Post#221 » by mkwest » Thu Jan 10, 2013 6:08 pm
Entertaining The Idea Behind These ClippersThe first thing Paul looks at when he examines the numbers?
"Turnovers," Paul said. "We're better than we were tonight as far as taking care of the ball, and that gave them opportunities to score. During warm-ups, we didn't look like we had those fresh legs. We came out a little flat, but it's not going to be merry every night. This is a good win for us to grit it out and fight it out."
Credit the Mavericks' defense. Clean looks at the basket were tough to come by for the Clippers, who spent much of the night grinding out possessions in posts and in isolation at remote spots on the floor. In fact, the decisive plays of the game weren't Paul floaters, or jams by Blake Griffin, but a couple of offensive rebounds by Caron Butler during the slow grind of the game's final two minutes off two misses.
"It was huge," Mavericks forward Shawn Marion said. "The [two] offensive rebounds at the end killed us."
"They've got the best leader to me right now in the league," Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "Chris Paul can turn it up anytime he wants. He can take games over. They're physical. They've got shooters. ... They've got all the tools, all the weapons a good team needs to have."
Kevin Arnovitz,
ESPN
