MVP MIA

[jthig32]

Pretty good read from TrueHoop:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/...3/MVP-MIA.html
MVP MIA
April 23, 2007 10:40 AM


I know, plus/minus numbers aren't magic. They hide important stuff. But it's worth noting, that out of everyone who suited up in last night's thrilling Dallas vs. Golden State game 1, the player with the worst plus/minus of them all was Dirk Nowitzki.
Yes, the same Nowitzki who is supposed to win this season's MVP award. Look at this gameflow data. DeSagana Diop was the only Maverick with a good plus/minus, and he earned that in part by being the guy who got to come in when Nowitzki sat down.
What's that about? Haven't we seen this before from Nowitzki?
What occurs to me is that this is a real testament to how important speed is in the game of basketball. Think about it. If you're Devin Harris, then just by playing without doing anything too special, once in a while you'll manage to have the ball somewhere without a defender right in your grill. You might even get a layup out of moving and catching the ball. Most NBA players can create at least a little room with speed or the threat of speed, and it's those unmolested shots that turn your hypothetical 1-for-5 stinker of a shooting night into a much more pleasing 4-for-8.
But Dirk Nowitzki is, as his friend Steve Nash recently pointed out, "a plodding Clydesdale." People say nasty things about him, which I hate, because he is by all reports a stellar guy. They want you to think there's something he doesn't understand about basketball, some defect in his microchip, and that is why he has turned in some sub-par playoff performances. But I don't buy that. I just think he's maybe a little extra vulnerable to bad nights -- especially against defenses with lots of time to prepare for him -- because he never gets a single bucket from his speed. Name another go-to perimeter player who is the slowest player on the floor. My point exactly. That leaves him playing chess -- spins, jabs, leaners, and shot fakes, many of which Don Nelson has seen before. Hard to get in the zone when you're solving riddles in your mind.

Credit where credit is due: The Warriors are fast and strong, and they were in the right places at the right time to annoy Nowitzki all night. Don Nelson knows just how and when to double and triple Dirk Nowitzki. Kiki Vandweghe explains on the Daily Dime:

Dirk likes to take one dribble, go right or left and then spin back. If you watch, there's often a player running at him, trying to steal on the spin. There were a few fouls, but trying to disrupt Dirk like that shows how well Nellie knows these players.

Even when they didn't get the steal, they made Nowitzki worry about keeping possession, and that didn't help his ensuing shot.
But I mean, really, is it that simple? Send a guy on the spin and you turn the leading MVP candidate (who, I might add, can shoot from anywhere, and is about the same height as me on tallish stilts) into a player who makes his team better by sitting on the bench?

Why didn't everyone do that to him all year? What happened to his invincibilty? What happened to Dallas hoping you'd double Nowitzki? Chris Ballard wrote the cover story, about Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, for the Sports Illustrated that is (barely) still on newsstands.

Nowitzki has always been able to shoot. "The one thing that was missing was his passing," says Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson, the former Dallas coach, who starts chanting "M-V-P! M-V-P!" when asked about Nowitzki. It's not that Nowitzki lacked floor vision, his teammates and coaches say, but that he didn't always make the right decision. "His passes are crisp now," says point guard Jason Terry. "Last year they might have got deflected, or he might have spun and thrown up a shot over two people. Now he trusts his teammates more." The result: Now the Mavericks actually want teams to double Nowitzki. "This is the first year," says Harris, "where you could really say he's made his teammates better."
Opponents use various tactics to defend Nowitzki. Golden State has had success by attacking him on the spin -- Nelson believes Nowitzki is vulnerable on the dribble -- and making him go to his right. (Though right-handed, Nowitzki is more dangerous going left.) Other clubs put smaller guys on him, or switch on the pick-and-roll. But Nowitzki has developed a vast and at times strange repertoire to counter those moves. His post game has improved immensely, and he can now shoot hooks with either hand, drive both sides of the lane and, on occasion, throw up invented shots. "He's got this one-legged, like, runner fadeaway," says first-year Maverick Devean George, who guarded Nowitzki when George was a Laker. "He's dribbling away from the basket, so your hands are down, and then he just throws it up there as he's running, off the wrong foot. It's a shot when you don't even think there could be a shot." Says Stoudemire, "You can't anticipate his shots because he does so much awkwardly."

Those passes? Those awkward makes? He does know how to make them. Dallas does know how to win. Now, I guess the challenge is to do so enough of the time that Dallas can win four of the next six against a team that's not going to hand Dallas anything. Will that happen?

[Lor20]

he played C. He is a PF. so just like a real C he used his worst jumpshot to fill the spot to its fullest :-P. Honestly though - if you play a player on a position hes not used to you cant expect great things. the only PF who can really play C is tim duncan. any other pf wont do great on C.14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals are not that bad for a center.

[kingrex]

No apologies necessary.

Dirk had a bad game. Let's just hope it doesn't turn into a bad series.

[RingTheBell]

Originally Posted by Lor20

Honestly though - if you play a player on a position hes not used to you cant expect great things. the only PF who can really play C is tim duncan. .

Stoudemire isn't doing too bad...

[aexchange]

Originally Posted by RingTheBell

Stoudemire isn't doing too bad...

stoudemire is worse than dirk on the defensive end. he's actually pretty horrendous.