Official Dirk is Great Thread

[Skywalker]

DALLAS – In his final game Sunday night before the Western Conference coaches head to their bunkers to select seven All-Star reserves, Dirk Nowitzki left them with one of those vintage performances that this season has spawned the phrase, “He’s still Dirk.”

“Twenty-eight points in 32 minutes,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, glancing over the 10-for-16 shooting, the nine rebounds and the four assists. ”I guess he’s an All-Star.”
Is he? That is the question.

“This year [I'm] right up there, and we understand there’s always going to be some guys that deserve it and don’t make it, so that’s just the nature of the game,” Nowitzki said after raising his averages to 21.2 ppg and 6.0 rpg in a win over Detroit. “The power forward spot in the West has always been loaded and somebody is going to feel like they’ve been snubbed, but that’s just part of the game.”

The power forward position, plus a couple centers tossed into the new “frontcourt” designation, is loaded with young, thriving talent. The three starters voted in by the fans are 25 (Kevin Durant and Kevin Love) and 24 (Blake Griffin). Two sure-fire reserves, Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge are both 28. On-the-bubble candidates DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis are 23 and 20, respectively. Serge Ibaka, 24, almost gets lost in the discussion because of the superstar teammates who overshadow him. David Lee, an All-Star last season, is like the older brother of the group at 30.

Nowitzki, 35, and Tim Duncan, 37, are like the godfathers. The West coaches put Duncan back on the All-Star team last season after his 13-year run was snapped in 2012, and seemed over for good. Knee surgery during training camp last season sabotaged Dirk’s 11-year run. Now there’s likely room for only one, if that, legendary old-timer on the 12-man squad.
Have fun, coaches. The reserves for both conferences will be announced Thursday night on TNT.

“He’s a Hall of Fame player, as we all know,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who is prohibited from voting for his own player, and would seem a prime candidate to give Dirk, his decades-long nemesis, the nod. “Dirk basically — modern times so to speak — has really personified that stretch-4 because he scored from everywhere on the court and from distance … and he hasn’t slowed down much, if at all.”

Prevailing wisdom suggests this is Dirk’s — and Duncan’s — best chance to add one last All-Star appearance considering the aforementioned list of bursting, young talent. Dirk, who ranks seventh among forwards in usage percentage and fifth in true shooting percentage, might still have a few more fine seasons left in him beyond this one, just as Duncan has proved post-35, but the next generation will likely be too strong and push him out of All-Star consideration.

Dirk’s edge this season is lifetime achievement. How heavily will coaches weigh career milestones? Likely heavily. He’s surged up the NBA’s all-time scoring list, starting the season at No. 18 and passing Reggie Miller and Jerry West, among others, to move all the way up to No. 13. He’s 412 points from passing John Havlicek for 12th and it’s possible he will catch Oscar Robertson at No. 10 by season’s end.

Dirk recently collected the 1,000th steal of his career and joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin Garnett and Karl Malone as the only players with 25,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,000 steals.

“I’ve looked at it pretty closely,” Carlisle said. “He’ll make it. I just have the feeling that he will. You look at his stats, what he’s carrying, the production and the minutes; if he was playing the minutes most of those guys were playing, he’d be a 25-point scorer. So, we’ll see. We’ll see.”

Dirk didn’t think he deserved a spot on the 2012 squad after a slow start to the shortened lockout season. But the coaches weren’t about to let the Finals MVP be swept out of the All-Star Game that easily. They won’t this year either, especially when he’s not exactly a hardship case. In fact, if he does’t make the team, it will be a first of sorts. Five players 35 or older — Malone, Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Michael Jordan and Alex English — have averaged 21 points or more in 11 different seasons. Each time they made the All-Star team.

When his streak did end last season, Nowitzki had little control over it. His right knee required the first surgery of his career during training camp. He missed the first 27 games of the season, probably came back too soon to help save a sinking season and didn’t regain his All-Star form until the second half.

Fending off Father Time (with an eye on a semi-concerning sleeve he again donned on his left knee), Nowitzki has shouldered another near-totally retooled roster to a 26-20 record, good for the last playoff spot in the ultra-competitive West. The Mavs, while inconsistent, not unlike like Nowitzki’s shooting performances, are just 1.5 games behind No. 6 Golden State and three games back of No. 5 Houston, a so-called contender Dallas will attempt to defeat for a third time in four tries at home Wednesday night.

