Dirk
Nowitzki Conference Call
Dirk Nowitzki opening statement:
I think we’re doing just fine, 10-5 is a good record. We just had a little down phase where we lost those three games in a row, got blown out twice and lost at home. That was a pretty bad stretch, but other than that, I think we’re doing fine. We got out of that stretch, we’ve won four in a row now and are playing our style of basketball. We’re moving the ball, running the break and looking pretty good right now. We’re looking forward to keeping the winning streak as long as we can and looking forward to the game against Sacramento tomorrow.
Q: What are your thoughts on Eduardo Nájera?
Nowitzki: I think he’s a great player. For his size, he’s a great shooter. He can post up, he’s a good defender, great offensive and defensive rebounder. He’s a good team player. He knows how to move in a system. He knows what to do, he does all the little things, taking charges. We think he’s a great player and so far he’s helped us in a couple of games. He’ll have a nice career in this league.
Q: Have you heard anything about him being traded?
Nowitzki: I haven’t heard about that. I hope he stays with us. He’s a great guy and a good player. I haven’t heard anything about it, so I’m assuming he stays with us.
Q: What are the team goals for this season?
Nowitzki: First off, we want to make the playoffs again. We know that’s not going to be easy because the West is so tough. We’ve got to be ready to play every night. Teams like Golden State and the L.A. Clippers have gotten better, so it’s very tough in the West and we know that, but with the experienced guys we have, with the new guys that have come in and added experience, hopefully we’ll make the playoffs and from there, anything can happen. We’re capable of beating anyone in a five-game series. It should be fun, but the hardest thing is getting there first. We’re working on that right now.
Q: What influence does a player like Tim Hardaway have?
Nowitzki: Not only Tim, but Danny Manning as well. They’ve all been there, done that. They’ve been in the playoffs, they have so much experience, they can make shots in crunch time. It’s just nice to have them around. Tim has played for Coach [Don] Nelson so long. He knows the system, knows how to move in that system, knows how to play, when to shoot, and so does Danny. It’s good to have both of them.
Q: How is it to play for an owner like Mark Cuban?
Nowitzki: It’s great. He’s our No. 1 fan. He’s got our back 100 percent. He’s always there at practice, he flies with us to every game. He’s just in there with his whole heart. He’s so emotional and it’s just so great to have an owner like that.
Q: Who will be the next German in the NBA?
Nowitzki: I really don’t know. Hopefully in the future there will be a lot of players coming over. We have lots of talent over in Germany, but I really don’t have a specific player I’m thinking of.
Q: What are your thoughts on Kevin Garnett?
Nowitzki: Kevin Garnett, to me, is one of the top three players in the league right now. He can just do it all. He’s so fun to watch. He’s smooth. He’s one of my favorite players. I like what he does on the floor. He makes his teammates better, and that’s great to see. He really can do it all. He hustles, he can post, he can shoot, he’s a great rebounder. I love to watch him. I try to do the same things, but I’m not that good yet, but hopefully I can work on my game and improve on a lot of stuff and be a great player like he is.
Q: Do you think there’s a specific reason why so many German players are playing prominent roles for their teams in the NBA?
Nowitzki: I think the reason is that European basketball is getting better all the time. You saw it when the Lithuanian team almost beat the Dream Team in the Olympics. It just shows that Europe has a lot of talent. The leagues are good over there. The players are getting better every year. They’re very good with fundamental skills, they are well trained, they can all shoot and move. That’s very important and it’s why I think Europe will continue to bring players over here that will have impact on the NBA, which is great.
Q: Do you feel the Mavericks can make a run at the division title?
Nowitzki: I don’t know about that. It’s going to be tough. The Spurs still have the best team with [Tim] Duncan and [David] Robinson inside. They’re just very tough to beat. I think we’re good enough to beat them but we just have to step it up. The way we played lately, we’re getting on the right track. We’ll see if we can compete with them. We haven’t played them yet. Minnesota is having a great year so far. They’ve been playing some zones, which is hard to play against, because they have three long guys in there. I don’t know. Right now, we’re in a good spot and we’re just trying to hang in there and in the end, hopefully get the division title. It’s going to be a tough battle. I think Houston has a good team, so it’s going to be a tough year but it’s a good challenge for us. The West is tight, but that makes it more fun.
Q: Do you think of yourself as the best international player in the NBA?
