RealGM

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:58 pm**

per wiretap...

The Star-Telegram -
Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith all criticized Dirk Nowitzki on Saturday night when he failed to respond after David West tapped him on the face several times, according to the Star-Telegram.

"You can't let a man put his hand on your face in the playoffs," Johnson said.

"I love Dirk Nowitzki," Barkley said. "Terrific, great player. But they're trying to say to you, 'We think you're soft.' That's what it means.... You've got to slap his hand down, and then you got to say, 'Hey, let that guy drive to the basket' and then you've got to knock the hell out of him."

The Mavericks seem to be happy that Dirk decided against retaliating.

"I love those guys, but they are living in 1998," Mark Cuban said. "In this year's NBA, you retaliate, you get suspended. That's happened to us too many times. The NBA saw it, and it's up to them to deal with it."

In the end Nowitzki was upset that a technical foul was even called on him, as he felt his restraint warranted a pass.

the last time dirk did something like that to kirilenko, the dude got injured and dirk got suspended... there's no way dirk's gonna be suspended in the playoffs.. this is the kind of thinking that doesnt let barkley win any rings.. yes you may come out the tough guy, but you dont come out a winner... just proves your physically strong but still borderline bi-polar... :crazy:

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:12 pm**

Barkley is an idiot. Dirk shows his mental toughness and his discipline. I hope Avery has the foresight to get the team to rally around Dirk's mental toughness and discipline to win Game 2!

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:14 pm**

makes me wonder what he teaches his kids..

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:19 pm**

Makes me wonder what kind of education Auburn actually offers...

Does Barkley even come across as someone with even college experience? He's an idiot! A bloomin' idiot!

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:50 pm**

Dirk just isnt THAT guy. It wasnt anything big, but I do think Dirk should have shut him up one way or another.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:40 pm**

LeBron James elbowed Andray Blatche square in his mouth and got away with it. He should have been suspended, but it was a calculated risk that paid off. LeBron was fouled hard 3-4 times before that happened in the middle of the 2nd quarter. He wasn't fouled hard once afterwards.

Dirk made a mistake by not being more forceful and his teammates made a mistake by not sending a message. It's not 1998 so you have to send the message differently, but you still have to send the message.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:41 pm**

I have to agree. While I commend Dirk for being smart and not doing anything to get himself suspended or ejected, I do think the TNT crew has a point. Basically David West punked Dirk . He doesn't have to swing at West but, 4 points in the 4th quarter? He could have easily shut West up with his play.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:10 pm**

What Dirk did and didn't do was the right thing, period.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:33 pm**

I'm sorry if in the back of Dirk's mind was the losses occured when Jet Terry was suspended for a game during the 2006 series against the Spurs or when Stack was suspended for a game during the Finals against the Heat.

Also sorry if Dirk remembered Dallas' record while he was down with an ankle injury. Obviously according to these guys pride is more important then winning games

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:22 pm**

Here's what I thought:
Dirk doesn't need to pound his chest on court, but he needs to send a message. Whether it be dominating and winning the game, or pushing West's fingers from his face. Either way, he needs to get riled up just like he did when Tim Thomas blew him that kiss in 06 and Dirk proceeded to outscore the entire Suns team in the fourth quarter for his 50 point game.

At this point, no one has respect for the Mavs on the court, and until they go all out and play like beasts, no one ever will. And sometimes it's sad to just watch the team fold and take stuff like this.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:25 pm**

your_dallas_mavericks wrote:What Dirk did and didn't do was the right thing, period.

Dirk didn't have to send the message. It could have been a guy like Brandon Bass, but a message obviously needs to be sent. The Mavs got punked by Golden St. and now they have a rep. I can't think of a worse rep you can have than being a soft team. Whether it's true or not it gives your opponent a mental edge. The Mavs need to get tougher mentally and physically.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:35 pm**

Ernie does the most work out of all the TNT crew and he's the only one that has his own office. Basically they have to continue to bring up old news just to fill time for the show. At this point, I could careless what Barkley has to say, because it's not always his own personal opinion when he speaks.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:54 pm**

Nuff said.

We have a whole slew of people that we can afford suspensions on; Dirk ain't one of them.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:01 pm**

^Is it wrong that I wish Stackhouse could somehow get himself suspended, maybe a dirty act on Chandler or West?
I think our team would benefit from his suspension....

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:04 pm**

All you have to do is play Magloire and I guarantee this series gets VERY heated VERY quickly.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:07 pm**

This is going to continue to happen until Dirk stands up for himself. The next game we should see a little tougher play from the Mavs. Whether or not they will admit it,,,they and Dirk especially got punked, disrespected and bent over.
Some say that Dirk did the right thing by not retaliating....The Mavs lost the game....they and Dirk did not do the right thing. The Mavs had better respond better this next game.
I think it would be hilarious if Dirk wore boxing gloves into the gym for the next game.....We might have to wait for the team to come home,,,but play the theme to Rocky when they enter the gym, wearing boxing gloves all of them. Have Cuban invite his boxing buddies to wear Mav shirts and sit sideline, of course to yell at the Hornets....Yep, I would love to see that.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:10 pm**

Next game Dirk goes for 40pts 10+reb and 2+blks and a whole lotta attitude.

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:12 pm**

your_dallas_mavericks wrote:What Dirk did and didn't do was the right thing, period.

We have a winner.

I can't even put into words how proud I am of Dirk.

Now, it's time for him to USE that disrespect in a productive way, and show all of the Hornets the newbie treatment in the playoffs. GO DIRK!

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:14 pm**

^^ Big time WORD!

Posted: **Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:41 pm**

ppp000 wrote:^Is it wrong that I wish Stackhouse could somehow get himself suspended, maybe a dirty act on Chandler or West?
I think our team would benefit from his suspension....

A Raja Bell type closeline on Paul would be awesome!

RealGM

TNT Crew Criticizes Dirk For Not Fighting Back

TNT Crew Criticizes Dirk For Not Fighting Back