Romo should follow Nowitzki's lead (great article)

[Nav22]

Who cares if Dirk backs down someone smaller than him? He just shoots over them, and he's pretty damned good at that. So what does it matter if he lays it in or makes it from the elbow?

A layup is a much higher % shot than an elbow jumper, for starters.

It's about versatility. Dirk is a very good player, no doubt... but since he doesn't play defense, he needs to be truly dominant offensively in order to be great.

If you think he's good enough as is, re-check his trophy case.

If you think that Dirk's offensive game is ably suited to dominate against any kind of defender, re-watch the Golden State series. The tallest Warrior to defend Dirk was the 6'8" Stephen Jackson, and Dirk couldn't capitalize on his size advantage.

In fact, he was completely shut down in 2 of the Mavs' 4 losses that series, including a 2-13, 8 point performance in the elimination game 6. An utterly disgraceful performance from a 7 footer against a small-ball team.

And you're trying to suggest that he wouldn't benefit from improving on his post-up game, and using it more often?

The problem is Dirk has more heart,will,desire,want in his pinky then our celebrity QB.

You hear that laughing? It's coming from Oakland and/or Miami.

 

[peplaw06]

A layup is a much higher % shot than an elbow jumper, for starters.

Not for Dirk.

It's about versatility. Dirk is a very good player, no doubt... but since he doesn't play defense, he needs to be truly dominant offensively in order to be great.

He's dominant offensively. And it doesn't matter if he has a sub-par post game, because he does things no 7-footer does.

Do you consider Tim Duncan dominant offensively? How about Shaq in his prime? Were they versatile? Did they need to learn to shoot the 3, or hell even make free throws to be dominant offensively??

If you think he's good enough as is, re-check his trophy case.

Team sport. Just like the Romo comparison. Plenty of great players don't have titles. Could Dirk be better? absolutely. But even MJ and LeBron and Kobe believe that they could always get better.

If you think that Dirk's offensive game is ably suited to dominate against any kind of defender, re-watch the Golden State series. The tallest Warrior to defend Dirk was the 6'8" Stephen Jackson, and Dirk couldn't capitalize on his size advantage.

Golden State ran 2 and 3 players at Dirk to get him to give up the ball and no one else picked up the slack.

And you're trying to suggest that he wouldn't benefit from improving on his post-up game, and using it more often?

I never suggested that. Not even close. I said it doesn't matter, because he's still dominant offensively. What he does works for him apparently.

The guy just made first team all NBA for cryin out loud.

 

[DFWJC]

I'd take Hedo any day of the week over Dirk for the position they play. Hedo actually gets in the post, too.

You may...but not one single player or coach in the NBA would agree with you. What a clueless statememt...good god...were do you people come from?

I understand Dirk has flaws--that he, by the way works on every off season.
But he is al ock to be in the Hall of Fame...a LOCK.

I'll say it again.
FIVE Players in NBA Playoff history have averaged more than 25 points and 10 rebounds per game. Dirk is one of those them. I would say he does perform when it counts more than most.

Some of these comments are downright embarrassing. Is he Jordan, Kobe, Magic, or LeBron...no...but nobody else is either. Just ask ANY NBA player that has faced him or coach that has coached with or against him...these are the peope that know. Not some bunch of--once upon a time I played peewee hoops--idiots who have no clue what they are saying.

 

[DFWJC]

A layup is a much higher % shot than an elbow jumper, for starters.

It's about versatility. Dirk is a very good player, no doubt... but since he doesn't play defense, he needs to be truly dominant offensively in order to be great.

If you think he's good enough as is, re-check his trophy case.

If you think that Dirk's offensive game is ably suited to dominate against any kind of defender, re-watch the Golden State series. The tallest Warrior to defend Dirk was the 6'8" Stephen Jackson, and Dirk couldn't capitalize on his size advantage.

.

Even the "Dirk does not play any defense" is 2-3 years old now. Most say Dirk is about averge now at D now (including Avery and Carlisle)...as he has been working on it for years now and puts more effort in. Is he a great defender...of course not. But the old "irk" has been gone for a couple of years now.

