Full-Court Press

Cuban talks about slow start, being a better team than last season

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban appeared on ESPN's "NBA Countdown" on Wednesday before the network's doubleheader that included the Mavericks' loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

He talked about the Mavericks' slow start to the regular season not changing the goal of winning another title and said he believes this Mavericks team can be better than last season's NBA champions:

"We've just got to make the playoffs, that's all I really care about. Honestly, I was telling people if we're 10-10 I'll be thrilled  to death. And if we were 5-15, I wouldn't have been shocked, because you can't just walk  into a season and be ready, particularly if  you're a team that bases its defense on precision and team defense, and its offense off ball movement.

"If you're young, your legs are always in shape, and if you're an athlete, and you just run by people and jump over people. I think that's why you saw the more athletic teams get off to great starts and the more 'team' teams struggle a little bit.

"I'm always win now, but you don't destroy the future. I think you can do both, and that's what we've  tried to do.

"Yeah, we've lost some great players, and yet at the same time we kept a lot of good players, we kept Dirk, JKidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, so we lost ... but kept basically our top four. So by adding Vince Carter, by adding Lamar Odom, by adding Delonte West, I think literally we can be, I think we are a better team.

"When you go out on the road, people are gunning for you, they want to take on the world champions. There are more Mavs fans in the  road arenas, and that amps guys up, and our players know it. Coach [Rick Carlisle] talks about it all the time, you have a target on your back, and you've got to step up, but at the same time we can't lose track of the overall goal.

"You've got to recognize who you are, what you need to accomplish and where you're trying to go. We've got a plan and we're sticking to it."

 

 

Odom is a Team USA finalist

Lamar Odom may be struggling through one of his worst seasons ever. But that didn't stop the Dallas Mavericks' forward from being one of 20 players named as Team USA finalists.

The final roster of 12 players -- and six alternates -- will be announced on June 18. Those players will represent the USA in this summer's Olympic Games in London.

After being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Mavs on Dec. 10, Odom has averaged just 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20 minutes per game. Maybe, being a Team USA finalist can serve as something motivational for Odom as the Mavs start a four-game road trip at 9:30 tonight in LA against the Lakers.

Here are all the finalists for Team USA:

Guards – Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Chauncey Billups, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon and Dwyane Wade.

Forwards – Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Andre Iguodala, Carmelo Anthony, Rudy Gay, LaMarcus Aldridge, Lamar Odom, Blake Griffin, Chris Bosh and Kevin Love.

Centers – Dwight Howard and Tyson Chandler

-- Dwain Price

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Carlisle had a Rick Perry moment

DALLAS-- Rick Carlisle had sort of a Rick Perry moment during his news conference after Saturday’s 99-60 win over Sacramento.

The Dallas Mavericks coach was telling the media his major points for winning games, when he said this:

“Again, the three major points we’re stressing are energy, competitiveness, defense and rebounding. That’s four, actually.

“The first two are one. Work with me on that.’’

Even Carlisle had to laugh at his gaffe.

During a Republican presidential debate two months ago, Perry attempted to name the three federal agencies he would like to eliminate if this country voted him in as president.

"It’s three agencies of government when I get there that are gone," Perry said. "Commerce, education and, what's the third one? ... Ooops."

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs assign Jones to D-League

DALLAS _ So he can at least get some playing time and continue honing his skills, Dominique Jones has been assigned by the Dallas Mavericks to the Texas Legends of the D-League.

Jones averaged just 1.9 points and 0.9 rebounds in only four minutes per game this season while shooting 40 percent from the field.

In 10 games last year for the Legends, Jones averaged 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 37.5 minutes per game.

-- Dwain Price

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Carlisle explains Odom's situation

DALLAS _ While Lamar Odom has admittedly struggled grasping the Dallas Mavericks’ way of doing things, coach Rick Carlisle put the entire picture in its proper perspective.

In essence, Carlisle said the Mavs haven’t played Odom much in the position which he enjoyed his most success while he played the last seven years with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“The truth is, this is something that’s a major factor with Lamar’s situation on our team,’’ Carlisle said. “He played over 95 percent of his minutes at (power forward with the Lakers).

“We’ve got one of the Top 10 players in the history of the game playing (power forward) here (in Dirk Nowitzki). So (Odom’s) minutes now are coming at (small forward).’’

The minutes are not so easy to come by at small forward, either.

“We’ve got (Odom), Dirk, (Shawn) Marion and Vince Carter kind of sharing those forward minutes,’’ Carlisle said. “So there are just less minutes available.’’

Odom averages 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20 minutes per game this season. He also is shooting just 31.2 percent from the field and 18.9 percent from three-point range.

But with the Mavs having so much quality talent at the two forward spots, Odom has to get in where he can fit in.

“That’s one of the challenges for all of our guys, and we’ve got turn it into a positive,’’ Carlisle said. “We’ve got to turn it into a positive and say, ‘Hey, with all these games and all these opponents and all our versatility, put your best energy out there and let’s throw the kitchen sink at teams.’

“Some nights guys' minutes are going to run up some, and some nights are going to be low. But everybody’s in it for the same reasons.’’

-- Dwain Price

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Odom is a loyal person

DALLAS _ Lamar Odom is loyal to a fault.

So when his new Dallas Mavericks team meets his old Los Angeles Laker squad Monday night in LA, Odom will revert back to something his former Laker teammate, Kobe Bryant, told him.

“To be honest with you, I’m a loyal person and I’ve been taught by the best, and that being Kobe,’’ Odom told the Star-Telegram. “I owe it to Dirk (Nowitzki) to kind of leave (the Lakers) behind.

“My brothers in this locker room and the person that I learned it from will tell me the same thing. If I didn’t, it wouldn’t be fair to these (Mavericks) guys.’’

