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I saw the video interview first and it comes off very different than the article. He's so envious of the Spurs it kills him. You almost feel bad for the big Dirk. It's got to be embarrassing with an owner who steals that much of the spotlight.
lol @ Cuban. I can't hate him though - he's like an irritating re ed kid, yes it's annoying, but you can't hate him, you feel sorry for him.
I saw the video interview first and it comes off very different than the article. He's so envious of the Spurs it kills him. You almost feel bad for the big Dirk. It's got to be embarrassing with an owner who steals that much of the spotlight.
bought this on Ebay from a seller named Seamus.
Gig 'Em!
Jealousy's a , ain't it cubes?
How can some spurs fans laugh and say there is no rivalry when the Mavs have pwned us multiple years in the playoffs.
Dude, I love your avatar. And Cuban is foooool.
I'm pretty sure to the Spurs, the Mavs are just like any other team in the way of another ring. I'm sure the Spurs mean more to the Mavs then the Mavs mean to the Spurs.
Its just like in the 90s, there was never a Rockets-Spurs rivalry. It was just us getting our asses handed to us by them which seemed like every year. We tried hard to find an answer to them... adding Rodman, but nothing. We looked at them as being our "hil to climb" and we were nothing but playoff fodder to them.
Mixability just hit the nail on the head.
Rivalry spurs Cuban's 'hate' for San Antonio
By Brad Townsend / The Dallas Morning News
Owner Mark Cuban seldom attends Mavericks practices, but he dropped by American Airlines Center on Tuesday because he had other business there, he said.
After practice, Cuban spoke with coach Rick Carlisle, then held court with reporters for 12 minutes.
With the Mavericks leading San Antonio, 1-0, entering Game 2 tonight, Cuban said this series feels more like a conference final than the first round.
Cuban talked about the deep, long-running, respectful "hate" he feels toward the Spurs – and agreed with Dirk Nowitzki's assertion that this is the best Mavericks team of the Cuban/Nowitzki era.
"Yeah, it's not even close, but the league's better, too. So it's not 'Are we better?' It's 'how are we better relative to the rest of the league?' "
Early playoff results, he said, have confirmed his opinion that all eight Western Conference seeds are fairly well matched. But he laughed when asked if this Dallas team represents his best shot at an NBA le.
"You know, if you gave me 2-0 in the Finals, I'd say that's our best chance," he said, referring to the 2006 NBA Finals, when Miami overcame a 2-0 deficit to Dallas by winning four straight. "But I don't want to cost myself any more [fine] money from there.
"We have a good team, and we have a good coaching staff, and we have a unique opportunity. Now we just have to take advantage of it."
In 10 playoff trips during Cuban's ownership, the Mavericks have met San Antonio five times. Cuban was asked whether he would feel as strongly about the rivalry if the Spurs fell from the league's elite.
"No, I mean, I hate the Spurs," he said, laughing. "I have a hard time being civil to [Spurs owner] Peter Holt at the Board of Governors meeting, and he has a hard time being civil to me, even though we like each other.
"It's just what it represents. We can both be 0-80, and if those last two games are Spurs-Mavs, it's going to be like a playoff game because we dislike each other that much."
Asked whether the Feb. 13 trade with Washington has worked out even better than he expected, Cuban deadpanned:
"No, when I spend 30 to 40 million dollars, I try to have a high expectation. It's not like buying a Yugo – no knock on Yugo."
The post-trade 13-game winning streak and climb to No. 2 in the West are immaterial, Cuban added.
"Because if we don't win this series, everybody's going to say it was a failure. Right? If we don't win a championship, everybody's going to say it was a failure. That's really what it comes down to."
i'm so tired of talking about this dude...he's a jock sniffer and that's that...let's just "let the dogs out" and play game 2 already....
I dislike him a lot personality and perception wise. Meaning he is kind of a bag but I will say one thing. He is not cheap and really cares about winning which I can respect but he does have a big ing mouth which irritates me. Go Spurs Go.
Oh and Cuban. Did I mention he's an enormous bag??
Suck it Mark.
That is classic, AB!
bought this on Ebay from a seller named Seamus.
Questions and answers from Mark Cuban's media talk
Brad Townsend/Dallas Morning News
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made a rare visit to practice on Tuesday. He said he was at American Airlines Center to conduct non-basketball business, but dropped by after practice.
After speaking to Coach Rick Carlisle and saying o to a few players, Cuban held court with reporters for 12 minutes.
Here are some of the questions and answers (questions paraphrased):
Q: What did you think of Popovich's Game 1 comments, saying some of the Spurs played like dogs? Is that just the way he is, or have the mind games begun?
Cuban: As long as he's playing mind games with his own team, I'm fine with it.
