Oct.2 at 3:04 pm

jbn74sb says:
Anyone who watched the GS-Dallas series this year and/or the 2006 Finals could have told you that.

Oct.2 at 3:09 pm

Daniel says:
All he said was that he wouldn’t be the guy to deliver pep talks and locker-room speeches. Is that the only way you show leadership?

Oct.2 at 3:09 pm

Bryan says:
He’s a good player but he needs a get in your face type of star next to him for real , he’s a freakin creampuff.

Oct.2 at 3:10 pm

Bryan says:
We need Charles Oakley to toughen his ass up.

Oct.2 at 3:10 pm

white hot eboy says:
Could Dirk still get a part on the “Caveman” series? Cuban and him can share a trailer in the ABC lot.

Oct.2 at 3:18 pm

Daniel says:
If you’re a professional and you need some sort of locker-room speech or pep talk to do your job, then something is wrong. Leadership manifests itself in many different ways, be it staying after practice to work on your game and set an example for your teammates, mentoring a rookie/second-year player, etc. Maybe Dirk is a good leader, maybe he’s a poor leader, but this team has big problems if they need Win One for the Gipper speeches in order to be properly motivated to do their jobs. Dude plays on sprained ankles all year long, he credits his teammates and coaches when things go well, takes the blame and puts it on himself when things don’t go so well. He’s got a great work ethic and he always does what his coaches ask of him. He’s a true team-oriented star. And for that, I’ll never understand the venom thrown his way. He sucked against the Warriors, but the avalanche or criticism has just gotten out of hand. Which active “franchise” player has a better playoff resume than him? Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, Wade, Kidd, maybe LeBron? That’s it. And hey, I’ve got an idea…if you’re a professional and you need some sort of locker-room speech or pep talk to do your job, then something is wrong. Leadership manifests itself in many different ways, be it staying after practice to work on your game and set an example for your teammates, mentoring a rookie/second-year player, etc. Maybe Dirk is a good leader, maybe he’s a poor leader, but this team has big problems if they need Win One for the Gipper speeches in order to be properly motivated to do their jobs. Way to pile on and add to the cliches.

Oct.2 at 3:21 pm

Bryan says:
How does he lead? By getting bullied all over the court by some swingmen?By never coming through in the clutch?He’s a great player but I don’t he’s mvp status…

Oct.2 at 3:30 pm

Daniel says:
Only Duncan or Kobe deserve the title of MVP. I could care less if the basketball writers want to get cute and come up with esoteric arguments to justify giving it to somebody other than those two. How does he lead? Oh, I don’t know, going 5-0 in series-deciding games. Leading his team to 55+ wins annually. You don’t get an invitation to the playoffs, you know, you have to finish with one of the top 8 records in your conference. Making a Finals appearance, having 8 series wins under his belt. Like I said, there’s only about 5 franchise guys whose postseason resume trumps his, so spare me the irrational hatred. If you want to bring up Miami and Golden State, I’ll bring up that 5-0 record in Game 5/7s, I’ll bring up the 37 and 15 he threw on the defending champs on the road in a Game 7. You want to be fair and accurate? Say he has a checkered playoff history and has come through for his team a times and come up short at times. We really do live in a society that has only short-term memory.

Oct.2 at 3:37 pm

white hot eboy says:
Daniel Nowitski?

Oct.2 at 3:39 pm

jbn74sb says:
There is no short term memory in the NBA Daniel, cause half the players smoke weed, and the other half do too.

Oct.2 at 3:42 pm

Bryan says:
haha@eboy.. I don’t even hate Dirk I actually like him, but I think your stats are bogus how can you be 5-0 in a series deciding game but lose a series?Just because you don’t make it to a game seven doesn’t mean that you’re 5-0 in series deciding games.I’m not even saying anything nuts like they would be better without him what I’m saying is that he hasn’t the tempermant or the heart to lead a team to the championship, he’s a great player but not a leader.Bring up all the stats you want,if you’re a leader you go to the f*ckin basket when someone FOUR inches shorter is guarding you.You do whatever it takes to win.As a leader if you’re not hitting from the outside you stop taking jumpers and take your 7 foot ass in the post.Whatever it takes, that’s not the case with him.He doesn’t manufacture points the way the other superstar leaders do , he’s either hitting his jumper or he’s not period.

