[外電] Mark Cuban gets Dallas Mavericks' attention, but can he

看板Mavericks (達拉斯小牛)作者Paraguay (巴拉圭)時間17年前 (2009/03/06 09:00)推噓0(0推 0噓 2→)

留言2則, 1人參與討論串1/1

Source: http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/1239817.html ********************************************************************* Mark Cuban gets Dallas Mavericks' attention, but can he hold it? By JIM REEVES / Posted on Thu, Mar. 05, 2009 ********************************************************************* DALLAS — I’m on the (pant) Stairmaster with Mark Cuban just outside (pant) the Dallas Mavericks’ dressing (pant) room Wednesday night and I’m here for one reason and (pant) one reason only: I want to know if he’s (pant) all bark and no bite. OK, so I’m not actually on the Stairmaster, but I’m so close, my legs are starting to ache. Cuban is splashing every other sweat droplet down my arm as I stretch my tape recorder toward his sweat-drenched face. I have to keep borrowing the towel he has draped over the machine to mop off the recorder before it rusts. This is what you do to get a pre-game interview with the Mavs owner. It’s either called dedication to the job or complete idiocy, take your pick. Unfortunately, despite the near-workout, what I don’t have for you is a real answer to the pressing question of the day. Is Cuban prepared to do what he says he’ll do if his players continue to jellyfish as they had for two of their last three games before the San Antonio Spurs arrived in town Wednesday night, smacking their lips? Will he blow this team up? Will he finally run off the malingerers and the loafers? My guess is Cuban’s rant Tuesday, after the Mavs’ revolting performance in Oklahoma City Monday night, was more bluff and bluster than real threat, but no doubt he’s patting himself on the back today after his team not only showed up against the archrival Spurs for a change, but played perhaps their best game of the season, holding on for a 107-102 victory at the AAC. "Most teams in the league respond well to disappointing performances," coach Rick Carlisle had said in his pre-game media briefing. "That’s not something we want to hang our hat on. "I know our players have pride and were disappointed in their performance the other night." It showed against the Spurs. The Spurs sliced a 10-point Mavs’ lead with 4 minutes left to 2 with 1:17 to play, but Josh Howard drove the lane for a huge layup and Jason Kidd dropped home a 3-pointer from the left corner for the biggest buckets of the game. That it took an uncharacteristic tongue-lashing from Cuban, who is normally positive to a fault, shows how deep the disgust with the inconsistency of this team runs within the organization. "I just thought it was necessary, that’s all," Cuban said, huffing and puffing on from his pre-game ritual on the Stairmaster. "Every team has a different type of air about it. I just thought they needed a kick in the ass. "Sometimes pressure coming from multiple sources has a different impact, than just coming from somebody who’s here every day." And if the response he’s looking for doesn’t come long-term, if the Mavs continue to consistently play below their talent level, is he prepared to follow through and dump those players whose effort fails to measure up to their résumés? "I try not to evaluate hypotheticals of the future," he dodged. "There’s no point in doing that." There’s the rub, you see, because if Cuban isn’t willing to back up his words with action, as painful as that might be, it’s all just noise and wasted energy. "We want to win. When we don’t win, it hurts," Cuban said. "Hopefully it hurts enough that we’ll do something about it. "Seriously, there’s nothing else you can say or do. Now it’s up to the guys to go out and play. It [Oklahoma City] was upsetting, and I said what I had to say and we move on." There’s no question that Cuban was aiming most of his pointed comments at the team’s leaders, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Josh Howard. "Yes, as far as energy on the court, absolutely," Cuban said of the message he was sending to his team leaders. "Everybody has to have someone and we haven’t had that somebody yet. Josh, Dirk, J. Kidd they have toa ********************************************************************* -- 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