Thinking about this some more, I wonder if maybe Stack wasn't trying to motivate Dirk by calling Kobe the MP3. I think there is evidence that Dirk is not the typical player when it comes to motivation. He has said himself that media awards like the MVP don't mean a lot to him. He probably doesn't much care what players on other teams think of him. But surely he cares what his own teammates and coaches think. That makes sense.
So perhaps that was Stackhouse trying to light a fire under Dirk. If so, and if it works, it's a masterstroke. And it's the kind of "internal leadership" that teams would kill for. It's kinda like Finley telling a room full of giddy Mavericks after Game Four against Houston last year that they hadn't won anything yet, and it was their own damn fault they were down two games to begin with. Sometimes the things you need most to hear are the things that are most surprising.
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