Back to BBall: Dirk Needs to Take Control - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Hoopsmeister · 02-02-2002, 12:48 AM

From
Mike Monroe, FoxSports.com

Even when Larry Bird played on Celtics teams with fellow All-Stars Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson, never was there a question about whose team the Celtics were.
They were Bird's team, and all you had to do to find out was ask McHale, Parish, Johnson ... or Bird.

I bring that up because Dirk Nowitzki sometimes is compared favorably to Bird, for obvious reasons: He's a big guy with a guard's skills and remarkable range and the courage to take any shot any time.

Oh, and those bad haircuts.

Nowitzki and Steve Nash are going to the All-Star game next weekend and the Mavs might have had three All-Stars had it not been for an injury to Michael Finley, who has been to the All-Star game twice himself.

Which brings us to the question: Just whose team is the Dallas Mavericks?

Teams good enough to contend for NBA titles always seem to have a dominant player, even when they have multiple All-Stars.

The Showtime Lakers had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, but the whole world knew they were Magic's team.

The Bulls of the 1990s had Scottie Pippen, Bill Cartwright and Horace Grant, but we all know they were Michael Jordan's team.

The Bad Boy Pistons had Dennis Rodman, Joe Dumars and Bill Laimbeer, but they were Isaiah Thomas' team, without a doubt.

As good as Finley is, as remarkable as Nash's improvement has been over the last two seasons, the Mavericks need to understand they must be Nowitzki's team if they are to make a serious run at the NBA title sometime in the next five years.

I think Nowitzki is on the brink of moving into that most elite group of NBA players whose ability to dominate games goes unquestioned. It's a small group for now: Shaquille O"Neal and Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Chris Webber and Allen Iverson. No. I didn't forget Vince Carter. I don't believe he belongs in this truly elite group.

But Nowitzki is getting very close.

How good is he?

Don Nelson has coached a lot of great players in 24 NBA seasons and he calls Nowitzki the best young player he's ever had.

Hype?

Well, Nellie's been known to indulge in it from time to time.

In this case, I believe he's sincere.

"He's probably the best player I've ever coached, talent-wise, period," Nelson said the last time I saw him, just before Nowitzki scored 28 easy points in a 133-112 win over the Clippers in Los Angeles. "What he's been able to accomplish at age 23, and as fast as his game has grown from his rookie year when he wouldn't even try to get around, well ...

"Now he's doing it all and he's developed a post game. He's just an incredible athlete and an incredible basketball player. To have talent like that and the desire to win and the whole package that he brings — the intellect and even being a good guy — is second to nobody I've ever coached."

Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway has been in the league since 1989, which means he played against Bird when Bird was still great. He says Nowitzki is the best big man since Larry Legend.

"I haven't seen nobody since Larry Bird do the stuff he does," Hardaway said, and then laid the groundwork for what should be a spirited debate by calling Nowitski a more agile 7-footer than Kevin Garnett.

"He plays hard," Hardaway said. "He plays strong, he makes things happen. I've never seen a seven-foot guy with that much agility. He's got more agility than Kevin Garnett. Oh, yeah. Dribbling, spin moves, creating his own shot off the dribble, that type of stuff. Oh, yeah, he's more agile than Kevin." Nowitzki hears such complimentary comparisons and just rolls his eyes. His only fault may be a teensy bit of reticence to take the Mavericks by the throat and make them his team. Humility is great, but in a league based largely on hubris, only to a point.

"I'm just trying to help the team win every night," Nowitzki says. "I'm not worrying about accolades."

"We'd like to make a nice little run at home court advantage in the playoffs, and we'll see how good we can do after the All-Star break."

""We're trying to get as high as we can. There's still a lot of games left after the All-Star break, but home-court advantage helps a lot in the playoffs. We're trying to get in the first four. We're just trying to win every game."

Nowitzki needs to understand the Mavericks will have a much better chance of doing that when he insists everyone in the organization understands he is The Man in Dallas.

Achtung, baby

Murphy3 · 02-02-2002, 12:58 AM

tracy mcgrady, jason kidd and allen iverson..well, both great players but i'd still take dirk over any of those three..hell, even webber and garnett..

however, i do agree..dirk does need to take control and make sure everyone knows that this is truly his team.

He is the most talented and the best player on the team.

Take the team dirk..it's already yours

MFFL · 02-02-2002, 12:58 AM

We talk basketball here?!?

I agree with the tone of the article but Dirk is just too unassuming to demand the role that he would have. The best we can hope for (right now anyway) is for the rest of the team to FORCE Dirk to be the main threat on the team. I think that is one of the reasons that the Mavs were able to do so well when Finley was out.

