'King Kong' And 'The Summer Of Doubt' - By Mike Fisher

[Dr.Zoidberg]

'King Kong' And 'The Summer Of Doubt'

“He’s not King Kong.’’ – Mavs GM Donnie Nelson on Dirk.

It is an odd sight, watching The UberMan, heralded everywhere (at least as of two weeks ago) as One Of The Five Best Players In The World, proceeding down an American Airlines Center hallway with a bag over his shoulder and his tail ‘tween his legs.

But that’s what has happened – hopefully temporarily – to the presumptive MVP as he prepares for The Summer Of Doubt, wondering how a 67-win team collapsed in Round 1 against an 8 seed, wondering how his confidence evaporated in the face of a postseason challenge, wondering whether all the meticulous and grueling work he’s done to get himself and his team to the point of being an annually elite contender has somehow been a waste.

And wondering whether he is supposed to be King Kong.

“That’s the kind of person I am: I always take things very, very hard on myself,’’ Nowitzki said on Saturday, part of a weekend that had been slated for Dallas’ Round 2 march to the NBA Finals but instead was the day Mavs players parted ways for the offseason. “I don’t need the media to tell me that I did bad. I know I didn’t play my best in the playoffs.’’

Dirk doesn’t NEED the public to tell him of his flaws. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t hear the hoots of derision.

“I understand the business by now,’’ he said. “If you play well and you win, you’re the greatest. If you lose, you’re the worst player in the league.’’

Good. Some self-aware perspective from Dirk. Better than then the relentless harping on all the things he DOESN’T do, or all the things he should supposedly change. For instance:

* LEADERSHIP: Trust me, Nowitzki is a terrific leader of this team. As owner Mark Cuban said, “Anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron.’’

Let me massage that a little bit: All the people insisting Dirk is not a leader or not an anchor of a potential title team might not be morons. They might just be ignorant. Ignorant of the man’s relationships with his teammates, ignorant of the man’s character, and ignorant of how this 29-year-old can still grow as a person.

But most of the critics cannot know. So they mistake civility for passivity.

Said Dirk: “I still think I have pretty good leadership skills, I just didn’t show it in this series. … Hopefully I can learn from this experience.’’

* WORKOUT HABITS: Here’s how foolish it’s gotten: It is being suggested that maybe Dirk’s flaw is that he works TOO hard.

Jesus.

One of the papers writes that Dirk should back off on his workouts because they are too taxing on his legs. Now, I’m not exactly Jack LaLanne, but it seems to me Dirk’s strenuous workouts are the reason WHY he is as strong and fit as he is. Your legs get stronger from working, not from resting, no?

Maybe they are misunderstanding this quote from Nowitzki:

“I realize that I’m not 20 anymore. I’m approaching 30 hard. For me I needed a daily workout. People say during the season you push yourself too hard. I just don’t like off days. Even if I just come in and do a quick 20 minutes of cardio or shooting, I just need a little sweat to get going.’’

“Approaching 30 hard’’ is not a loose German translation for “Time to climb into the hammock.’’

* UNSELFISHNESS: I admit it: I believe an ill-advised Dirk shot is better than smart-choice shots from 99 percent of the rest of the basketball planet. And if we’re gonna go down, we should go down riding on the back of Nowitzki.

But I’ve also come to grips with the fact that HE doesn’t think that.

Said Donnie: "If you look at his entire career, he has always been a very unique combination of a total team player and an All-Star performer. There are not many of those guys walking around. Dirk is going to make the right play. Does that mean he's going to shoot over a triple team? No. Dirk's always going to do the thing that's in the best interest of helping his club."

Again people. … are you sure you want to change the essence of that? The essence of Dirk?

* STYLE OF PLAY: We’ve got all summer to kick this around. I’ve yelped about this for years: The Mavs need to find “easy baskets.’’ Not “easy’’ 15-footers, because Dirk usually makes them look easy. “Easy’’ as in 2-footers. Brand-easy. Boozer-easy.

Which is more likely to be accomplished? A trade for a pounding offensive inside force? Or the development of some of that in the team’s existing offensively gifted 7-footer?

* CONFIDENCE: OK, we can go ahead and change this.

The Mavs failed to close the deal on the NBA Finals last summer. Here’s the early exit this summer. (Hey, is it even summer yet?) Nowitzki is the centerpiece of the thing. … so maybe it’s understandable that his confidence is shaken.

“I couldn’t put my stamp on things the way I wanted to,’’ he said.

Nowitzki now plans to take a month off, then resume work with the German National Team. (All after accepting an MVP trophy that will probably end up in the trunk of his car, or his mom’s attic.) His offseason goal is “to become a more complete player.’’

Avery Johnson, however, has another plan for him.

“More than anything, let’s forget about the workouts or him working on (improving) passing or big-man skills,’’ the coach said. “I will say he just has to keep his confidence high at all times. We’ve got to keep the confidence high through thick and thin.’’

Fascinating stuff. Dirk’s going to spent the summer watching “Dr. Phil’’?

Overall, ladies and gentlemen of the Mavs Jury, I submit to you that Dirk Nowitzki remains One Of The Five Best Players In The World (Except For Those Two Weeks).

That’s not King Kong. But isn’t it enough to let the kid take his tail out from between his legs?

855am May 6 2007

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