[Dragnsmke1]

Originally posted by mavsman!


Why would he not be a Maverick next year? What is this based upon some dream you had? "I get the feeling" ???

Sorry if I don't put more stock in your "feeling" but I can not see
anywhere else that Walker would fit it any better. The Mavericks are maybe the most cushy place to play as a professional. Cuban spoils his team and I don't think too many people are going to want to leave.

thats why theyre so pissed when they leave *cough..NVE..cough*

[lastlaugh]

I don't know anything about Antoine's opinion on the Mavericks. I believe I read one quote that he loves it there.
I am sure he would love to play for the best owner in sports next to Darth Vadar (George Steinbreenner)
I just personally feel that he won't stay.
I hope he stays as long as he gets some appreciation (my opinion not his) because here in Boston he was never appreciated.

[Dragnsmke1]

The best team in basketball will arrive at American Airlines Center on Thursday night, and they are being welcomed with all the respect and adulation you would expect.

Which is to say, none. The Mavericks spent the day before the biggest game of the young season talking about the alleged greatness of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers come calling with the best record in the Western Conference and enough future hall of famers that they might require a new wing at the Springfield, Mass., museum when they all are enshrined.

But respect comes hard in Texas. Just because you smacked defending-champion San Antonio by 16 points in the past week and beat the Eastern Conference's top team, Indiana, by 22 on Sunday, there just aren't many believers when you go a full year without winning an NBA title, even if you did win three in a row before that.

And here we thought the whole league felt like LA's raiding of free agents Karl Malone and Gary Payton, who agreed to join Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant for the proverbial minimum wage, just wasn't fair.

"It isn't," Mavericks forward Danny Fortson said Wednesday. "But what can we do about it? People say what we did here in the off-season isn't fair. We just have to play hard and not focus so much on their names, realize that these guys are still old and we're still younger. If we remember that and play hard, I think we can run them off the court."

That's what happens when you bring in a bunch of new guys who don't understand that the Mavericks have lost 30 of the last 33 meetings against the Lakers and 45 of the last 50. They don't know any better.

"They're good, real good," forward Antoine Walker said. "They put a pounding on the Spurs last week. But we'll see what happens Thursday night."

The Mavericks aren't using this game as any sort of yardstick. They quite frankly don't care where they stack up against the Lakers in the first week of December. They'll worry about that in the first week of May.

But as early-season games go, this one at least has the potential for some entertainment value, if for no other reason than the Mavericks are talking a good game going into it.

"We can get this one," Mavs guard Steve Nash said. "We're going out there to win this game, for sure. There are no moral victories or giving up in this group. We're going out there to win them all."

As you might suspect, coach Don Nelson is somewhat less exuberant when it comes to bringing the Lakers' invincibility into question.

"I was up early [Wednesday] morning watching their film, and I had to stop watching it," Nelson said. "It was depressing. They're that good. They're one of the most dominant teams I've seen in a long time. It reminds me of the Boston Celtics when they added Bill Walton [in the 1985-86 season] to an already championship team.

"They're far and away the best team I've seen. And it's going to be harder to play them now than it was opening night [when the Mavericks lost, 109-93, in LA]."

So are the Lakers as good as their last six games – all victories, with five of them by at least 16 points – have appeared? At least one objective observer thinks so.

"They are clearly the class of the NBA right now," said TNT analyst Steve Kerr. "They are the best team, and they have the most talent in a starting five. And I think that they are motivated and angry after last year's failures."

"Look at it this way," Nelson said. "They've had the best center in the league forever. They have the best two-guard in the game. They've added the best high-post player in the game. You can argue that [Tim] Duncan maybe is that guy. But Malone always has been considered to me to be the best high-post player in the league.

"And you put Payton in there who you could still argue is the best point guard in the game. Most people would say [Jason] Kidd or maybe somebody else. But when you talk about the best point guard in the league, you got to talk about Gary Payton, along with anybody else.

"So on the same team, they got four of the best players in the league at their position. Hello? Anybody home?"

That's Nelson's way of saying anybody this side of Charles Barkley could figure out how good the Lakers really are.

But apparently, some of his players haven't yet made it to this side of Barkley.

[stevemc]

We just need to wear out those 4 players but going up and down the court like we can at home and we can coast to a victory.

[Dragnsmke1]

Danny Fortson is back, just in time to face, as he calls him, "the biggest monster there is."

Fortson's three-game suspension is over, and the 6-8, 265-pound forward is looking forward to mixing it up with 7-1, 330-pound Shaquille O'Neal on Thursday night.

"I guess I better be ready, right?" he said. "It's not like I'm coming back in against some soft [guy]. I'm coming back against the biggest monster there is in the NBA, and I got to go out there and fight him. That's what I'm getting paid to do. I'm just looking forward to being part of the team again and not feeling like a prisoner."