“They still have that big guy from Germany. He’s pretty good,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said earlier this month. “And when you have a player like that, you can put a lot of people around him and they’re going to be better. That’s the effect of a Dirk on your team. I bet Monta’s never seen open shots that he’s seen when you come off a pick and roll with Dirk setting it, so he does make you better.”

Monta Ellis would agree. A fringe All-Star candidate himself, Ellis is averaging 19.2 ppg, about what he averaged last season with Milwaukee, but his 46.2 shooting percentage blows away last season’s mark and is at its highest since 2007-08 with Golden State. He’s finding wide lanes to drive and open jumpers to fire thanks to the defensive attention Dirk draws and the spacing he brings.

How dependent are the Mavs on Dirk? With him and Ellis on the floor, they’re averaging a potent 109.1 points per 100 possessions. With only Ellis on the floor, it drops to 102.7.
Dirk’s net rating of 4.0 is easily the highest among Dallas’ starters, a group in which only center Sam Dalembert (1.6) and Jose Calderon (0.2) also boast positive net ratings.
So is Dirk an All-Star? Bet on the coaches granting him the grand stage, if not for one last hurrah, and leaving the lure of a February beach vacation for the years ahead.

“It always means something to be among the best 12 or 13 players in the West,” Nowitzki said. “It has always been an honor. I’ve always had fun going there and representing the Mavericks the right way — but, I did have some fun at the beach last year, too. Either way, I’ll be happy to go, obviously, and always represent the Mavericks. And if not, then I’ll find something else to do.”

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2014/0...=iref:nbahpt6f

[Skywalker]

.

[markus1234]

del

[markus1234]

never forget

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playof...itzki-110531-3

[EricaLubarsky]

26k for dirk

[DevinHarriswillstart]

dbl post

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Maybe time to sticky this?

Father time is having fun watching Dirk pour in 33 ppg on 60% shooting in his last three. Should be a surprise to nobody.

[dude1394]

Nah, let's don't sticky it, let's just keep adding greatness to it.

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Maybe time to sticky this?

Father time is having fun watching Dirk pour in 33 ppg on 60% shooting in his last three. Should be a surprise to nobody.

[EricaLubarsky]

It was stickied for a while, but Dirk is so frequently amazing that it never leaves the first page (or hasn't all this season)

[EricaLubarsky]

It was stickied for a while, but Dirk is so frequently amazing that it never leaves the first page (or hasn't all this season)

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Excellent points.

Still amazing that he really hasn't been in decline since the famed championship season. Only thing that held him back was a knee injury (knock on wood). But he is down only half a rebound and one point per game from 10-11. And his assists are actually up. Amazing.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Teehee, 30ppg, 9 rpg, 3 apg, 1 spg, on .61% fg and .55% 3fg in his last 5. I think this guy is actually getting better from his last two years.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Teehee, 30ppg, 9 rpg, 3 apg, 1 spg, on .61% fg and .55% 3fg in his last 5. I think this guy is actually getting better from his last two years.

He just needed that knee to heal up enough so he could kick Father Time square in the nuts.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Underdog

He just needed that knee to heal up enough so he could kick Father Time square in the nuts.

HA! Doh!

[fluid.forty.one]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Teehee, 30ppg, 9 rpg, 3 apg, 1 spg, on .61% fg and .55% 3fg in his last 5. I think this guy is actually getting better from his last two years.

That's just insane.

[Kante]

Just so you understand...

[twelli]

Originally Posted by Kante

Just so you understand...

He sucks from the corners...

Love the transition threes, more of those, please.

The 9-12 is sweat. I think most players struggle from just inside the arc.

[JeffViggiano]

thanks for another terrific season,Dirk.

[JeffViggiano]

thanks for another terrific season,Dirk.

[JeffViggiano]

thanks for another terrific season,Dirk.

[Five-ofan]

Player A 22.7 ppg/6.4 rpg/3.4 apg/1.8spg/.3 bpg/2.8 topg on 45/37/85 in 36.1 mpg
Dirk 22.0 ppg/6.2 rpg/2.9 apg/1.0 SPg/.6bpg/1.4 topg on 49/41/91 in 32.5 mpg

Player a? Supposed MVP 3rd place Paul George. I realize that George provides lots of non offensive impact but just an interesting numerical comparison. Dirk at the ripe old age of 35 and having to be more judicious with his energy is still an absolutely elite player.