Nowitzki: I don’t think so. It’s not really about being the best European player. As long as you’re on the court and playing, it doesn’t matter where you come from and I don’t want to be the best European player. There are so many great European players like Toni Kukoc and [Peja] Stojakovic and Vlade Divac, who’s having a great year so far. It’s not really about who’s the best European player, it’s about helping your team win.
Q: Why do you think the Mavericks have been up and down this season?
Nowitzki: I don’t know. All the new guys have to come together and play well. During this three-game losing streak, we didn’t play hard, we didn’t compete, we didn’t defend, we didn’t rebound the ball. We looked pretty bad, but other than that, we look pretty good as a team and we’re sharing the ball, so we just have to continue to work on getting everyone involved and getting the new players in the flow, and we should be fine.
Q: Can you talk about the obstacles a young European player has to overcome to be successful in the NBA?
Nowitzki: I think it’s very tough. I love to see that guys like Pau Gasol and Tony Parker are doing well. For me, it was tough. Not only playing, but coming over and living on my own. I’d always lived with my parents. On the court, the rules are so much different. In my case it was even worse because I came over during the lockout year and we only had a week of training camp and then we started the season. I wasn’t really ready, to be honest, so for me it was a tough year with a lot of ups and downs that they’re going to be experiencing. It’s a very long season and there will be some ups and downs but they have to keep their confidence. Basically what you can do is hang in there, try to get better every day, work with coaches, get used to the tough playing style. The style of play is so much different and I was struggling just trying to play hard every night, fighting for every loose ball and every rebound. In Germany, you didn’t have to do that. It took me my whole rookie year to get used to that. I’m glad I made that adjustment my second year. I think they’re going to be all right in the league.
Q: You said Kevin Garnett was one of the top three players in the game. Who do you think are the other two?
Nowitzki: The other two players right now, I would say one is Shaquille O’Neal. He’s unstoppable at the center position and actually a tie for the other spot. I like Kobe Bryant a lot. He’s very hard to guard and I really like Tracy McGrady. He’s a tough matchup.
Q: Are the Lakers still the team to beat?
Nowitzki: They already look great. It’s very early in the season and they’re playing very good defense. They’re rebounding, they have their offense going with Shaq and Kobe, so I think they’re going to be the team to beat again. They’re looking very sharp and they look like they’re ready to play every night.
Q: What do the Mavericks need to become a championship team?
Nowitzki: That’s a tough question. There are still a couple of steps we need to take before we do that. We are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league and I think if we want to be a great team and take another step in the playoffs, we need to get that straightened out, get more rebounds and get into a running game. Defensively, we’ve got a lot of holds. It starts with defense and our defense is improved but I don’t think it’s on a great level yet. We just have to keep working on stuff like rebounding and defense. That’s what wins games and wins championships.
Q: Do you think that NBA players will continue to compete in the World Championship games?
Nowitzki: I think so, because all of the NBA players that are there are very young like Pau Gasol and Stojakovic and myself and Andrei Kirilenko. All the NBA players that were there were pretty young, so I think they should be there in two years. I think it was a great European championships this year. The level of play was very high and it was fun to watch for everyone. It really was fun to compete every night. There were hard games every night. The NBA was represented great and it was fun to play.
Q: What has your success meant to basketball in Germany?
Nowitzki: I don’t know about myself. I guess I’m getting bigger in Germany and basketball in general is getting bigger over there. Soccer is still the No. 1 sport. Basketball will never pass soccer, but our goal has to be the No. 2 sport in Germany and get more fans. That’s why the European Championships were great. Every game was broadcast this summer and I think we did good for Germany getting to the semifinal. We won a lot of basketball fans that summer.
Q: Do the Mavericks need some more inside scoring punch to take the next step?
Nowitzki: That’s very important, because there will always be nights when your shot is not falling and we just had that the other night when we couldn’t throw it in the ocean and those are the kind of nights where you have to have an inside presence, who can give you something good down there. I think that Juwan [Howard] is great at that. When nothing is going, we give him the ball down there, and I also think that Mike Finley is one of the best posting up two-guards in the league. He can post up any two-guard and really creates mismatches down there. Those are the two guys who help when our outside game isn’t going so well. We’ve got to have more of that. I worked on my post game a lot, so hopefully I’ll continue to go down there and be successful in the post.
This information was obtained at
DallasMavericks.com
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