Furthermore. You forget that Drik takes a part of his game that needs work and works on it each off season. Dirk is MUCH better now at handling double and triple teams than he was 2 years ago vs Golden St. That's old news too. OLD NEWS...same with Miami 3 years ago. HE IS BETTER NOW. Still, I notice how conveniently you forget when he has carried his team in so very many playoff games.

Did you see the last series. He WILL now post people up when the mismatch is there. He did not do that 2 years ago. He DOES pass out double teams now fairly well. And he will rebound well and defend (at least to some degree).

 

[juck]

Even the "Dirk does not play any defense" is 2-3 years old now. Most say Dirk is about averge now at D now (including Avery and Carlisle)...as he has been working on it for years now and puts more effort in. Is he a great defender...of course not. But the old "irk" has been gone for a couple of years now.

Furthermore. You forget that Drik takes a part of his game that needs work and works on it each off season. Dirk is MUCH better now at handling double and triple teams than he was 2 years ago vs Golden St. That's old news too. OLD NEWS...same with Miami 3 years ago. HE IS BETTER NOW. Still, I notice how conveniently you forget when he has carried his team in so very many playoff games.

Did you see the last series. He WILL now post people up when the mismatch is there. He did not do that 2 years ago. He DOES pass out double teams now fairly well. And he will rebound well and defend (at least to some degree).

It doesnt matter what we say.The talking heads,Barkley and Webber who btw have no rings will keep saying Dirk is blah or soft.Its a race thing with a lot of people.Dirk isnt flashy and he wont sell a million jerseys so people brush him off.The guy is the opposite of soft.He has missed an average of 2 games a season.Thats unheard of.He is a first ballot hall of famer and I hope Romo can follow in his footsteps as a humble first ballot HOF too.

 

[DFWJC]

It doesnt matter what we say.The talking heads,Barkley and Webber who btw have no rings will keep saying Dirk is blah or soft.Its a race thing with a lot of people.Dirk isnt flashy and he wont sell a million jerseys so people brush him off.The guy is the opposite of soft.He has missed an average of 2 games a season.Thats unheard of.He is a first ballot hall of famer and I hope Romo can follow in his footsteps as a humble first ballot HOF too.

But even Barkley and Webber BOTH said that Dirk is impossible to defend one on one....and they both said he is a Hall of Fame shoo-in and a top 5-6 player in the league. They jsut want him to be a bit more ghetto. It's all relative...people want Dirk to be something he is not and ignore greatness at being what he is.

 

[khiladi]

But even Barkley and Webber BOTH said that Dirk is impossible to defend one on one....and they both said he is a Hall of Fame shoo-in and a top 5-6 player in the league. They jsut want him to be a bit more ghetto. It's all relative...people want Dirk to be something he is not and ignore greatness at being what he is.

Most above-average players are impossible to defend one-on-one. That is why help-defense is what wins championships.

His jumper is money though...

 

[Randy White]

So what happens if we see Dirk playing golf during his off-season? He might even go out of the country.

Dirk doesn't play golf in the off-season. His favorite pass time is drinking beer.

 

[Randy White]

well as an athlete

Dirk=heart and will

bend over and take it from behind every year he plays the Lakers.

He's softy with an alcohol problem.

 

[DFWJC]

bend over and take it from behind every year he plays the Lakers.

He's softy with an alcohol problem.

That's just ...wrong.
:laugh1:

 

[Chief]

I like Nowitzki and agree that he's a wrongful target, but comparing him and his situation to the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys is silly.

You can't compare Romo's job title with anyone else in ... possibly even the NFL, much less Dallas.

Nowitzki is a power forward for the Dallas Mavericks.

Romo is the quarterback of the Dallas Freakin' Cowboys.

Whitt(less) is comparing watermelons to grapes.

 

[rcaldw]

I just get weary of knee jerk reactions all the way around.

Nowitzki is a great player. Period. If he had better surrounding talent, he would certainly be good enough for an NBA Championship.

