<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">PHOENIX - Dirk Nowitzki barked at the Mavericks centers plenty Monday night. He vented afterward saying the Mavs "haven't gotten anything" from the men in the middle -- Erick Dampier, in particular -- during the playoffs. Dampier, obviously not too happy with the critique, shot back Tuesday, calling Nowitzki's remarks "stupid." A full-blown controversy? The first sign of a crack in the harmonious locker room vibe? Or a momentary lapse brought on by Phoenix's 25-point pasting in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Take your pick. The Mavs would rather everyone buy the "momentary lapse" explanation, acknowledging privately that the Nowitzki-Dampier matter was addressed behind closed doors and taken care of before practice Tuesday afternoon at America West Arena, site of tonight's Game 2. "We don't want to have anything going on with any of my players," Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. "We want to keep it all positive." That didn't stop Dampier from airing his frustrations when asked about Nowitzki's postgame comments. Nowitzki didn't want to "say anything now that I probably would regret later" during the session. Trouble was that statement came after the words that would later irritate Dampier. "We've got to get something out of our center position," Nowitzki said Monday night. "We really haven't gotten anything... If we want to be successful and have a successful run to the championship, we need something out of our center position."</div> Source And what about his "stupid" comment? "Do you know what's stupid? The way the Mavericks played the last game," Johnson said. "That's stupid." Well said Avery Johnson. Unfortunately, the only way to motivate Dampier is apparently in contract years.
I think that it is ridiculous for Dampier to take exception to what Dirk said. Dirk spoke the truth in the Mavs need for Damp to stay on the floor. It's like Magic said, Damp said he's the second best Center, then prove it. This is the time that the fire to prove yourself should take over. He should relish in what happened and look forward to making a statement next game. Personally, I didn't have a problem with what Dirk said, but maybe he should have kept it in the clubhouse instead of the media.
I believe Dampier still has potential be great for the mavs. He's just an idiot. "STUPID" ? That is the most immature thing that any proffessional sports player has ever said to the media. Obvuously, Dampier can't come up with his own constructive criticism for Dirk, because Dirk is the best damn player on the team. Dampier, play ur freaking hardest, and expand your "stupid" vocab.