His point is well-taken. The series is going to hinge on who's second unit plays better. Their top three are great. Our top three or four are great. Two great teams playing basketball the right way. It really does matter how your second unit plays.
Game 1, I think we got a little bit of the better of them, and I think Pop recognized that. But I think R.J. [Richard Jefferson] and Mason, Bonner and those guys, George Hill, they've got a great second unit _ whether George Hill or Parker are coming off the bench. That's a good solid team that could win games on its own.
Second units matter in this league.
Q: Has the impact of the trade been bigger than you even anticipated?
Cuban: (Tongue in cheek) No, when I spend 30-40 million dollars, I try to have a high expectation. It's not like buying a Yugo, no knock on Yugo.
Q: The team had a 13-game winning streak right away. Could you have anticipated that?
Cuban: Yeah, but that doesn't matter right now. That's old news. We've won one game. We've got to win at least three more here. Because if we don't win this series, everybody's going to say it was a failure. Right? If we don't win a championship, everybody's going to say it was a failure. That's really what it comes down to.
Q: All those times you played the Spurs in series, we all know Bruce Bowen gave Dirk some aggravation. How much are you thinking the Spurs don't have anybody now who can handle him?
Cuban: I mean, look, they've got a lot of good defenders. I think a lot of people gave R.J. Jefferson a hard time, but he did a good job. They can put Ginobili on him. But at the end of the day, when you've got a great player, whether it's Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, Dirk, Caron, Jet, whatever, it's team defense.
And you've got to know how to play team defense. Bruce Bowen, when he was here, wasn't shutting down Dirk. It was the fact that he could take chances because he knew he could trust the guys behind him. And San Antonio does a great job defensively on execution. So when they double or triple team and try to send him in one direction and zone on the backside, you know those guys are going to be there.
That's really what matters, and that really hasn't changed because it's not like Dirk didn't have good games when we played San Antonio before. He did. He might have fewer bruises and doesn't have to watch his feet when he lands today like he used to -- it's amazing how Bowen's feet were just uncontrollable.
But at the end of the day, they're a great offensive team and Dirk's a great offensive player. And it's team versus team.
Q: Dirk says if you don't win the championship it's a lost season. Do you agree?
Cuban: Yeah, every season's that way. I mean, there's one winner and everyone else tied for last place. I've always said that.
Q: There's a lot made of Popovich, the genius factor, four les, but you've got a coach who's been to the conference finals and on the bench he's got guys who have been head coaches. How do you feel about your ability to counteract whatever . . . . ?
Cuban: This is where Rick Carlisle shines. Rick's not about 'Brand Carlisle.' He's not about coming up with sayings that make people know who he is.
He's a cerebral coach. He's an amazing, brilliant X's and O's coach. In the regular season, you don't have time to counteract everything. In the playoffs, he and Terry Stotts and Dwane Case and Darrell Armstrong, they've got time to watch film and come up with counter-balances.
It's kind of like thermonuclear war from War Games. Every action's got a reaction, and you've got time to do it. It'll get even more interesting after Wednesday because there's even less time.
That's where, I wouldn't' say it's Pop versus Rick, even though that's kind of the nucleus of it. They're the nuclear reactors, but the teams still have to execute and that's what it comes down to.
But Rick deserves a ton of credit and, actually, I told him at practice, this is where he shines.
Q: Back to the topic of winning it all. In '06 you had a shot. Dirk thinks this team is better. Do you agree?
Cuban: Yeah. It's not even close. But the league's better, too. So it's not 'Are we better.' It's 'How are we better relative to the rest of the league?' Watching the playoffs, Oklahoma hits some of their opens shots, hits their 3s, it's a different series. You saw Utah, short-handed by two, beat Denver.
You saw Phoenix lose to Portland, who's short-handed. I said all along, nobody's afraid of anybody. It's just playing out that way. I think people picked the Lakers because they're the defending champion, so you're always the champion until proven otherwise. But anybody can beat anybody, and hopefully, if we execute our game plan, we can get past the Spurs and go from there.
Q: Do you view this as your best chance since you've owned the team?
Cuban: I wouldn't say it's our best chance. You know, if you gave me 2-0 in the Finals, I'd say that's our best chance. But I don't want to cost myself anymore money from there. We have a good team, and we have a good coaching staff and we have a unique opportunity. Now we just have to take advantage of it.
Q: On Sunday, you had fans generate all the noise. No artificial noise was piped in. Do you plan to continue that?
Cuban: It's funny, I got just as many emails for it as I did against it. . . . I think our fans, we have great fans. During the regular season, people trade out their tickets, give tickets away. Playoffs is where all the people who bought season tickets bought them for a reason are coming.