In my opinion the school is still out on Romo. I don't think we have seen enough yet. I know that isn't what some believe, and I'm fine with that, but I think it is factual. The measure of a QB is does he enable his football team to win. And when a QB wins over a long period of time, his greatness is established. The Cowboys have had a couple of good seasons with him at the helm, but nothing to show for it in the playoffs, and then some average ones too. Time will tell the story.

 

[ZB9]

Golden State ran 2 and 3 players at Dirk to get him to give up the ball and no one else picked up the slack.

exactly

and as far as the Miami series, like I said earlier, it would be chicken **** for someone who watched that series to hold that WWE crap against Dirk. It should have been obvious to anyone who watched that series that it was shady. Even Phil Jackson said in an interview there was a one sided agenda by the officials in that series. He also said (paraphrasing) "the league wanted another star, so they created one"...they got a spokesman for some of their sponsors, like TMobile (I bet Bennett Salvatore is in Dwhistle's "5", but I digress)

it's interesting that the "haters" keep on cherry picking the GS series. That shows how great Nowitzki has been in the playoffs, considering the GS series is pretty much the only poor playoff series Dirk has had in his career. It's the only bad peformance they have to bring up. It was an anomaly...but like you said, it wasnt all on Dirk. GS chose to double and triple Dirk, and the rest of the Mavs were not able to make the Warriors pay for doing so. I think that series is a big reason why the Mavs ended up giving up on Devin Harris and trading for Jason Kidd.

Im curious why some people hold Dirk to a different standard than other players. Every playoff veteran HOFer in the league has had a bad playoff series. However, It's been far more rare for Dirk than it has for most players. The double standard is interesting.

 

[ZB9]

It's incredible how many people posting in this thread don't know much about basketball at all. Anybody who has actually watched Nowitzki's career would remember the countless number of times he won tough games playing through injuries. Or after getting his teeth knocked out mid-game. Or winning tough playoff games as an underdog on the road.

This is the player who sent Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Pau Gasol, and Kevin Garnett home for the season, after winning gruelling one-on-one match-ups in several playoff series. How can anybody call a player like that a "softie"? Fans tend to ignore all the great things about him, and focus on the little flaws.

He's been voted League MVP once, All-NBA nine times, and All-Star eight times. All of this as a result of players, coaches, and media balloting.

Just some facts...
-According to stats compiled by 82games.com, Dirk Nowitzki ranked #3 in 2007-8 Scoring Clutch Time... right behind Lebron James & Kobe Bryant.
-Since 2003, only 6 players have made more game winning shots than Dirk Nowitzki.
-His impressive stats in 97(!) career playoff games are actually higher than his career regular season stats: 25.4/11.2 -vs- 22.7/8.6.
-One year after Nash & Finley jumped ship and left the Mavs for dead, Dirk Nowitzki stepped up his game to become League MVP in 2006
-Mavericks average record in the 8 years before the start of the Nowitzki era: 22-60
-Mavericks average record in the 10 (non-strike) years of the Nowitzki era: 55-27
-Nowitzki led the Mavericks to their only NBA Finals apperance in franchise history
-Nowitzki has led the Mavericks to 9 consecutive 50-win seasons. Since 1967, only the Lakers & Spurs Dynasties have surpassed that feat.
-Mavs' current streak of 9 straight playoff appearances is 2nd longest in the league, behind the Spurs.
-Selected to 8 consecutive All-Star TEams
-Selected to 9 consecutive All-NBA Teams
-First Team All-NBA in 4 of the past 5 years
-Nowitzki was the first foreign player drafted in the lottery without any experience with American basketball
-Nowitzki's success opened the door for a deluge of European and Asian players drafted with lottery picks.
-Consistent winner despite playing through FOUR complete roster overhauls under THREE different head coaches
-Since 1998, the Lakers & Mavericks are the only teams to have defeated Tim Duncan in a playoff series. Dirk has done it twice (2006, 2009)

hipsterdoofus7 said it right

 

[DFWJC]

Not for Dirk.

He's dominant offensively. And it doesn't matter if he has a sub-par post game, because he does things no 7-footer does.

Do you consider Tim Duncan dominant offensively? How about Shaq in his prime? Were they versatile? Did they need to learn to shoot the 3, or hell even make free throws to be dominant offensively??