Oct.2 at 3:46 pm

Jukai says:
Bryan is an idiot. Where is this “never coming through on the clutch” thing? I am going to say something that will SHOCK you. Dirk is one of the MOST CLUTCH PLAYERS IN THE LEAGUE. Shot down 51 points to win over Phoenix in game six, hit a game winning three against Memphis in game 3, hit the game tying basket + 1 against San Antonio in GAME SEVEN. Yes, we know, Dirk sucked against Golden State. He couldn’t get a shot up. HOWEVER, the one game they did win against GS was when Dirk stepped up when they were down, made two incredible defensive plays and hit two huge three pointers to put them over. This “lack of clutch” factor people have given Dirk is ridiculous.

Oct.2 at 3:48 pm

Bryan says:
The one game they won says it all ,as*hole.

Oct.2 at 3:49 pm

Jukai says:
Also, how is Dirk going to take his seven foot a$$ to the basket when he’s being triple teamed whenever he gets as close to the foul line? Name ONE player on Dallas who can control the ball and get it to Dirk when he’s under the basket. Having trouble? I wonder why. It was inexcusable for a 50-40-90 player to suddenly lose his jump shot, I wont defend him for that, but enough “OH HE’S SO NOT CLUTCH” or “OH HIS SHOT SELECTION SUCKS” or “OH HE’S SEVEN FEET TAKE IT TO THE BASKET.” No one cared about this crap last year whenhe won the three point shootout.

Oct.2 at 3:49 pm

Daniel says:
Is there a more clutch occasion than a Game Seven or a series-deciding Game Five in the best of five format? His team is 5-0 in those games, and he played well and came up CLUTCH in four of those games. I can’t defend his play against Golden State, he sucked in that series. I’m only saying that you can’t say things like He’s NEVER come up clutch or he ALWAYS fails in the clutch. And you must not have watched the San Antonio or Phoenix series because he spent plenty of time driving to the basket. Why he settled for jumpers against the Warriors, I’ll never know, but his other playoff performances were different. He sucked against the Warriors when they were eliminated in Game Six, but what more do you want than the 29 points and 15 rebounds he threw up against Miami in Game Six of the Finals? Was he not coming through for his team then? It would be ridiculous for me to cherry-pick my data and only point to San Antonio and Phoenix to support a thesis that he’s clutch, and it’s just as ridiculous for you to cherrypick Miami and Golden State to support your thesis that he’s some gutless p*ssy choker.

Oct.2 at 3:50 pm

Tarzan Cooper says:
going 5-0 in series-deciding games……….. how is that possible?? didnt he lose series-deciding games against both the warriors and heat recently?????

Oct.2 at 3:50 pm

Jukai says:
Bryan, keyword is “they.” Dirk didn’t lose. DALLAS lost. Is Lebron suddenly the worst player on the planet cause he couldn’t get a shot off against San Antonio?

Oct.2 at 3:52 pm

Jukai says:
I can never understand why people bring up the fact that Dallas lost to the Heat. Dirk played a bit under average but hit HUGE shots and made incredible passes in the fourth quarters of the game deciding series. Wade just made better ones.

Oct.2 at 3:53 pm

Tarzan Cooper says:
manu f%cks up and fouls dirk, and now people go crazy calling dirk clutch. dirk is a bitch

Oct.2 at 3:54 pm

Jukai says:
Can someone tell me why Dirk went from one of the most clutch players in the NBA to the worst clutch player in basketball history? I know WHE just hates Dirk’s kind, but did Daniel lose money on Dirk or something?

Oct.2 at 3:54 pm

white hot eboy says:
Daniel, Jukai, until Dirk take his “clutch” ass to the trophy podium for a Larry O’Brien CHAMPIONSHIP trophy, all those thoughts about Dirk being incredible when needed do not apply. Just ask Tracy McGrady. Or Vince Carter. Or Steve Nash (sorry Jukai). Or Karl Malone. Or Charles Barkley. Shall I continue?

Oct.2 at 3:54 pm

Jukai says:
Tarzan believes that there are no good players in the NBA. Just horrible players screwing up and making other horrible players look good.

