Mavs Monday Donuts: FAN JAM Quoteboard - 'People are hyped up' about Dallas
The DallasBasketball.com 75-Member Staff reports from Sunday's Fan Jam at the AAC, with a Dallas Mavericks Quoteboard (and with thanks to Mavs.com and Michael Lark with the grand KP photo above!)
DONUT 1: KP, MAN OF THE PEOPLE
“There are a lot of people that can’t afford tickets to go to a real game. They come to a scrimmage like this and they still have a chance to say hi to the players and take a picture. It’s good for everybody. We’re humans also It’s really awesome to see fans being so happy and so excited about this kind of practice.” - Kristaps Porzingis on the open scrimmage ...
... which was followed by him going into the stands to pose for photos and sign autographs.
DONUT 2: 'THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT'
"It was entertaining. A lot of scoring. It’s a pretty good microcosm of today’s NBA game. A lot of skill. A lot of guys who can shoot it and drive it. And it’s hard to defend.” - Coach Rick Carlisle on the offensive bent to the Sunday scrimmage. ...
... featuring stuff like this from Maxi Kleber.
Oh, and the White Team beats the Blues, 57-39, as one would've guessed as soon as it was learned that Rick had put both Luka Doncic and Porzingis on the Whites. (The starting lineups, by the way: Whites - Doncic, KP, Delon Wright (his hamstring healthy), Maxi and Dorian Finney-Smith. Blues - J.J. Barea, Seth Curry, Tim Hardaway Jr., Justin Jackson and Boban Marjanovic.)
DONUT 3: 'I MISSED BASKETBALL'
“I missed basketball. I miss competing so much.'' - Porzingis.
DONUT 4: LUKA ON THE 8,000
'The best fans!' - Luka Doncic via Twitter ...
... Referring to the Fan Jam audience of over 8,000 MFFL.
DONUT 5: FIRST PLAY.
“I always want to be aggressive and showcase what I’m capable (of), stretching the floor with my height and being dangerous in a lot of situations. I missed basketball. I miss competing so much. Hopefully, I can start the season the right way and showcase right away what I’m capable of.” - KP, who scored to start the scrimmage via a pick-and-pop exchange with Luka Doncic.
DONUT 6: BONDING, AS ALWAYS
“It’s a group of guys that love to play. In their short time, they’ve grown to really like being with each other and competing against each other. They’re taking steps to bond. But this process takes time. The players are excited. It’s obvious the fans are excited. It’s two-and-a-half weeks until the first game, but it’ll be here before you know it.” - Carlisle on the recurring theme of this camp. ... Bonding.
DONUT 7: THE AMAZING JJB
“Barea’s an amazing athlete. One of the most amazing and resourceful athletes I’ve ever seen. The fact he’s able to walk back out here after seven or eight months and basically look like nothing ever happened is just tremendous. It speaks to his positive approach to rehab and taking on challenges. And it speaks to the fact that we’ve got great medical people. And he’s got an extremely strong will.” - Rick on J.J. Barea ...
... who talks to me one-on-one here about his rehab and his comedy and more!
DONUT 8: JJB DANCE-OFF
"Next one! Next one!'' - JJB ...
... commanding his young teammates to DANCE!
DONUT 9: BOBY?!
“My nickname? Boby.'' - Marjanovic prodded by Carlisle in pregame introductions, the end result leaving much to be desired.
DONUT 10: DP SIDELINED
“We’ll update (his status) on Friday. He will not make the trip (for the Tuesday preseason opener against the Thunder at Tulsa). We hope it’s not serious. We’ll know more as we go along.” - Carlisle on Dwight Powell, who did not scrimmage.
DONUT 11: KP'S A TEXAN NOW
“From the places I’ve lived, I think Dallas probably has the nicest people. People are really kind here and polite. Everybody’s smiling and everybody’s open. And that’s a very good quality that the city and people have here.” - Kristaps Porzingis.
DONUT 12: THE FINAL WORD
“I think it’s the most excited Fan Jam atmosphere we’ve had in my 12 years of being here. The excitement is understandable. People are hyped up about the season. It’s great to see.” - Rick Carlisle.