Team sport. Just like the Romo comparison. Plenty of great players don't have titles. Could Dirk be better? absolutely. But even MJ and LeBron and Kobe believe that they could always get better.

Golden State ran 2 and 3 players at Dirk to get him to give up the ball and no one else picked up the slack.

I never suggested that. Not even close. I said it doesn't matter, because he's still dominant offensively. What he does works for him apparently.

The guy just made first team all NBA for cryin out loud.

:shoot1:
Game-set-match. I'll just let you argue this stuff. ZB9 too.

One of the best points besides the obvious fact that fellow NBA players always vote pick him top 5-10 players in the league is your point about previous inside scorers not being judged for their lack of outside scoring ability, but Dirk being bashed on his "lack" of inside game. Ironically, even that part of his game has grown a lot.


Side note
So...I won't hold it against you after your Duke Lax team beat my Tarheels yesterday in the national semis.

 

[khiladi]

exactly

and as far as the Miami series, like I said earlier, it would be chicken **** for someone who watched that series to hold that WWE crap against Dirk. It should have been obvious to anyone who watched that series that it was shady. Even Phil Jackson said in an interview there was a one sided agenda by the officials in that series. He also said (paraphrasing) "the league wanted another star, so they created one"...they got a spokesman for some of their sponsors, like TMobile (I bet Bennett Salvatore is in Dwhistle's "5", but I digress)

Phil Jackson shouldn't be the one to talk, considering Kobe Bryant... When they beat the Blazers with Rasheed Wallace and Sacramento with Chris Webber, his boys were getting all the calls...

it's interesting that the "haters" keep on cherry picking the GS series. That shows how great Nowitzki has been in the playoffs, considering the GS series is pretty much the only poor playoff series Dirk has had in his career. It's the only bad peformance they have to bring up. It was an anomaly...but like you said, it wasnt all on Dirk. GS chose to double and triple Dirk, and the rest of the Mavs were not able to make the Warriors pay for doing so. I think that series is a big reason why the Mavs ended up giving up on Devin Harris and trading for Jason Kidd.

because they got sent home when they had the best record in the West, including Home Court advantage. They played the worst team in the West and lost, getting crushed. They lost the first round again, the next year.

 

[ZB9]

Phil Jackson shouldn't be the one to talk, considering Kobe Bryant... When they beat the Blazers with Rasheed Wallace and Sacramento with Chris Webber, his boys were getting all the calls...

lol good point...the 2001 Lakers/Blazers series is one of the most shady series of all time. Im convinced game 6 was "rigged".

Jackson has been in a lot of other playoff series though. It says a lot that he came out and was pretty vocal about the one sided shadiness of the '06 finals

 

[ZB9]

because they got sent home when they had the best record in the West, including Home Court advantage. They played the worst team in the West and lost, getting crushed.

yet not many people were surprised. The Mavs had not defeated Golden State in the regular season the past two seasons. They did not match up well with them at all, and Nellie knew how to beat the team that he basically assembled. Regardless of seed, it was the worst possible matchup for Dallas.

However, your right, it was still a terrible performance. They still should have found a way to win. It is ridiculous for people to put it all on Dirk though. He was being doubled and tripled throughout the series. Nellie was going to force someone else to beat them, and no one else stepped up. The Dallas guards could not do anything on offense and could not stop Baron Davis on defense. I wish the Mavs would have had Jason Kidd during that series.

anyway, like I said, people bring that series up because it is pretty much the only poor performance Dirk has had in his playoff career. Man that series pissed me off, and the Cowboys came out the very next season and did the same ****ing thing against the Giants. :bang2:

 

[Rampage]

Dirk ain't soft he's gangsta

 

[khiladi]

The problem was, the expectations were high for Dallas to win it all, and they flat-out dominated in the regular season. They just got crushed by Golden State. But, Golden State beat the Mavericks that year 3 out of 3 times in the regular season. It wasn't as if they did anything new. At the same time, GS was the Achilles heel of the Mavericks. But at the same time, Dirk, with the coaching staff, had plenty of time to learn how to adjust and make it happen in the play-offs.