Oct.2 at 3:55 pm

Paul says:
Wooo…Dirk might be the new Kobe…..calm down fellas…quite frankly, Avery Johnson got b*tch slapped by Nellie. And instead of standing by his guy and owning up to his own shortcomings, he ganged up with 99% of the media and called his own player out. As for Dirk not being clutch, thats just ridiculous. You don’t go to the WCF or even the Finals without being clutch. Kobe misses clutch shots too and this is coming from a fan. Even Mike Jordan, believe it or not, missed clutch shots. Also, the series against GSW hardly proved Dirk wasn’t clutch since Dallas was getting blown out by 20 every game.

Oct.2 at 3:55 pm

H to the izzo says:
Since when was Dirk one of the most clutch players in the NBA?

Oct.2 at 3:56 pm

Jukai says:
WHE, what’s your definition of the word “clutch?” Winning a championship doesn’t really define clutch in my opinion. Also, I still cry over that Nash thing.

Oct.2 at 3:57 pm

Daniel says:
If there’s another common thread to the Mavs playoff exits, it’s a lack of perimeter defense. I won’t go back beyond 2004 before the Shaq trade and Nash signing with Phoenix, that gave us out current NBA landscape. Since that time, the Mavs have been lit up in the playoffs by Tracy McGrady (barely won), Steve Nash (lost to Phoenix and returned the favor), Dwyane Wade (lost), and Baron Davis/J-Rich (lost). I object to people putting those losses entirely at the feet of Dirk. He went from 25 and 9 in the regular season on 50% shooting to 19 and 10 on 38% shooting against Golden State. That’s on him. But is it his fault the Mavericks couldn’t guard Davis and Richardson, who are 6′3, 215 lbs and 6′6, 225 lbs, respectively, with Jason Terry, 6′2, 180 lbs, and Devin Harris, 6′3, 185 lbs? The Warriors had the better backcourt and anybody that knows anything about basketball knew that going into the series and that the Mavericks were going to have problems with Golden State. In my book, Dirk deserves plenty of blame for not matching his regular season production and that was a major reason why they lost to Golden State, but the tenor of criticism is that its entirely his fault, and that’s not accurate. Dallas’ perimeter defense has been a huge Achilles heel in the postseason and that never gets mentioned. You might’ve also missed Avery getting worked over like a punching bag at the hands of Riley and Nellie. Dirk isn’t exempt in my book from criticism, but they lost those series as a team.

Oct.2 at 3:59 pm

Daniel says:
I define series-deciding games as Game Seven in a best of seven format and Game Five in a best of five format. Win or go home. Were the Mavs supposed to beat the Spurs in 2001? The Kings in 2002? He was injured in 2003. Against the Kings in 2004 featured two evenly-matched teams. Are we going to call Stevie out for Dallas losing that series? Was Dallas better than Phoenix in 2005?

Oct.2 at 3:59 pm

white hot eboy says:
Jukai, I don’t hate Dirk for his ability, I despise him for his lack of fire and passion to take his team by the balls and lead them to a title. They had a shot against the Heat and he didn’t do what was needed. If he got 30 and 15 and they still lost, he needed 35 and 20 then. We can throw stats around all day (Bodie?) about plenty of guys (Kobe) but unless you come through when it counts the most (Finals) then you are just another heir apparant not the throne holder. Understand?

Oct.2 at 4:02 pm

Daniel says:
Hey Tarzan, Dirk put up 37 and 15 in that game against the Spurs, was that all a result of Manu “f*cking up,” as you say? Dirk has a checkered playoff resume, that’s all I’m saying. To go towards either extreme and say he’s a gutless p*ssy choker or the epitome of clutch is ridiculous. If you want to cherrypick Golden State and Miami, I can play that game as well to make the opposite case.

Oct.2 at 4:05 pm

Daniel says:
You sound ridiculous whe…He didn’t want to win? You can say a guy didn’t play well, or didn’t do enough, but to say a guy doesn’t want to win, that’s just asinine. If that were the case, they would’ve never made it to the Finals.

Oct.2 at 4:06 pm

Jukai says:
I agree with half of that WHE. See, there are plenty of players with passion who have never won a title; KG, Nash, McGrady. They all have incredible fire but their teams aren’t good enough (Or, in NAsh’s case, everything else). On the other hand, I’ll easily admit Dirk has very little fire and his passion seems to come and go. There are games where he seems to be willing to do anything it takes to win, and then games where he’s looking lost and screaming at his players. I think Dirk is a horrible leader. That being said, that has nothing to do with clutch.

