Dirk appears on “The Ben and Skin Show”

Today Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki hopped on “The Ben and Skin Show” on 105.3 The Fan to talk his hot streak, what the Mavs must do to make the playoffs, Salah Mejri, and sneakers. Check out the audio and some of the highlights below.

​

Here are some highlights from their conversation, which you can listen to above:

On nine straight games of scoring at least 20 points: “The All-Star break was good for me. I’m almost 38 now. … I went to the beach this time, and really just put my legs up. I got a little workout in early in the morning when I got up just to stay ready. That really helped me, even though the first game out of the break was ugly there in Orlando. But since then I’ve had a pretty decent rhythm. I feel good, so hopefully I can keep it up here these last few weeks of the season.”

On how to make the playoffs: “The margin of error is slim with our team. Sometimes against those better teams we give up a lot of athleticism, we give up some talent that other guys have. We’ve gotta play a solid game. Last night I felt like we had too many turnovers, we didn’t get some 50/50 balls, we got some bad bounces. I feel like for us to win against those good teams on the road, a lot of guys got to play well. We’ve got to play solid defensively, we’ve got to rebound the ball well. … We’ve just got to be really really sharp in a lot of areas.”

On his teammates wanting Dirk to make the playoffs once again: “It’s nice for me to go to the playoffs, but it’s nice for the fan base. We’ve been basically my entire career. We only missed the playoffs a few times. The last time was when I had knee surgery. Other than that, besides the first two years, we always make the playoffs. We usually win 50 games. We want to give that to the fan base as well.”

On whether Golden State should chase 73 wins or rest for the playoffs: “That’s a tough call. That’s a tough call. I think if it’s close, I would go for the record. That’s a season for the ages. That Bulls team was obviously the best in history. They’re right there. They’re right there. I know they’re a little banged up now with some of their guys being out. Iguodala’s missed now the last few games. That’s a tough call. … If you’re so close to making history, I would obviously give it a shot. But the playoffs in the West can obviously be a grind, and there’s a lot of great times. That’s a tough call. We’ll see what they do.”

On whether he likes sneakers: “There’s actually a reason I don’t give a lot of interviews on it. I couldn’t really care less. (Laughs) I do have some sneakers at home that I love. Sometimes I wear an old pair in and they’re all green, like I just cut the lawn in them. The whole team is killin’ me, like: ‘Throw these out! You’ve had these since your rookie year!’ I’m not the guy that’s got like 200, 300 pairs of shoes at home. I just wear my pair. … Material things don’t really mean that much to me, and never really have.”

On Salah Mejri’s play: “He’s really, really intense in the game. He gets so fiery. It’s actually fun to see, really fun to see. He’s a competitor. He’s really, really long. He’s got great timing on the shot-blocking. He just plays with a fire and just goes for it.”

On the growing number of “super-teams:” “The newer league has kind of been going toward guys coming together and playing together because the top teams are so good now that it’s not enough anymore to have one or two great players. You need multiple ball-handlers, multiple playmakers, multiple great players, multiple shooters to really keep up with the Golden States and the San Antonio’s and Cleveland’s. … But you also appreciate teams that build it ground-up. I think that’s what’s been so impressive about Golden State, how they assembled the team with Steph being drafted there, Klay was drafted there. They just kept their team together for a long, long time.”

Catch “The Ben & Skin Show” on 105.3 The Fan weekdays from 3-7 p.m.