Quote:
Originally Posted by GlowerPower
I've been lurking since the start of the season (looking for a good message board...the posting level at Mavs Moneyball is pretty low), and finally decided to join. I have to say, I've noticed pretty much every gamethread you've been harping on Dirk, and it's truly bizarre.
Dirk started the season really rough, but since the Memphis game, he's actually been playing quite well (arguably our most consistent player since that game, which is sad!) Last night in just 21 minutes he put up 13/8/3 on 5-11 shooting and in 21 point loss, was only a -4. I mean what exactly do you want? That's a damn good game at any age, let alone 39. The other night in Utah, 18/5 on 7-11 shooting. In the Philly loss, 11/5 on 4-7 shooting while being a +24 (next highest player was +8...) in a two point loss!!! In 25 mpg this year Dirk is putting up 11/5/2 on 41/44/78 shooting, and a DRB% higher than his career average.
The fact is, even at 39, the team is still better with Dirk on the court than off. He's really the last of our problems, so it's strange to me you keep focusing on him. I like Kleber, a lot! But he shouldn't be playing at the expense of Dirk...he should be playing at the expense of our PF/C "energy" big who is shooting 34/30 from the field. Powell literally brings nothing positive to the table. He's a horrendous defender (yes, worse than Dirk), still has no jumpshot or offensive game, and just a very, very poor basketball IQ.
The problem with this team is just a plain lack of talent. Our alleged "best" player is the worst best player in the NBA (planning on making a post about this later). We don't have young talent (aside from DSJ, who I do like). Our vets are all role players at this point (Dirk, Wes, Harris), and our actual role players are waiver wire fodder.
But the problem with this team most certainly isn't the 39 year old PF who has a better 3pt% by 5 points than our 90 million dollar "star's" FG%...
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I can see your point, but Dirk has a negative +/-, a negative net +/-, a negative OPBM, and a negative DBPM. Obviously we suck both when he's on the floor and when he's off, but we've sucked a little less without him out there.
Dirk is the best Maverick to ever play for us and a top 6-9 player ever to play the game, but right now at this point in his career, he's a negative. Even if he was shooting 70/60/90, he'd still be a negative because we need to tank and develop young guys, but he's also a net negative too so far in this season. His numbers have come up, but the team is still better without him playing.
I like to see him make a few shots, because I'm not ready for the NBA to be Dirk-less, but Dirk really hasn't been good for us. He's finally starting to score after starting the season shooting 17%, but no matter what happens, he'll always be a defensive liability. The number of times he's been flat-footed while players come into the paint for a layup has been astounding and frankly makes the team hard to watch on that end.