I used to call him the German pornstar. But when Dirk Nowitzki, (with the help of an emerging Steve Nash and Michael Finley), defeated the Utah Jazz in the '01 divisional playoff series, I stopped. After a stellar sophomore season, the 7" German import instantly became one of my favorite players in the NBA. Young, international and tooled with a dangerous, and completely unprecedented offensive arsenal, Dirk Nowitzki was no longer in the shadows of one, Dirk Diggler.
His floor game reminded us of Larry Legend. Incredibly accurate perimeter shooting, unlimited range, and oh, that up and under. He had a runner, he could pass and make decisions, he could face you up and blow by you, his shot was un-blockable--and yeah, he was seven feet tall.
Physically, Dirk Nowtizki was a mutant version of Larry Bird. His rebounding was improving, his defense became tolerable and best yet, he played with Steve Nash and Michael Finley. "The Dallas Mavericks were good again." I remember thinking. Or maybe it was more like, "shit, the Dallas Mavericks are good."
The rest is well-documented. Dallas' Big Three rise to power in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. They compete hard against the Sacrementos, and the San Antonio's but in the end, the Big Legendary was too big and too legendary in the race to try and beat LA. Despite adding Laker-killer, Nick "the Quick" Van Exel, there just wasn't enough defense in Big D and eventually, the Big 3 broke apart (as did the Greatest Show on Court) and it was the end of an era.
But it wasn't the end of Dirk's run. Even after Steve Nash--the Boba Fett and cerebral cortex of the Dallas Mavericks left--Dallas continued and improved, their hard work culminating in a trip to the promise land in the 2006 NBA Finals. They led the series 2-0, but after the single worst stretch of officiating in NBA Playoff history, Dwyane Wade nearly single-handedly lifted the Heat past Dallas, and a long summer of disappointment ensued.
Again though, Dirk rose to the challenge as the Mavericks sprinted out to a historic 67-win season, where Nowitzki snatched the MVP trophy away from his old teammate, Steve Nash.
And then it happened.
In likely the greatest upset in the history of the NBA, the heavily favored Mavericks fell to the 8th-seeded Golden State Warriors in round one of the playoffs with much of the blame falling upon Nowtizki's shoulders. The pundits blamed Dirk. "Lack of toughness," they said. "European players are just too soft." "Get a post-game," they screamed, "for Christ's sake you were playing a team of guards."
Interesting. A guy who had spent his entire career pursuing excellence in the face of tremendous challenges--of loosing players, losing coaches, changing philosophies, adjusting to the American game--A seven time all-star, an MVP, a guy who doesn't complain, a guy who has played injured and sick in the most important games of his career is suddenly...soft?
The reality is, is that Dirk Nowitzki has evolved as much as any player and any star in the modern history of the NBA. From a rail-thin small forward who no coach knew what to do with, to an unstopable guard/bigman hybrid, to a bonified legitamate rebounder, medium-range post player, who can decently defend and now rarely shoots 3's--well, the reality is, Dirk Nowitzki is as tough as any player I've watched.
It's my theory, that just because a guy is tall, doesn't mean he needs to become a certain kind of player. Doesn't mean he needs to be able to be a power player. Because he never will be. Dirk has played his entire life a certain way. Some might say as a 3, others might say 4--but his footwork, his instinct, his skill set has made him the player he is. And in the game of basketball, I believe you play to your strengths. No matter the circumstances--you stay true to the player that has gotten you where you've gotten. And for Dirk Nowtizki, that's a hell of a place to be.
So while the jury is still very much out on Dallas' move to get Jason Kidd--maybe it's a good thing the Mavs traded a scorer, for a passer. Dirk could use the extra pass.
His floor game reminded us of Larry Legend. Incredibly accurate perimeter shooting, unlimited range, and oh, that up and under. He had a runner, he could pass and make decisions, he could face you up and blow by you, his shot was un-blockable--and yeah, he was seven feet tall.
Physically, Dirk Nowtizki was a mutant version of Larry Bird. His rebounding was improving, his defense became tolerable and best yet, he played with Steve Nash and Michael Finley. "The Dallas Mavericks were good again." I remember thinking. Or maybe it was more like, "shit, the Dallas Mavericks are good."
The rest is well-documented. Dallas' Big Three rise to power in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. They compete hard against the Sacrementos, and the San Antonio's but in the end, the Big Legendary was too big and too legendary in the race to try and beat LA. Despite adding Laker-killer, Nick "the Quick" Van Exel, there just wasn't enough defense in Big D and eventually, the Big 3 broke apart (as did the Greatest Show on Court) and it was the end of an era.
But it wasn't the end of Dirk's run. Even after Steve Nash--the Boba Fett and cerebral cortex of the Dallas Mavericks left--Dallas continued and improved, their hard work culminating in a trip to the promise land in the 2006 NBA Finals. They led the series 2-0, but after the single worst stretch of officiating in NBA Playoff history, Dwyane Wade nearly single-handedly lifted the Heat past Dallas, and a long summer of disappointment ensued.
Again though, Dirk rose to the challenge as the Mavericks sprinted out to a historic 67-win season, where Nowitzki snatched the MVP trophy away from his old teammate, Steve Nash.
And then it happened.
In likely the greatest upset in the history of the NBA, the heavily favored Mavericks fell to the 8th-seeded Golden State Warriors in round one of the playoffs with much of the blame falling upon Nowtizki's shoulders. The pundits blamed Dirk. "Lack of toughness," they said. "European players are just too soft." "Get a post-game," they screamed, "for Christ's sake you were playing a team of guards."
Interesting. A guy who had spent his entire career pursuing excellence in the face of tremendous challenges--of loosing players, losing coaches, changing philosophies, adjusting to the American game--A seven time all-star, an MVP, a guy who doesn't complain, a guy who has played injured and sick in the most important games of his career is suddenly...soft?
The reality is, is that Dirk Nowitzki has evolved as much as any player and any star in the modern history of the NBA. From a rail-thin small forward who no coach knew what to do with, to an unstopable guard/bigman hybrid, to a bonified legitamate rebounder, medium-range post player, who can decently defend and now rarely shoots 3's--well, the reality is, Dirk Nowitzki is as tough as any player I've watched.
It's my theory, that just because a guy is tall, doesn't mean he needs to become a certain kind of player. Doesn't mean he needs to be able to be a power player. Because he never will be. Dirk has played his entire life a certain way. Some might say as a 3, others might say 4--but his footwork, his instinct, his skill set has made him the player he is. And in the game of basketball, I believe you play to your strengths. No matter the circumstances--you stay true to the player that has gotten you where you've gotten. And for Dirk Nowtizki, that's a hell of a place to be.
So while the jury is still very much out on Dallas' move to get Jason Kidd--maybe it's a good thing the Mavs traded a scorer, for a passer. Dirk could use the extra pass.
No comments:
Post a Comment