[Five-ofan]

Originally Posted by nowhereman

what do Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Tracy McGrady have in common? they are all below Nowitzki in PER this year. And Dirk is statistically having a down year.

Dirk has thrown down some absolutely sick dunks this year. His lefty slam against the Lakers in the first quarter a couple of weeks back is a notable one. His shot is falling right now too. You can't stop this guy, no matter how you play him, and he's been stellar on the defensive end this season. In terms of pure ability, he is light years ahead of where he was even 2 years ago, which was statistically one of his 2 best years to date.

Nowitzki is already locked into the top 7 PF of all time (i'd have him at #5 myself, personally) and is only halfway through his career. I have no doubt in my mind he's going to be locked into the top 4 ever behind Duncan and Malone by the time he's done. I think the 4 (and counting) titles basically lock it up for Duncan, but if Dirk wins a ring, he has a real shot to be #2 on most people's ballots.

Basically, Dirk is amazing. He is already measured by standards reserved for the all time greats, and his face will be on the Mt. Rushmore of power forwards by the time it's all said and done.

great post. honestly this year dirk should be the second team all defensive pf behind kg.