To them this is more than a business — Mark Cuban and Dirk Nowitzki are friends. Technically they are boss and employee, but neither sees it that way.
“I kick his ass whenever I’ve wanted to,” Cuban said last week, joking around about his friend the way you ride yours. “It’s kind of like we grew up in this business together….
“If I’m shooting downstairs before a game he’ll come in and stomp up and say ‘Whose house is it?’ I’m like ‘I paid for this s—, it’s my house.”
Nowitzki confirmed again this week what we already knew — he wants to play a few more years for Dallas before retiring. Cuban joked about the end of Nowitzki’s career, too.
“No, it’s when I want (then he laughs), because owners win games, not players,” Cuban said. How very Jerry Kraus of him.
But when Cuban got serious he said the plan is to let Nowitzki leave how the big German wants and on his terms, in part because his game is not slipping — he is scoring 21.1 points a game, with a PER of 23.2.
“It’s up to him, as long as he wants to he’ll be here,” the Mavericks’ owner said before his Mavericks took on the Clippers in Los Angeles. “Like I said earlier Dirk never played off athleticism; he plays off of heart, he plays off of brains, he plays off of technique. He’s a surgeon, he makes it into a science. He’s a student of the game and in a lot of respects that helps him, you’ll see he knows how to protect his body, which makes him look really awkward at times but he understands context.”
Cuban’s point was a simple one — if your game is all about your athleticism, it fades with age. Nowitzki’s game ages well. How does one even begin to defend a 7’0” guy who shoots a deadly one-legged fade-away?
“He’s just more skilled than everyone,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “I think it comes down to that with him, he’s seven feet tall, he’s maybe the best shooter in the league or at least top five still, and at that size that makes him almost impossible to guard.”
“It’s not like we were wowed by his athleticism or wowed with his speed,” Cuban said of drafting Nowitzki. “Dirk is all about German precision. He’s like a surgeon out on the court, he knows how to play, he sees the game in slow motion and he knows what’s going to happen and he knows what he needs to do. And it’s that ability to know what he needs to do but also context that continues to make him special.”
Nowitzki off the court is now a father, but he still has the mantra “I’m a warrior” who will do whatever it takes to win.
“I think Dirk’s pretty much the same guy,” Cuban said of he maturation of his friend. “Where I think early on he might have deferred to somebody else, or he might bite his tongue, you don’t see Dirk biting his tongue anymore….
“Dirk still likes to have fun, he’s always had fun. He’s always had a good spirit about him, he’s self-aware and knows what he does on the court is what he does on the court and what he does off the court is who he is.”
Who he is remains the best European player ever in the NBA. We are going to be fortunate to watch that German precision for a few more seasons after this one.
Kevin Durant dropped 46 and took over the game late, here are his 11 points in the final 3:30 of the game:
Nets 101, Magic 90: This was actually close for a half, before the Nets cranked up the defense in the third quarter — the Magic shot 14 percent in the quarter — and by the fourth this was a laugher for Brooklyn. Deron Williams came off the bench again but looked sharper than he did in his debut. The real hero for Brooklyn was Andray Blatche who had 18 points and was a force in the paint. As for Orlando… why isn’t Kyle O’Quinn getting more run. Play the man, he’s a spark plug.
Heat 93, Celtics 86: Miami won. If you want to give them credit you can say that on the second night of a back-to-back they were scrappy enough to get the win. But really, the Celtics were the undermanned scrappy team that fought back and showed heart, Miami looked like their slumping selves and played just well enough to beat one of the league’s worst teams right now. Rajon Rondo looked very rusty and was 0-of-8 (don’t be shocked if he sits Wednesday in the Celtics’ back-to-back with the Wizards). LeBron James had 29 points
Kings 114, Pelicans 97: Sacramento opened the game on a 12-2 run and never looked back — they attacked and got 50 points in the restricted area in this game as New Orleans treated rim protection like it was the Hantavirus. Rudy Gay continues his run of great play since coming to Sacramento scoring 41 points on just 25 shots, and Isaiah Thomas added 20. Pelicans’ fans looking for a bright spot, Jeff Withey played his best game of the season.
Thunder 105, Trail Blazers 97: With 3:15 left in a tight game late, Kevin Durant was whistled for the charge on a bang-bang play, and in frustration at the call he slammed his hand on the scorer’s table — which led to a technical foul on KD. That fueled the best scorer in the game — he had 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting the rest of the way and led the Thunder to the win. Durant was a beast all night and scored 46 (on just 25 shots), his ninth game in a row scoring at least 30 points. LaMarcus Aldridge had 29 points and 16 rebounds, but he shot 1-8 in the fourth quarter. All of that covered by the much maligned Kendrick Perkins, who also hit a key baseline jumper (we’ve slammed him here before, got to give him credit now).
Timberwolves 112, Jazz 97: Minnesota went on a 17-2 run early in the first and never looked back from there. The Timberwolves were the more aggressive team, getting to the line twice as much as the Jazz (24-12), plus the Timberwolves ball movement was improved. Corey Brewer and Kevin Love each had 19 points to lead five Timberwolves with at least 15 points. Gordon Hayward had 27 for the Jazz. One other note, Ricky Rubio has not had a great season but looked pretty sharp Tuesday night.
