Training Camp Report: Day 9 - Roddy B. ruled out of Barcelona exhibition game
Training Camp Report: Day 9 - Roddy B. ruled out of Barcelona exhibition game
BARCELONA – After hanging on to defeat a valiant ALBA Berlin time to open the preseason with an 89-84 victory in Germany, the Dallas Mavericks took Sunday off to enjoy one of the most-watched sporting events worldwide.
In attendance at Camp Nou as arguably the best two soccer players in the world – F.C. Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo – duked it out in a 2-2 draw, the Mavericks briefly got to take their minds off of Saturday night’s sluggish exhibition opener.
“It was a tremendous atmosphere with 95,000 (fans) and everybody following one ball,” Mavs guard O.J. Mayo said of the experience.
“It was unbelievable because it was two players with a lot of pressure to perform well, and then you go there and Ronaldo scored two, Messi scored two and it was a tie. So, I was kind of disappointed because (they) played so hard and then it was a tie game. But, as a fan, I didn’t want either player to lose. So, I guess it was a good experience.”
Monday, however, it was back to work as the team prepares for an even greater challenge: facing a talented F.C. Barcelona Regal team at Palau Sant Jordi on Tuesday night.
Looking to improve upon their play Saturday night in Berlin, the Mavs spent Monday addressing their carelessness with the ball after committing 27 turnovers in their first outing as a team. The squad also studied up on the 17-time Spanish champions, expecting again to find themselves in for a tightly-contested game.
“They have lots of playmakers,” 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki said of Tuesday night’s opponent. “They have shooters and they have [Juan Carlos] Navarro, who can play and finish in the lane and also spread the floor. So, we have to be a lot better than we were in Berlin. We barely escaped Berlin with a win a couple of days ago. We didn’t look that good. We turned the ball over a bunch. So, we’ve gotta be a lot sharper tomorrow if we want to win.”
“They’re a very good team,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle added. “We’ve been watching them. They’re one of the best passing teams I’ve ever seen, and you’ve gotta approach this game like these guys are an NBA team. They’ve got guys who have played in the league. [Sarunas] Jasikevicius I coached in Indiana. He played great for us there. Navarro played in the NBA. [Joe] Ingles is going to be an NBA player. [Nathan] Jawai has been in the NBA. So, I mean, all these guys are NBA caliber.”
But the Mavericks will be without three-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois, who went down at the 1:16 mark of the third quarter after spraining his left ankle during an exchange on the defensive end.
Beaubois traveled with the team to Barcelona wearing a walking boot. The boot was removed by Monday’s practice, but the young guard has already been ruled out of Tuesday night’s contest.
“This kind of thing happens. I’m just happy that it’s nothing serious,” Beaubois admitted after requiring two surgeries on the same foot earlier in his career. “After everything I’ve been through, once the trainers told me it was just a sprained ankle, obviously I was happy.”
Note: The Mavericks will take on 17-time Spanish champions F.C. Barcelona Regal of the Euroleague on Tuesday night. The game will air nationally on NBA TV at 2 p.m. CT and will re-air on TXA 21 at 10:30 p.m. CT.
