Needing to play angry

The Mavs don’t want a repeat of the first half against the Lakers. So what led to the lackluster start?

“We didn’t get enough ball movement, we didn’t attack the basket enough, the same old stuff. SOS,” Avery Johnson said. “Defensively, we weren’t physical enough, we didn’t rebound, we got out-hustled and we had a couple breakdowns that are all correctable.”

That type of performance should put anyone associated with the Mavs in a bad mood. Can they funnel that anger into a positive?

“I would sure hope so,” Johnson said. “I love anger, especially when it’s controlled. That’s what I loved about Stackhouse’s situation in that home game.”

Jerry Stackhouse avoided a possible confrontation with Indiana’s Danny Granger by keeping his composure and walking away from a potential fight. Stackhouse was mad, but he didn’t lose his head.

The same should hold true about the team.

“We should be really angry about what happened in the last game, but it should be the right type of anger, so we’ll see what happens in the game tonight,” Johnson said.