Oct.2 at 4:09 pm

white hot eboy says:
Daniel, point out where I said he didn’t want to win. I said he doesn’t have the fire & the passion to get it done. That’s a big difference.

Oct.2 at 4:13 pm

Daniel says:
That’s a subjective judgment whe, and I think you’re wrong on that one in any event. He’s killed and beaten himself up over the Finals, he’s admitted as much in all of the interviews he’s done on the subject. Just because a guy doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve doesn’t mean he has no passion or heart. He was outplayed by Dwyane Wade, sometimes it’s a simple as that.

Oct.2 at 4:14 pm

Bryan says:
The difference between Lebron and Dirk is that the entire SA team was keyed to stop him , the Warriors put Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington on Dirk..and Lebron did the right thing anyway take the ball to the MF rack.Dirk is 4 inches taller than the people gaurding him so there is no excuse why he couldn’t get a shot off.The Cavs lost and it was lopsided sure, but you can’t accuse Lebron of not trying, Dirk on the other hand went soft as charmin and jacked up jumper after jumper because guys much smaller than him were bodying up on him..If a 6′5 inch guard was defending Lebron he would have torched his ass.That’s the difference.

Oct.2 at 4:16 pm

white hot eboy says:
Very nice, Mr. Labeouf.

Oct.2 at 4:29 pm

Tarzan Cooper says:
dirk had one pretty good playoff and now people are going crazy. what about all the years before 06? suns beat them in 05 and they were owned by the kings for a few years before that. dirk is a really good player, but he just cant be that guy for his team. he just doesnt have it in him.

Oct.2 at 4:30 pm

jbn74sb says:
That and the fact that Dallas was a No. 1 seed playing against a flawed team that barely made it into the playoffs.

Oct.2 at 4:34 pm

Jukai says:
You’re kidding yourself if you think Dirk doesn’t have another half a dozen great playoff runs to go. There’s this huge hate on Dirk I just don’t get. Stop saying he didn’t take it to the rack. He’s being triple teamed and has no point guard to get him the ball in key positions. Did ANY player on Dallas average more than 4 assists?

Oct.2 at 4:36 pm

Jukai says:
I get it, he lacks the passion that Michael Jordan had. That’s great. This doesn’t mean he’s not an incredible clutch player who can light it up from anywhere. I know you guys wont change yer mind but I’d wish you’d use something other than Dirk’s collapse at Golden State as your excuse as to why he’s awful.

Oct.2 at 4:36 pm

Jukai says:
Side point: How tall is Lebron and how tall is Bruce Bowen

Oct.2 at 4:36 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
I’m going to get seriously angry and bring the wrath and furious anger of the Old Testament God if I post in here, so I’m staying out of it. My heartrate is racing already. Deep breaths.

Oct.2 at 4:38 pm

Bryan says:
Dude Bowen wasn’t the only one guarding Lebron the entire team and scheme was focused completely on Lebron.

Oct.2 at 4:39 pm

Bryan says:
Even if Dirk were an average clutch player you’re crazy if you use the word incredible to describe his clutch ability.

Oct.2 at 4:41 pm

H to the izzo says:
Dirk is great at basketball,calling him a choker is premature bullsh*t,saying that he has another half a dozen playoff runs in him is d*ck riding

Oct.2 at 4:42 pm

Bryan says:
Let’s here it Russ you’re entertaining if a bit harsh.

Oct.2 at 4:42 pm

Myles Brown says:
Im going to respectfully agree with Daniel.

Oct.2 at 4:43 pm

Jukai says:
Lebron and Dirk were pretty much getting equal treatment, Bryan. If you only have one star on your team, you shatter him with triple teams and let the rest the team try and score. Now, I know San Antonio defense is on a completely different level than Golden State, and no disrespect to Lebron, who I like MUCH better than Dirk. I still feel the need to defend Dirk. He’s in my top ten best players in the league and pretty much EVERYONE’S top ten and he gets so much crap. We get it, Dirk seems to have a problem when you throw two short guys to guard him. It makes him want to shoot over them irregardless of how bad of a shooting night he is having. It’s something Dirk needs to get over. Why is he suddenly a bad player?