Besides Bryant, Odom said ex-teammate Derek Fisher and former Laker coach Phil Jackson also would tell me that the game of basketball is a business, and sometimes the business isn’t all positive. Odom discovered that when the Lakers tried to trade him to the New Orleans Hornets last month.

“Even PJ told me when it’s over, it’s over,’’ Odom said. “Not just the business side, but just everything. It’s over. Every which way you can think about it.

"The basketball side, the business side, friends, family, it’s over. Derek will tell me the same thing, Kobe will tell me the same thing. That’s what they would tell me.’’

While Odom is making some strides after struggling mightily early on in his new job with the Mavs, he said he is fitting in nicely with the Mavs off the court.

“I can’t complain,’’ Odom said. “Everybody asks me about my family and how I’m liking it.

“The players are so good that I was able to kind of fit in slowly but surely. And I’m lucky.’’

Odom also said his wife, reality TV star Khloe Kardashian, who sits about five rows from the court during home games and has attended nearly every home game, is also settling in comfortably.

“She loves it, she likes Dallas,’’ Odom said. “She likes the opportunities that's presented in front of us as far as making a new home.

“And wherever she is, it’s my home. She’s made Dallas my home so far.’’

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs stepping up on defense

DALLAS _ Counting the last half of Friday's game against Milwaukee and the first half of Saturday's game against the Sacramento Kings, the Dallas Mavericks allowed a measley 54 points during that fourth-quarter stretch.

Grantged, the Bucks and Kings lielly won't be in the playoffs this seaosn. But they're still an NBA team.

Heck, the Kings even own a victory this season over the Los Angeles Lakers. But against the Mavs, the Kings were one point shy of the franchise-low for points scored since they moved to Sacarmento in 1985.

Also, the 23 points and 17.4 percent shooting the Kings had in the first half were low-water marks for the Kings since they moved to Sacramento.

"We're doing better things defensively and we were good defensively in the first half,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "They had some struggles -- their shot-making wasn't great -- but I thought we had something to do with that.

"We're placing our major emphasis on energy, defense and rebounding. The guys are responding.''

After opening the season with three losses, the Mavs (8-5) have won eight of their last 10 games. That includes posting a five-game winning streak with victories in four games over the past five days.

"Nobody is playing long minutes,'' Carlisle said. "Everybody goes out there and plays hard to exhaustion and then we get somebody else in.

"It's a game against a team that we should beat. But we played to the level we needed to play at consistently through the game and that's important to do.''

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs bench outscore the entire Kings team

DALLAS _ This is how dominant the Dallas Mavericks were tonight at American Airlines Center.

The Mavs' bench tallied 68 points. The Sacramento Kings ENTIRE TEAM scored 60 points.

Enough said.

"We just talk about doing our job,'' guard Jason Terry said after the Mavs' 99-60 victory. "When you have three guys that could possibly be All-Stars coming off the bench, you should dominate.

"Our chemistry on the offensive end is not where we want it to be. But defensively if we just compete and put out that extra effort every night on the defensive end we're going to be in a lot of ball games and win our fair share.'

Terry was the ringleader of the bench players, scoring a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He also moved into aolse possession of seventh place on the NBA's all-time three-pointers made list with 1,680 after going 2-of-4 from beyond the arc against the Kings.

"I'm trying to lead by example because we have a lot of young guys on the bench and I need to play at a high level so they can also come up and play at that level,'' Terry said. "It's all about being consistent every night and again doing your job.

"My job is to bring energy off the bench and put up a lot of shots, and hopefully they'll go in.''

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs blow out the Kings, 99-60

DALLAS -- Two home games in two nights resulted in two blowout wins for the Dallas Mavericks.

After hammering the Milwaukee Bucks, 102-76, on Friday, the Mavs returned to the American Airlines Center tonight and lowered the boom on the Sacramento Kings, 99-60, before 20,313.

The victory completed a 2-0 sweep of this homestand for Dallas (8-5) and stretched the Mavs' winning streak to five games. The two wins were critical since the Mavs now embark on a four-game road trip which starts Monday in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

That will be a battle between the last three NBA champions and will be Lamar Odom's first game in LA since the Lakers traded him to the Mavs last month. The Lakers won the NBA title in 2009 and '10, and the Mavs won it last year.

The Kings-Mavs game got out of hand quickly. Sacramento missed its first eight shots of the game and fell behind 8-0, and missed its last 10 shots of the first period and fell behind 27-11.

It didn't get any better for the Kings in the second period when they tallied just 12 points and trailed at the half, 52-23. The 23 points were the fewest the Mavs have ever allowed in any half, and were the fewest the Kings have ever scored in any half.

Jason Terry led the Mavs with 21 points, Vince Carter scored 16, Dirk Nowitzki popped in 14, and Shawn Marion tallied 10. DeMarcus Cousins paced the Kings (4-9) with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

-- Dwain Price

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@dwainprice

 

 

Mavs get their rings on Jan. 25 vs. Minnesota

DALLAS _ The Dallas Mavericks will receive their NBA championship rings prior to a Jan. 25 game against JJ Barea and the Minnwesota Timberwolves.

"We'll get rings, we'll hand them out, we'll give it to JJ and it'll be fun,'' owner Mark Cuban said today. "I feel like 'ooh,' that's fun.''

The Mavs raised their championship banner prior to the regular season opener against the Miami Heat on Dec. 25. Although the rings weren't ready at that time, this works out more to Cuban's liking.

"I like separating the two, actually, because it gives us two chances to sell it,'' Cuban said. "It gives fans that couldn't make it opening day another chance to be part of it.

"Hopefully we get a chance to separate them again.''

-- Dwain Price

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@dwainprice