Right now, we'll go . . . . we'll go naked because that's the way I roll. But we'll see what happens. I reserve my right to change mid-game.
Q: To what do you attribute the free-throw lopsidedness in Game 1?
Cuban: Hack-a-Damp usually has some impact on that. That was six to eight (attempts). We were aggressive at the beginning. In the first quarter, we certainly had a free throw advantage. In the fourth quarter, minus the Hack a Damp, they had a huge free throw advantage.
And it's not unique. We get a lot of negative commentary, that, 'Oh, we don't go to the basket. We just shoot jump shots. But if you go back over the history of our series with the Spurs, it's not an anomaly where one team gets a significant number of free throws over the other.
Going back to shooting 51 free throws and hitting 50 of them [actually, 49 of 50 in 2003).
The uniqueness of a Spurs-Mavs series is that both teams play basketball the right way. There's no woofing. There's no screaming. There's no yelling. The intimidation comes by playing better basketball. Both teams know they're good. Both teams know they have the ability to execute on both sides of the court. That's what makes it an exciting series.
It actually feels a lot like the conference finals from a few years ago because every possession counts. I think that's what makes it unique. That's why, depending on how the game is called, you get the discrepancy in free throws.
Q: Do you think Dirk has gotten more respect from referees in recent years?
Cuban: [Tongue in cheek] That's such a misnomer that players get respect, one way or the other. Referees just call the games as they see them.
Q: How much do you pep talk your guys?
Cuban: Never. I think I spoke up one time in the locker room last year, which was the first time in six years. If I'm in the locker room trying to say something, that means something's wrong. That hasn't been the case this year.
You don't see me coming in and doing 'rah, rah.'
Q: Do you still have that same feeling in your gut about the Spurs? That no matter how bad they may be some day you still wouldn't trust them, or have you gotten over that?
Cuban: Nope (laughs). You know, they've got that crystal clear river water down there to deal with . . . . No, I mean, I hate the Spurs. I have a hard time being civil to Peter Holt at the Board of Governors meetings and he has a hard time being civil to me even though we like each other.
It's just what it represents. We can both be 0-80 and if those last two games are Spurs-Mavs, it's going to be like a playoff game because we dislike each other that much.
It's crazy that in the nine years, ten years of playoffs, we've gone through each other. And it's unfortunate because they're always great series. Always. Except for maybe the first one after we beat Utah, but we did get the last game at Reunion, which is nice.
But Dirk goes down, then we win, then Steve Kerr comes alive in that sixth game. Every since then, they've been wars. They've been dogfights.
Q: Is it a respectful hatred?
Cuban: Oh, yeah, no question about it. Both teams play basketball the right way. Both teams have a lot of respect for the other side.
The beauty of the first game, and every game we play them, is that every possession counts. . . . Well, I take it back. Unless Pop says he's going for the best record and then rests everybody.
I'm going to start calling him Alice in Wonderland. But beyond that, particularly in the playoffs, every possession counts.
Every possession just feels like it's a punch in a heavyweight le fight. It doesn't feel like it's the first round of the playoffs, is I guess is what I'm saying. It feels like it's a conference finals and we're playing to get to the Finals. That just shows the respect both teams have for each other because both teams know they can't take a possession off.
Q: How much did Dampier's arrival make you guys better equipped to play the Spurs?
Cuban: Would you repeat that out loud, because I don't think anybody's ever said that to me.
Huge, huge. There's a reason why Rick kept him in when Duncan was in. He's played against him all these years. Tim's going to get his numbers, mostly on pick and rolls when Damp's got to show. But one on one, it's rare where Tim's going to sucker Damp into sticking his hand out when Tim goes into his shooting motion.
Tim has to work to get position on Damp. They know each others' game. You're never going to stop Tim Duncan, but you can at least make him work hard and try to tire him down some. I think if anything, having Damp and Brandon now, because Tim hasn't played many 40-minute games, once the playoffs get down to one-game rest, I think that might work to our favor.
This thread automatically reminded me of what I said on this board couple years ago. A sad memory cuz the spurs just lost game 7 to the mavs in '06 but im glad I had a few choice words for cuban.Cuban
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42182I hope Cuban gets gang raped by Gorillas so his ass can't watch the rest of the playoffs.
When that happens, I can support the mavs.
There is no rivalry with the Mavs as there are no rings for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place. You either win it all or you don't. We are part of an elite class that measures itself by the rings on the hand. We only should have a rivalry with teams like the Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, Rockets and Bulls. The Mavericks have not done enough to earn rivalry status. They could win it all and still would be just a one hit wonder. Sadly, they can't even claim that distinction. In fact they are so pitiful we should give them a noogie.
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