Oct.2 at 4:43 pm

jbn74sb says:
Jukai - The point is that after his last two playoff flameouts (i.e., in 2006 up by 15 in the 4th quarter of game 3 with a 2-0 lead, Wade having his 5th foul, AND a bad knee, losing the game and then losing 3 more in a row, and getting dominated and emasculated by a team of streetball lilliputians last year), Dirk has much to prove in the cojones and leadership department. Yes, his game 7 against the Spurs in 2006 was awesome, but he lost everything he earned with that performance, and then some, in his only 2 playoff series since then.

Oct.2 at 4:44 pm

Jukai says:
Sorry Bryan, I’ve seen him hit more key shots then most players in the league. I can’t count past ten players more clutch than Dirk.

Oct.2 at 4:46 pm

H to the izzo says:
Key shots in bed games = clutch
Key shots in regular season games = your job as an all star

Oct.2 at 4:46 pm

Jukai says:
jbn74sb, c’mon, Dirk hit some big shots in the 2006 playoffs. Wade went superhuman and, incase ya didn’t watch, got some questionable calls placed his way. This was after Dirk had to, by himself, take over games against San Antonio and Phoenix. I highly doubt his clutch abilities are in question in any of those games. Did you know Dirk has a team that could share some of that blame?

Oct.2 at 4:46 pm

Bryan says:
I never said he’s a bad player I said he wasn’t a leader and he wasn’t clutch.And the difference is that the Mavs have another legit all star in Josh Howard and great shooter in Jason Terry.Who has Lebrons back?

Oct.2 at 4:47 pm

H to the izzo says:
big games*

Oct.2 at 4:47 pm

Allenp says:
I was wondering why it took Russ so long to post. Daniel’s right, Dirk has a checkered playoff past. Unfortunately, his failures seem to loom larger than his success. However, even though I have hated on Dirk in the past, I remember the big games he against the Suns and I remember him hitting clutch shots against the Heat and getting one-upped by Wade. However, Dirk does seem to struggle with nerves, seems easily rattled and doens’t really inspire his teammates. And no matter what anybody thinks, emotion is huge part of sports on any level.

Oct.2 at 4:49 pm

Jukai says:
Great shooter in Jason Terry? He’s a POINT guard. Terry can’t pass for his life. I don’t really like Terry. Howard is great but deserves as much fame as Rashard Lewis.

Oct.2 at 4:49 pm

Jukai says:
And my thoughts are pretty much IDENTICAL to Allenp’s.

Oct.2 at 4:52 pm

Bryan says:
I don’t know how I got accused of hating Dirk I think he’s a good player, I like him.I don’t like his ability to lead.I don’t think he has that cut throat ability or the take on all comers attitude that other “clutch”players have.You can name a big shot he hit , but Tim Thomas hit a big one against the lakers , does that make him a clutch player? Or did he make a clutch play? Dirk is a great player but he needs someone to step and take over the team.Vince Carter is the top stats guy on NJ but the Nets belong to Jason Kidd.Dirk can be the leading scorer and rebounder 100 times over but he doesn’t take over and lead the team and make it his own.

Oct.2 at 4:52 pm

jbn74sb says:
Jukai - Dirk’s teammates include a center who averages more boards than Shaq and outplayed him in the Finals (Dampier), one of the quickest PGs in the league (Harris), a former scoring champ (Stack), a clutch shooter with cojones (Terry), and one of the more well-rounded players in the L (Howard). Dirk should have lead his team to the title against the Heat, and failed to do, even with a 2-0 lead and 15 point 4th quarter lead in Game 3. And they should have swept the Warriors.

Oct.2 at 4:57 pm

Bryan says:
Jason Terry since coming to the Mavs. 42.2 percent three point shooting.That’s great shooting big guy, whether he can pass or not isn’t the issue.The issue is can he hit shots when Dirk gives him the ball.I’d rather have Terry camping out at the three point line than Larry Hughes or Sasha Pavolic(sp) or Eric f*cking Snow.

Oct.2 at 5:10 pm

Adrian says:
It’s cause he’s German.

Oct.2 at 5:22 pm

Tarzan Cooper says:
Z

Oct.2 at 5:32 pm

Bryan says:
Man that arugment was gold and I got nothing.