Fortson, like the rest of the Mavericks, feels the need to vindicate himself against the Lakers after the season-opening loss in LA. He's particularly mindful that he, Eduardo Najera and Shawn Bradley are trying to carve out a better reputation for Mavericks big men than they have had in the past.

"The big guys, we're starting to take a lot of pride in [not letting] people come down there and push us around," Fortson said. "We all know that's not the way it's supposed to be. You're supposed to let them know it's not going to be an easy night."

Most of the Mavericks believe the flagrant foul that got Fortson suspended is a sign that this team isn't as soft as it once was.

"It's definitely not a bad thing," said Steve Nash. "That's one of the reasons we're happy to have Danny. He's a physical presence. He's a great rebounder, and he plays with a physicality that our team hasn't had. And that's why he's a great fit. But it was completely unfair to call him a thug."

[Dragnsmke1]

well Malone got a 1 game suspension for dropping the peoples elbow on Nash; but where are all the thug comments?

[Dragnsmke1]

Steve Nash still had tenderness in his mouth Tuesday, five days after getting elbowed by the Lakers' Karl Malone.

"It's still a pain to eat," Nash said. "There's a lot of cuts in there, and anything spicy or acidic is a pain to eat."

Nash has had his left front tooth reset and reinforced, but only time will tell if the tooth survives.

[Dragnsmke1]

Originally posted by macro6!




san antonio >>>>>>>>> dallas

dallas havent proven NOTHIN.

[lastlaugh]

Walker deserves a great reception by the Celtics fans this Wednesday.

They booed Danny Ainge during the half time ceremony for Cedrick "doesn't deserve to have his number retired" Maxwell
which leads me to believe he might get a good reception come Wednesday.
I can't decide if I should go or not. I don't feel like putting money into the owners pocket (I sold my ten game plan to a friend who now wants his money back. but I might go down and scalp a ticket fot me and my kid just to support Antoine.

What should I do Dragnsmke1 ?

[Dragnsmke1]

Originally posted by lastlaugh!
Walker deserves a great reception by the Celtics fans this Wednesday.

They booed Danny Ainge during the half time ceremony for Cedrick "doesn't deserve to have his number retired" Maxwell
which leads me to believe he might get a good reception come Wednesday.
I can't decide if I should go or not. I don't feel like putting money into the owners pocket (I sold my ten game plan to a friend who now wants his money back. but I might go down and scalp a ticket fot me and my kid just to support Antoine.

What should I do Dragnsmke1 ?

go ahead and go. the owner was gonna make that money anyway, might as well create memories for you and the yung' un.

[Dragnsmke1]

Walker keeping focus on court
Taking Nelson's advice, ex-Celtic downplays return to Boston


08:42 PM CST on Tuesday, December 16, 2003

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

BOSTON – There will be boos for Antoine Walker on Wednesday night, as only Boston sports fans can supply them. And there will be some cheers, no doubt.

Neither will have an impact on Walker, he promises. After all, it won't be the first time he has heard boos from the FleetCenter crowd.

"I don't care what they do," he said Tuesday. "I'm beyond that. I went through some boo years up there. I'm more concerned with helping the team win."

[Dragnsmke1]

The Mavericks announced Jamison as a starter at center, but Danny Fortson went out to midcourt. The Wolves countered by putting Ervin Johnson in for Trent, trying to gain a significant height advantage for the opening tip. Seeing that, Dallas coach Don Nelson called for Jamison – prompting Minnesota coach Flip Saunders to try to sneak Trent back in. Finally, official Ron Garretson told both teams to go back to their original lineups. ...



now thats funny

[TheRifleman]

The Lakers have owned the Mavs until this year. I really think the Mavs can win at least 2 games against the Lakers this year.

Nellie needs to realize that Walker is not afraid of the Lakers(he wasn't when he was a Celtic). If he realizes that fact, then maybe the rest of the team will follow suit.

Sometime a mental toughness can make up for lack of bulk in the paint. I also seem to remember how Rodman(lack of size) beat up on Shaq and how Hakeem(lack of girth) toasted Shaq and the Magic when Hakeem was getting a little long of tooth! All one ( team of 12) has to do is have the mental toughness of a "Rocky" and they can then defeat the Lakers.

[Dragnsmke1]

Originally posted by TheRifleman!
The Lakers have owned the Mavs until this year. I really think the Mavs can win at least 2 games against the Lakers this year.

Nellie needs to realize that Walker is not afraid of the Lakers(he wasn't when he was a Celtic). If he realizes that fact, then maybe the rest of the team will follow suit.

Sometime a mental toughness can make up for lack of bulk in the paint. I also seem to remember how Rodman(lack of size) beat up on Shaq and how Hakeem(lack of girth) toasted Shaq and the Magic when Hakeem was getting a little long of tooth! All one ( team of 12) has to do is have the mental toughness of a "Rocky" and they can then defeat the Lakers.

Thats why Im loving Walker. He has that fearless attitude that NVE had. Thats the only way we can compete with the elite. We have the talent in most of our players but not the attitude. Howard also appears to be fearless.