Nowitzki likes the quiet Cuban

Bombastic Dallas owner Mark Cuban faded into the woodwork during the Mavericks’ playoff sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Mavericks leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki prefers for his owner to continue his silence.

The Express-News’ Mike Monroe earlier this week. And the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Nowitzki was happy that a “silent and backed-off” Cuban  during the recent Lakers’ series.  

“Yeah, it should be about the players and not the owner,” Nowitzki said. “We played a great series. We fought hard and battled. That was fun. I haven’t seen Mark since then, and that’s probably a good thing.”

Cuban became a huge storyline during the Mavericks’ loss in the 2006 NBA Finals, bitterly complaining about officiating after his team squandered an early 2-0 lead by losing the final four games to the Miami Heat.

Since then, Nowitzki said that Cuban hasn’t been nearly as vocal.

“He is still fired up,” Nowitzki said. “He is still such a huge fan. He is still in it with his heart. He is positive. Sometimes he yells. He picks his spots better.

“He is not as hands-on as he once was. He is still hands-on for an owner but not as hands-on as he used to be.”

But what about it Spurs Nation?

Would you prefer for Cuban to be a major part of the playoffs, or merely a quiet afterthought?

Butler’s comeback provides Spurs compelling prospect

By Tim Griffin
tgriffin@express-news.net

The memory still haunts Da’Sean Butler several months after his short stay with the Miami Heat ended.

Butler wasn’t healthy when he tried to earn his way onto the Heat’s roster as a rookie last fall.

Far from it, in fact.

As Butler attempted to overcome a serious knee injury, he did his best to convince Miami coaches he could still play at the level that made him one of the nation’s top college players the previous season.

But the nagging effects of the injury didn’t give him much of a chance to show what he could do.

“I remember my first training camp and how I couldn’t participate,” Butler said. “I practically cried sitting there.”

Butler was waived by the Heat and spent several months in basketball limbo before resurfacing with the Spurs late in the season with a waiver transaction on March 25.

The Spurs had no immediate expectations as they placed him on the inactive list. Butler continued his rehabilitation with the team’s strength staff.

Even with the lockout looming, Butler has big hopes he can start his NBA playing career with the Spurs when camps open.

“I love to play basketball, and I love to prove people wrong,” Butler said. “This is something I’ve been praying and leading to do during the last year. I’m close now.”

Such a recovery is stunning after Butler’s college career ended as it did in the 2010 Final Four semifinals.

After leading West Virginia to its first Final Four appearance in 51 seasons, Butler sustained a horrific injury to his left knee while driving to the basket late in a loss to eventual national champion Duke.

The image is still hard to shake more than a year later. Butler was writhing on the floor, biting on his hand trying to fight off pain. Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins was draped over Butler, whispering words of encouragement to him.

The diagnosis was a torn ACL, a sprained MCL and multiple bone bruises. His recovery was expected to take at least six months.

The injury caused his draft stock to plummet. After originally being projected as a mid-first-rounder, Butler fell to the 42nd overall pick in the middle of the second round.

As his recovery progressed, Butler tried to push his recovery as much as possible.

“Early on, I was really rushing,” Butler said. “I just wanted everybody to know that I would be fine and not let this injury slow me down.”

But he was clearly not the same player as before as he tried to recapture the form that enabled him to lead the Mountaineers in scoring and assists at 17.2 and 3.1 as a senior.

“I was treating it like an ankle sprain, and that’s definitely not the case,” Butler said.

Gradually, he’s recovered and is close to the form of his senior season.

Before his injury, the 6-foot-7, 230-pounder was known as a pure shooter whose high release was almost impossible to defend. He was also known for his high basketball intellect and his character — traits that would fit the Spurs’ profile of second-round late bloomers.

But his lack of athleticism was a concern, even before his knee injury.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich still hasn’t seen much of Butler’s on-court skills since his arrival.

“I have no idea,” Popovich said. “You can’t even tell if he’s a player or not. He’s out there running around pylons.

“Everybody just tells me he looked good in the tournament. But they also tell me he’s X number of pounds heavier than he was in the tournament. So I won’t even have an impression of him until camp comes.”

When that chance arrives, Butler vows to be ready.

“It feels like it’s been an extremely long, long year for me,” Butler said. “But it’s a big opportunity to get a chance with an organization like this one. This is a great second chance and a great place for me.”

Preview: Heat vs. Celtics; Thunder vs. Grizzlies

Express-News staff writer Mike Monroe breaks down the two series starting today:

East semifinals
Miami Heat? vs. Boston Celtics

Season series: Celtics won 3-1.

Key Matchup: LeBron James vs. Paul Pierce — James made only 43 percent of his shots against the Celtics in four regular season games, three of them losses. Pierce has been a playoff monster in seasons past and won’t shrink from this matchup. Then there’s this: before the first Celtics-Heat game in Miami this season, Pierce Tweeted he was “happy to be taking my talents to South Beach.”

Heat can win if: They understand how much better the Celtics have defended the post since Jermaine O’Neal came off the injured list. Their scoring will have to be from the perimeter, and James and Dwyane Wade are just he players to provide it.

Celtics can win if: Shaquille O’Neal can suit up for a game or two and Rajon Rondo can get enough easy looks for Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Miami is soft in the middle and Shaq is still enormous.

Prediction: Heat in seven

West semifinals
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies

Season series: Grizzlies won 3-1.

Key Matchup: Kendrick Perkins vs. Zach Randolph — Nobody has to convince Spurs fans about Randolph’s emergence as one of the elite power forwards in the league. He dominated in Memphis’ 4-2 first-round upset of the No. 1 seeded team. He will have a hard time getting to the basket against Perkins, one of the league’s meanest post defenders. Both teams may need to hire a cut man. Is Dr. Ferdie Pacheco available?

Thunder can win if: Kevin Durant doesn’t shrink six inches before tipoff of Game 1 and Russell Westbrook remembers to pass occasionally. Sam Young isn’t quick enough to defend him and Tony Allen isn’t big enough. Westbrook is quicker and more athletic than Mike Conley and just needs to remember to share the ball, especially with Durant.

Grizzlies can win if: They check the Thunder’s regular season results and notice the Spurs beat them three times. That ought to be just the jolt of confidence required to convince them they can hang with another team that had a better regular season record. They’ll also need Marc Gasol to rebound as he did against the Spurs in the first round.

Prediction: Thunder in six