Oct.2 at 5:33 pm

Jukai says:
You can’t expect Dirk to drive to the basket if he has no one to get him to the right spot. He’s seven feet tall, he can’t exactly maneuver his way around guys, and he can’t just pull a Chamberlain and push people out of the way from halfcourt either. And Bryan, do you consider Horry a clutch player or a guy who makes clutch shots? If it’s the latter, I’m just downright confused.

Oct.2 at 5:34 pm

Jukai says:
SORRY Bryan some of us have REAL LIFE needs which prevents us from camping the message board.

Oct.2 at 5:34 pm

Bryan says:
Horry is a clutch player.

Oct.2 at 5:34 pm

Daniel says:
“That and the fact that Dallas was a No. 1 seed playing against a flawed team that barely made it into the playoffs.” I love this line of argument most of all, that the Mavs were the Titanic and the Warriors were some piece of ice floating in the ocean. The Warriors that lost Richardson and Davis to 50 combined games due to injury. The Warriors that swapped out a couple of white stiffs for Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington. The Warriors were 26-35 at one point, they finished 42-40. If they had that team together and healthy all year, they do much better than 42-40. It’s not like Dallas lost to the Pismo Beach Panthers.

Oct.2 at 5:37 pm

Bryan says:
I’m at work douchebag and I happen to work with a computer.

Oct.2 at 5:40 pm

Bryan says:
You’re crazy to say no one could get him to the right spot thats exactly what I’m talking about.He can’t create his own shots which is half the problem.Damn you piss me off.

Oct.2 at 5:54 pm

Dallas J says:
you are the ones who are the ball lickers.. Mavs will serve up that crow in 08′.

Oct.2 at 6:06 pm

jbn74sb says:
No, they did not lose to the Pismo Beach Panthers, which would be all white and stoned. However, they did lose to a Compton summer league team with a drunk coach.

Oct.2 at 6:53 pm

Daniel says:
Hyperbole doesn’t substitute for an argument. When motivated, Nellie is a great coach. And the point stands, the Warriors regular season W-L record isn’t indicative of the kind of team they were once the playoffs rolled around. Greatest upset of all-time based on W-L disparity? Absolutely. Greatest upset of all-time based on talent disparity? Not even close. It was an upset and nothing more. People that go on and on about how it’s the playoffs that matter as opposed to the regular season sure like to point to those 67 wins when talking about that series.

Oct.2 at 7:06 pm

davidR says:
you cant use the warriors-mavs argument to say dirk isnt clutch. the mavs match up horribly to the warriors, and were 1-9? against them in their last 10 meetings. also, i think the warriors were one of the few teams dallas lost every meeting with during that regular season. and is it safe to assume dirk couldve led dallas to a championship if they never ran into the warriors on their way to the finals?

Oct.2 at 7:07 pm

jbn74sb says:
Daniel - Quick query for you. Who has the better team, Dallas or GS? And which player elevated his game, put his team on his back, and ultimately won the series?

Oct.2 at 7:27 pm

Dyce says:
Man, I’m a Dallas fan. Dirk is clutch, but that series against the warriors was more than his basketball ability. I seriously think Stephen Jackson hid a glock under his shorts and showed it to Dirk and told him you better not foul me going to the basket. And your b*itch ass better stay outta the lane. Jerry Stackhouse should have punked jackson for dirk then he would have killed.

Oct.2 at 7:33 pm

Daniel says:
My answer to that is Rock-Paper-Scissors. If you were going to construct a team to beat Dallas, a bunch of athletic wings, a bigger backcourt that can exploit Terry and Harris, in other words, what Nellie put together, is how you’d do it. And here is a quick query for you: Which player would you rather have if you were going up against Golden State, Carlos Boozer or Dirk Nowitzki? And which player would you rather have if you were going up against San Antonio, Carlos Boozer or Dirk Nowitzki? Why is that Dallas seems to have trouble with smallball up-tempo teams like Phoenix and Golden State, but they are an absolute b*tch for halfcourt teams like San Antonio because they force the Spurs to play small? And why can’t teams like Golden State and Phoenix beat San Antonio? I’m sorry, but did Dirk Nowitzki guard Baron Davis? Did he guard Dwyane Wade? Did he guard Steve Nash? Do you want to put it 100% on Dirk or do you see the pattern emerging in respect to the Mavericks’ perimeter defense? I’m not arguing Dirk played well against Golden State, but I won’t put it all at his doorstep either. I have another query: who do you choose if you’re an expansion team and you have your pick of the following two players: Dirk Nowitzki or Baron Davis?

