not a coincidence that they haven't beaten a winning team on the road since dispatching Portland on Christmas night. They get another chance tonight against New Orleans. If you consider the Mavs' success – eight straight playoff appearances – it's easy to understand why it's so hard for them to accept their reality. It's not that the Mavs are a bad team. You can't be a bad team when you're 13 games over .500. But that doesn't get you much breathing room in the Western Conference. We've seen that. "We don't want to only look down at Phoenix," Dirk said. "We want to look up." Then he better make sure it happens. ********************************************************************* -- Only the strong survive- Iverson ⊕ ═█┘ ⊕ ●╱ 　　　Ｗ ● ●︵ ● ●)) ３╯ <３\ /３⊕ ／３﹚ ３ \\ />⊕ >/ ⊕ ╲> >> ========= http://www.wretch.cc/blog/AWEI3 ========= -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 58.114.81.191