Minnesota Timberwolves

ZaZa's fierceness bleeds into locker room where he unleashed S-word

Published Jan. 11, 2016 10:57 a.m. ET

Jeff Caplan

Dallas Mavericks center ZaZa Pachulia's fierce play and 19 double-doubles have made lingering memories of the DeAndre Jordan fiasco fade rather quickly. The veteran Pachulia has given Dallas rebounding and strong post play, as well as a leadership voice that Jordan might have been hard-pressed to provide.

After a sluggish first half at Milwaukee in Friday's 96-95 loss in which Dallas trailed by 16 points at halftime, Pachulia wasn't happy with his teammates' effort, and in the locker room he wasn't afraid to speak up, and even spew the dreaded S-word that athletes can't stand.

Dirk Nowitzki, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, provided the insight following Sunday's win at Minnesota:

“In the locker room, he’s not afraid to get in guys’ faces,” Nowitzki said. “He even spoke up at halftime in Milwaukee — he called us all soft. So he’s a veteran guy that wants to win, and we all love him.”

“In the locker room, he’s not afraid to get in guys’ faces. He even spoke up at halftime in Milwaukee — he called us all soft. So he’s a veteran guy that wants to win, and we all love him.”

After blasting his teammates, Dallas outscored Milwaukee 56-41 in the second half, although lost when Deron Williams' buzzer-beater for the win bounced off the rim, and then outrebounded Minnesota in Sunday's win.

Pachulia, averaging 10.7 points and 10.8 rebounds a game, is one of just nine players in the league averaging a double-double this season.