Mavericks' center DeAndre Jordan never apologizes for hunting down rebounds even if they come at the expense of teammates.
"I guess I've been poaching for the past 11 years," he said Monday. "I feel like every rebound that comes off is mine. So I am guilty of that. But honestly, when I'm going for the ball, I don't really look for anybody else."
That was the case in the Mavericks' most recent game, when they lost at home to the New York Knicks.
With teammate Luka Doncic stationed to the left of the basket to collect an errant Knicks 3-pointer, Jordan flew in from near the free-throw line to snatch the rebound. He didn't exactly shove Doncic. But if Doncic had been a Knick, it would have been a clear over-the-back foul on Jordan.
The play drew criticism on social media platforms. And Doncic's body language on the play suggested he wasn't happy with Jordan's aggressiveness. Remember, Doncic has been dealing with a sore back.
Asked if the play was over the top, so to speak, coach Rick Carlisle said: "A little bit. We talked about that and addressed it. And moved on. When you're struggling to win games, it's easy to look back and be negative. We've got to address things that are the most pressing things and move forward and be positive if we can. But it was addressed."
Jordan said he wasn't aware that the play appeared to be a stat-padding attempt until later.
"Honestly, I didn't even see how it looked until after the game," he said. "But we saw the play and we talked about what people have said about it. Social media is insane. But we've talked about it.
"I don't think it's anything negative. We were both trying to make a play on the ball and that was really it. I don't get mad when Dennis comes in and swipes a quick rebound. At the end of the day, it's a possession for us."
Jordan is third in the NBA at 14.3 rebounds per game. One of the primary reasons he was signed in July was to help alleviate the rebounding woes that have dogged the Mavericks for the last two seasons.
The 6-foot-11 center will be a free-agent again this coming summer, So averaging 12.7 points and a career-best 2.4 assists per game is adding to his appeal.
Jordan and Carlisle both said that there are far more pressing issues than stealing a rebound from a teammate.
Asked if the Mavericks are capable of pulling out of their tailspin in which they've lost six consecutive games, Jordan said:
"Hell, yeah, we're capable. "We got a deep team. We just got to figure out a way to put it together. We've done it in spurts. We've done it for a quarter, two quarters. But those lapses we have for eight minutes or the first six minutes of the game, that stuff comes back to bite you and you can't have games like that. It's tough to come back from that. Our focus has been a lot more on defense and taking care of the basketball. We'll figure it out."