Oct.2 at 7:39 pm

jbn74sb says:
Daniel - I understand your point(s), which can be boiled down to matchups. Problem is, that is a 2 way street. GS took advantage of the matchup problems that they presented Dallas. Dallas, however, did not. Much of that blame has to lie with Avery, but, as the star and max player, much lies with Dirk as well. Choosing an expansion team? Dirk. And then I’d go out and get a leader and a bunch of clutch role players. Baron is hurt way too much, and the style of basketball he thrives in will never prevail in the long run.

Oct.2 at 8:02 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
This whole thread is an overreaction tug-of-war that is finally balancing out to somewhere in the center–where it should have been all along. Is Dirk Nowitzki a flawed player? Yes. But isn’t everyone? I can’t think of a single NBA player who doesn’t have at least one fault. Should the Mavericks have lost to the Warriors? Perhaps not. But as stated earlier, the Warriors were a much different team by the end of the season than they were at the start. And a much better one. Should the Mavericks have lost to the Heat in 2006? Perhaps not. But had the Mavs won, would the same questions be being asked about Dwyane Wade? Saying that Dirk Nowitzki lacks the will to win is asinine. It’s obvious how much he cares. His talents are equally obvious. One team wins each year. ONE TEAM. Lots of variables enter into which team it happens to be (injuries, officiating, Tim Duncan). It’s unrealistic to give one player all the credit when their team wins, just as it’s unrealistic to lay all the blame on one player when his team loses. Is Dirk Nowitzki perfect? No. But he’s also only 29 years old, and the reigning MVP. I’d take him on my team any day. And my guess is most of you would too.

Oct.2 at 9:02 pm

jbn74sb says:
I just ran in to Matt Barnes - he says Dirk is still a b-tch.

Oct.3 at 12:06 am

Kayce Online says:
lololol. oh man, i didn’t believe the summary on this page til i read his actual comments.. then i just laughed. some players jus don’t get it i guess, and the NBA panel of media members should feel pretty stupid right about now for making him an MVP.. i don’t care how many wins his team gets in a particular season if he has this kinda attitude and how great his stats are, he’s not the most valuable player in the league. i guess the real question is, who’ll be first to develop a backbone and truly dominate and lead their teams to the championship the way their talents dictate they should - Yao Ming or Dirk Nowitzki? given their size, respective skillsets and supporting casts, both of these guys should be unstoppable whenever they want to be..

Oct.3 at 12:07 am

Kayce Online says:
whoops, third sentence of the last post should’ve read: “i don’t care how many wins his team gets in a particular season or how great his stats are if he has this kinda attitude, he’s not the most valuable player in the league.”

Oct.3 at 2:13 am

Russ Bengtson says:
You have to give long speeches to be a leader? I didn;t see anything in that, what, 200-word piece to suggest that Dirk couldn’t lead–only that he’s not the kind of guy to stand up and be the General Patton of the locker room. Leadership is about setting an example, and if being the best player on a 67-win team and shooting 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from 3 and 90 percent from the line (all while averaging 24 and 9) isn’t leading by example, I don’t know what is. Had I voted for Dirk as MVP (I don’t get a vote), I wouldn’t regret it one bit.

Oct.3 at 5:17 am

rob says:
I also think it’s a cultural thing. Europe vs. US. Stars and their roles, the importance and meaning of leadership are different in the US. Its all put one the shoulders of one person. To take the last shot, make the clutch play, talk in the lockerroom etc. In Europe it’s leading by example, taking responsibility, supporting your teammates. And the last second shot should be taken by the guy who is hot, who is open, everything else is nonsense. Why jack up a useless shot just because you are the star and leader of the team? lebron passes to the open guy on the last play, that’s leadership and this is how the game should be played. Anybody who is afraid to take the last shot should stay out of the NBA, seriously. Because that would mean that 95 per cent of all NBA players are whiny bogglers.