CLIPPERS NOTEBOOK: DUNLEAVY PRESENTS HIS SWORD TO MEDIA.Byline: JOE STEVENS Staff Writer On an average Clippers game night, about four or fivereporters fire questions at Mike Dunleavy Mike Dunleavy is the name of two notable persons in basketball, father and son:
In the Clippers' first playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship in nine years on Saturday, approximately 20 reporters crowded into Dunleavy's office, and the coach answered questions with a variety of fiery replies. Perhaps the first sign that the playoffs are much different than regular season was Dunleavy's combative attitude. "I'm ultimately not one of those fun kind of guys, who says, `Hey, guys, we're going to go out there and have fun,"' he said. "The only way I'm having fun is if we win." Dunleavy was not necessarily angry, but he appeared to have adrenaline flowing in the interview session, which is usually reserved for the exchanging of information about injuries and matchups. The coach even interpreted one question about Elton Brand Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979 in Peekskill, New York) is an American All-Star professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers and the USA National Team. and Corey Maggette's playoff drought as something that they could have caused. And that set him off. Brand had gone 526 games, the seventh most in NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= history, without being in a playoff game. Maggette had gone 444 games without seeing the playoffs. A question to Dunleavy about the two players' droughts made him bring up a character from Greek mythology Greek mythology Oral and literary traditions of the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes and the nature and history of the cosmos. The Greek myths and legends are known today primarily from Greek literature, including such classic works as Homer's Iliad and , who was cursed with Adj. 1. cursed with - burdened with; "stuck with the tab" stuck with cursed, curst - deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier; "villagers shun the area believing it to be cursed"; "cursed with four daughter"; "not a cursed drop"; "his cursed a sharp sword dangling over his head. "That's B.S.," Dunleavy said about the two not making the playoffs for so long. "The point of the matter is it's like they have some type of Damocles (sword) hanging over their head because they haven't made the playoffs. Everybody's looking at it like `Wow, they haven't made the playoffs.' It wasn't like it was their fault." Brand and Maggette both said they were excited to ditch their so-called Damocles sword. "The fans, the atmosphere, being a part of it is something you can't describe," Maggette said. --Priceless quote: Sam Cassell Samuel (Sam) James Cassell (born November 18, 1969 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays point guard for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. , who played under George Karl George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951 in Penn Hills, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) player and current head coach of the Denver Nuggets. for three seasons in Milwaukee, stressed the fact that the Denver coach lives for the postseason. Cassell even says Karl wouldn't mind putting his money where his mouth is. "He's said that there's no place he'd rather be than in playoff basketball," Cassell said. "He used to say he'd give a million dollars to play in one playoff game," Cassell said. "I thought he was crazy. A million dollars for one playoff game? He can give me a million, and he can take my place." --Points to be made: Dunleavy said the first key to playing well against Nuggets Nuggets can refer to several branches of interest:
Clippers forward Vladimir Radmanovic made a point about how the Nuggets' desire to fast run the fastbreak could increase his team's desire to do the same thing. "They like to get out and run," he said. "Their transition defense might not be that great, so we should be able to run, too." joe.stevens@presstelegram.com (562) 499-1286 CAPTION(S): photo, 4 boxes Photo: no caption (Mike Dunleavy) Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer Box: (1) HERO (2) GOAT (3) THEY SAID IT (4) QUARTER BY QUARTER |
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