Quote:
Originally Posted by rimrocker
Dirk had a lot of Bird in him
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I watched Larry Bird, Dirk is no Larry Bird -- the biggest thing they have in common is the color of their skin... Kevin Garnett played more like Bird than Dirk ever did.
Porzingis and Markkanaen are both white, European jump-shooters -- that's about the beginning and end of how they'll ever really compare to Dirk. Hell, Markkanen looks way more like Bosh to me, but skin color, so Dirk... And Porzingis has nice range, but he's way more active in the paint, especially on defense -- Dirk never averaged 2 blocks per game at any point in his career... I just think most of the comparisons to Dirk are shallow as shit.
Dirk popularized the stretch-4 and taught players how to create space with the high-release step back...So most NBA players have "a little Dirk" in them at this point -- he's part of the league's DNA -- but nobody is going to be the next Dirk... Just like you don't get to be the next Kareem by shooting hook shots or be the next Dr. J by throwing down high-flying dunks. Some players just stand apart.