Bayliss · 02-02-2002, 01:11 AM

Dirk does need to take controlbut two points keeps sticking out at me when comparing his leadership with Bird:

a) the age... Bird entered when he was 23... Dirk is now 23. Dirk has improved a lot during this year and last year. Dirk now does take over games. He needs to do so on a more consistent basis (which I feel he will in time) but he is slowly taking the reins.

b) Bird was incredible his rookie year but Parrish cost Bird athe MVP award. Parrish finished 4th in the voting essentially taking away votes from Bird. So to me, that implies that some thought that it wasn't Bird's team just yet. (Which Bird quickly grabbed after that year.)

Dirk is on that same learning curve as Bird. Bird had years in college to be the star and take control. Dirk didn't have that in his rookie year and not a lot in his second year. Dirk got some leadership duties his third year but he's getting even more this year. So it'll take time. Should Dirk be the leader? Yes. Should we expect him to be it at 23? Maybe not since it took Bird 23/24 to have that role. But I fully expect Dirk next year to be the unequivical(sp?) leader on the team.

Murphy3 · 02-02-2002, 01:15 AM

it is dirk's team...the only question is..does he realize it..and when is the rest of the world going to realize it and how great of a player he is and can be.

he basically has no ceiling.

finley is a good player and was a good leader....but dirk is the best player and this has to be dirk's team.

it will only go as far as dirk will carry it...yes, he has to have a supporting cast..a strong supporting cast..but he has to be the guy getting 20 shots a game and he has to be the guy that leads this team on the court.

Hoopsmeister · 02-02-2002, 01:41 AM

I think, and I think what Monroe is getting at above, that this team is Dirk's team to the extent that HE realizes it is his team. And I think that is still a work in progress. Bayliss has a point, and remember that Bird came into the league having been a leader at the collegiate level. I don't think Dirk has ever had the experience of being 'the Man' until this last summer with his national team. As this season progresses and especially once the playoffs with their do-or-die games arrive I think we'll see Dirk understanding that more and more.

Finley will always be a leader on this team. He's a quality veteran, a class guy, and he has put in the years with this franchise to cement his place. But combining those same qualities with the fact that like Dirk and like Nash he clearly *wants* to win and I think that we'll see him pushing Dirk to play to his capabilities--and that will mean pushing Dirk to accept the leadership role.

Hoopsmeister · 02-02-2002, 01:47 AM

<< tracy mcgrady, jason kidd and allen iverson..well, both great players but i'd still take dirk over any of those three..hell, even webber and garnett.. >>

I would agree in taking Dirk over any of those players. But I also think that Monroe is right that Dirk has not yet fully claimed his place among those players. He is at least as good as any of them, but I have yet to see him *consistently* take the rest of this team by the scruff of the neck and say, "Give me the damn ball, we are not losing this game." I have seen him do it upon occasion, it is clearly in him, but this is the transitional season where he needs to move completely into that role.

Bayliss · 02-02-2002, 04:57 PM

Oe more point:

Before Dirk arrived this was Finley's team. No **question** about that. So when Dirk came in everyone was looking at Finley to be the leader. And that is a **main** reason why Dirk still defers to Finley some in games and in interviews. But Dirk is slowly taking the responsibility away from Finley. And taking it away from someone who has had it for so long takes time.

Before Bird arrived in Boston, they were struggling and didn't really have an identity. Bird came in and saw it and decided to take charge.

Murphy3 · 02-02-2002, 05:01 PM

good to have quality guys like bayliss and hoops on the board...
well, i agree, dirk doesn't just say "give me the damn ball" like iverson or mcgrady...he does to an extent..but not enough yet

however, neither can shoot in dirk's class...so where will dirk be once he does take more control in the clutch?
without a doubt, i will rate him above them...
actually, i do currently because of his shooting percentage..
but when dirk takes more control, without a doubt, he'll be a better player than mcgrady or iverson

Bayliss · 02-02-2002, 05:43 PM

<< so where will dirk be once he does take more control in the clutch? >>

The 2nd best player in the league behind Shaq. And he'll produce more games like the Sac game in Sac.

TheKid · 02-04-2002, 09:47 AM

You know I keep hearing people saying this is Dirk's team, and this was Fin's team, etc. etc. To be honest, I don't think the message needs to get through to Fin or anyone else, if there's anyone who is potentially stopping Dirk from exploding into the player we know he's capable of is Dirk and Nash. Since Nash has become more aggressive, I think that hinders Dirk to a certain extent because Nash has the ball so much. Look at Bird, he never played with a point guard as aggressive as Nash. Neither did Jordan, or any player of that caliber. (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF KAREEM) Too many times it seems as if Dirk has to wait to see if Nash is going to establish himself first before they start to go to Dirk. That should NOT be the way it is, the team should come out and go through Dirk 1st, just my opinion.