[alby]

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

Player A 22.7 ppg/6.4 rpg/3.4 apg/1.8spg/.3 bpg/2.8 topg on 45/37/85 in 36.1 mpg
Dirk 22.0 ppg/6.2 rpg/2.9 apg/1.0 SPg/.6bpg/1.4 topg on 49/41/91 in 32.5 mpg

Player a? Supposed MVP 3rd place Paul George. I realize that George provides lots of non offensive impact but just an interesting numerical comparison. Dirk at the ripe old age of 35 and having to be more judicious with his energy is still an absolutely elite player.

Nice comparison. But being a two-way player like George is deserving of the press IMHO.

[Underdog]

Fish with the numbers on Dirk's impressive stretch:

The Mavs have won six of their last seven games and while it won't surprise you that Dirk's brilliance is the centerpiece of the run, the efficiency featured within Dirk's brilliance here truly is astounding.

*Jan 26 vs Detroit - 28 points in 32 minutes ... 63-percent shooting

*Jan 29 vs Houston, a two-point loss and the only loss in this bunch - 38 points in 35 minutes on 62-percent shooting

*Jan 31 vs Sacramento - the symmetrical 34 points in 34 minutes shooting 58 percent

*Feb 3 vs Cleveland - 23 points in 30 minutes shooting 56 percent

*Feb 5 vs Memphis -- 26 points in 34 minutes shooting 71 percent

*Friday vs Utah - 20 points in 26 minutes on just nine shots and 56-percent shooting

*Sunday vs. Boston -- 20 points in 32 minutes on 44-percent shooting

[EricaLubarsky]

Dirk is now only 250 away from getting to #12 of all time.

[sefant77]

In his current form i guess he need four games for it

[Underdog]

As if there is/was any doubt:

@GwashburnGlobe Dirk Nowitzki said he'll likely sign a two-year extension with #mavericks this summer and then take it year-to-year after that.

[JeffViggiano]

Originally Posted by Underdog

As if there is/was any doubt:

he is a true mavs.thanks champ.

[j0Shi]

This is interesting for stat nerds and our Dirk comes up second behind Chris Paul for 12/13 in EPV-Added, which quantifies the decisions a player has made on the floor.

http://grantland.com/features/expect...nba-analytics/
http://www.sloansportsconference.com...-Real-Time.pdf

[j0Shi]

This is interesting for stat nerds and our Dirk comes up second behind Chris Paul for 12/13 in EPV-Added, which quantifies the decisions a player has made on the floor.

http://grantland.com/features/expect...nba-analytics/
http://www.sloansportsconference.com...-Real-Time.pdf

[dude1394]

Damn.... Dirk is great.

Thank you for your greatness fella.

[Skywalker]

BORN IN THE U.S.AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsatzCvTBlo

[Skywalker]

BORN IN THE U.S.AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsatzCvTBlo

[BPo001]

Always good to see other elite players in the league realized Dirk's greatness.

When asked who he would choose as teammates for a three-on-three game if he had to select one current player and one all-time great, Kevin Durant chose Dirk Nowitzki and Larry Bird. Durant then expressed admiration for Bird, the former Celtic great, saying he was one of his favorite players. “He does it all. Larry Bird, I like his trash talking, for one. He didn’t back down from nothing. He was the toughest guy I’ve ever watched.” Boston Globe
Rumors tagsOklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Larry Bird
- See more at: http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm#sthash.WO6xge8b.dpuf

[BPo001]

Always good to see other elite players in the league realized Dirk's greatness.

When asked who he would choose as teammates for a three-on-three game if he had to select one current player and one all-time great, Kevin Durant chose Dirk Nowitzki and Larry Bird. Durant then expressed admiration for Bird, the former Celtic great, saying he was one of his favorite players. “He does it all. Larry Bird, I like his trash talking, for one. He didn’t back down from nothing. He was the toughest guy I’ve ever watched.” Boston Globe
Rumors tagsOklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Larry Bird
- See more at: http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm#sthash.WO6xge8b.dpuf

[alby]

double post

[alby]

There's no secret KD admires Dirk. I mean, he did have a first row seat in 2011 when he literally became the best player in the world for 2 months.

[alby]

triple post

[Jproxursoxoff]

Really isn't a surprise. Durant has never been humbled by an opponent's individual performance in a playoff series the way Dirk did him that year. And probably won't happen again for a long time considering KD's the best right now.

[tsar]

** double post **

No clue why T_T

[tsar]

This is an older article from Deadspin after the Mavs won the title. Not sure if it was ever posted, but I thought it was really good.

http://deadspin.com/5805082/stay-soft-dirk-nowitzki