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By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer
PHOENIX (AP) -- Amare Stoudemire's surging power game has overwhelmed better players than Dallas Mavericks center Erick Dampier.
Dirk Nowitzki doesn't care.
``He's a step slow on everything,'' Nowitzki grumbled about his Mavs teammate, who was outscored 40-0 by Stoudemire in the Phoenix Suns' Game 1 blowout victory. ``He never got involved in the game.''
And Nowitzki didn't limit his barbs to Dampier's performance on Monday.
``He has always been in foul trouble,'' Nowitzki said. ``The first series was the same thing. He gets a quick two fouls in the first two or three minutes, and we can't be aggressive any more. Then he gets the third foul and has to sit.''
As if the 127-102 loss wasn't bad enough, the Mavericks and rookie coach Avery Johnson now have team leader Nowitzki's pointed criticisms to reckon with as they head into Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series Wednesday.
Dampier lashed back before the team's workout Tuesday.
``He can say what he wants,'' Dampier said. ``We really didn't get a lot from anyone. This is not a one individual game. It's a team concept. We didn't play the way we are capable of playing, so for him to say something like that is totally stupid.''
Told of Dampier's remarks, Johnson said, ``You know what's stupid? The way the Mavericks played the last game, that was stupid.''
Nowitzki, meanwhile, stood by his postgame comments.
``I'm not going to change what I said, and I don't think I need to talk to him,'' he said.
Johnson said he would take care of the rift, and that might be a lot easier than slowing Stoudemire. Just three seasons removed from high school, the 6-foot-10 Suns power forward-turned-center has added a mid-range jumper, and even some defense, to go with his cat-quick power moves to the hoop.
``He's a load to handle,'' Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. ``He gets loose in there and he's hitting outside shots and being aggressive to the hoop, it's hard for anybody, whether it's Dampier, whether it's Alan Henderson, whether it's Dirk. It's been tough all year for anybody to guard him.''
Said Phoenix's Quentin Richadson: ``He's going to out-quick the bigger guys, and if they try to put Dirk or a smaller guy on him, he's going to overpower him, so it's a dilemma.''
The ever-confident Stoudemire wonders if there's anything the Mavericks can do effectively against him.
``It's going to be tough for them. They're not exactly Memphis,'' he said, referring to the team Phoenix swept in the first round. ``Memphis had more scrappy players and more defensive players. I'm not sure. They might just polish up their offensive and defensive games.''
The Mavericks may decide to double-team Stoudemire, but that opens up the Suns' array of outside shooters, and Stoudemire still could get his points.
``Obviously, one-on-one he's a handful,'' the Suns' Steve Nash said, ``but he becomes more dangerous out of a pick-and-roll because you have to kind of pick your poison. Are they going to leave me? Are they going to leave someone from the weak side with the tremendous shooters we have? At the same time, we've got people moving to get the ball. I think our team has a lot of balance, and that highlights his superior ability.''
After watching video of Monday night's horror show, Dallas' players knew that their main problem was a lack of effort and energy. Two days after their 40-point blowout of Houston in Game 7 of their first-round series, the Mavericks sleepwalked while the Suns sped over, around and through them.
``We were just flat in all areas,'' Nowitzki said. ``We were a step slow on offense and defense. We were jogging around.''
The Suns know that Game 2 will be far more difficult.
``Last night, we had a great game, we played well, we had a lot of fun, but you know that game's over,'' Richardson said. ``We don't expect to win by 20. I've been saying all the time, I expect this to be a dogfight. We don't get any extra wins by winning by 20 or more points. It counts as one win.''
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PHOENIX (AP) -- Amare Stoudemire's surging power game has overwhelmed better players than Dallas Mavericks center Erick Dampier.
Dirk Nowitzki doesn't care.
``He's a step slow on everything,'' Nowitzki grumbled about his Mavs teammate, who was outscored 40-0 by Stoudemire in the Phoenix Suns' Game 1 blowout victory. ``He never got involved in the game.''
And Nowitzki didn't limit his barbs to Dampier's performance on Monday.
``He has always been in foul trouble,'' Nowitzki said. ``The first series was the same thing. He gets a quick two fouls in the first two or three minutes, and we can't be aggressive any more. Then he gets the third foul and has to sit.''
As if the 127-102 loss wasn't bad enough, the Mavericks and rookie coach Avery Johnson now have team leader Nowitzki's pointed criticisms to reckon with as they head into Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series Wednesday.
Dampier lashed back before the team's workout Tuesday.
``He can say what he wants,'' Dampier said. ``We really didn't get a lot from anyone. This is not a one individual game. It's a team concept. We didn't play the way we are capable of playing, so for him to say something like that is totally stupid.''
Told of Dampier's remarks, Johnson said, ``You know what's stupid? The way the Mavericks played the last game, that was stupid.''
Nowitzki, meanwhile, stood by his postgame comments.
``I'm not going to change what I said, and I don't think I need to talk to him,'' he said.
Johnson said he would take care of the rift, and that might be a lot easier than slowing Stoudemire. Just three seasons removed from high school, the 6-foot-10 Suns power forward-turned-center has added a mid-range jumper, and even some defense, to go with his cat-quick power moves to the hoop.
``He's a load to handle,'' Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. ``He gets loose in there and he's hitting outside shots and being aggressive to the hoop, it's hard for anybody, whether it's Dampier, whether it's Alan Henderson, whether it's Dirk. It's been tough all year for anybody to guard him.''
Said Phoenix's Quentin Richadson: ``He's going to out-quick the bigger guys, and if they try to put Dirk or a smaller guy on him, he's going to overpower him, so it's a dilemma.''
The ever-confident Stoudemire wonders if there's anything the Mavericks can do effectively against him.
``It's going to be tough for them. They're not exactly Memphis,'' he said, referring to the team Phoenix swept in the first round. ``Memphis had more scrappy players and more defensive players. I'm not sure. They might just polish up their offensive and defensive games.''
The Mavericks may decide to double-team Stoudemire, but that opens up the Suns' array of outside shooters, and Stoudemire still could get his points.
``Obviously, one-on-one he's a handful,'' the Suns' Steve Nash said, ``but he becomes more dangerous out of a pick-and-roll because you have to kind of pick your poison. Are they going to leave me? Are they going to leave someone from the weak side with the tremendous shooters we have? At the same time, we've got people moving to get the ball. I think our team has a lot of balance, and that highlights his superior ability.''
After watching video of Monday night's horror show, Dallas' players knew that their main problem was a lack of effort and energy. Two days after their 40-point blowout of Houston in Game 7 of their first-round series, the Mavericks sleepwalked while the Suns sped over, around and through them.
``We were just flat in all areas,'' Nowitzki said. ``We were a step slow on offense and defense. We were jogging around.''
The Suns know that Game 2 will be far more difficult.
``Last night, we had a great game, we played well, we had a lot of fun, but you know that game's over,'' Richardson said. ``We don't expect to win by 20. I've been saying all the time, I expect this to be a dogfight. We don't get any extra wins by winning by 20 or more points. It counts as one win.''
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