Dirk is the problem with this team.

[ShaggyDirk]

^d-m's future

[Male30Dan]

Originally Posted by mary

The Mavs currently rank 4th in offensive efficiency. Dirk's had a crap year so far, but the team's offense is well above-average, and has produced well enough to win games.

The Mavs are currently ranked 21st in defensive efficiency.

They rank 25th in the league in guarding 3's.

They routinely give up 30+ quarters.

The defense has been the primary problem - not just in last night's game.

Dirk hitting a game winning shot in San Antonio wouldn't have changed that one bit. We would have one more win, and one less loss - but the defense would still really suck.

If Dirk were averaging 25, 10 and 5 - we might've won a few more games. Its hard to say. Basketball is a bunch of interdependent moving parts, so its difficult to predict what the outcome would be if you change just one thing. (I'm not saying you don't know this, just pointing it out.)

But yes, in general, if your offense scores enough it can cover up the deficiencies of your team. But if it doesn't, that doesn't mean the offense is the problem, or that the offensive production of one particular player is the problem.

Well I think if you read all of my comments on this you would know I NEVER said it was THE problem. In fact I said in my rant to Flac that we all know defense is a problem for the Mavs but.........

Of course our defense has been poor, but no Mary, it has never been like last night this year. Last night was just what Dirk said it was - a layup drill. It was really, really, REALLY bad! Do you remember when Devin went out and Little B came in, (just one specific horribly stretch I remember)? Do you remember them subsequently getting 11 points in 4 trips down the court? It was just crazy how easy they could score on us last night - and while we have had our breakdowns, it was never that bad.

With that said, yeah, I think a guy averaging 25/27 and 10 like he did for much of last year WITH his incredibly efficient numbers would have meant several more wins. It just would have in my opinion. If you take a 12-8 team and make them 15-5, we aren't looking so bad anymore. We still have a problem defensively, but that can and eventually will be straightened out, which is why I haven't been THAT worried about it.

The defensive problem seems to be a lack of effort mixed with bad defensive abilities from the players mixed with players playing out of position. You can fix 2 of those and get back to where we were last year. But the Dirk thing, well, I didn't know if it could be fixed. He showed me a lot last night. A lot. BUT, he has to continue to do it. Will he, because they lost, go back into a shell for the next game? If so, there you go again. You have an 0-3 in the defensive category, (barring Avery getting his head out of his ass), AND no Dirk. That is a VERY scary combination leading to multiple losses.

[elec99]

I think this team was built and exists to play San Antonio. It is so focused on SA, it is an ever consuming almost-hatred deep inside. So much so that it loses focus that there are 28 other teams in the league that you have to play. We've lost our focus.

Last year we focused on having the best regular season record, forgetting about the stamina needed in the playoffs.

We ignored Golden State and sat our players in the last game last year, not giving them the respect you should give any opponent, knowing full well that losing to them meant playing them in the first round. We asked for them and they gave it to us.

It still shows today, when Stackhouse declared they didn't respect SA as much as other teams. You should, last I recalled we have no trophies. Stackhouse's cockiness traces back to his days in Philly where you think he'd been humbled when losing his starting position, but he has remained unchanged.

This is an endemic that starts at the top, from Cuban's cockiness to JT's stupid plane dance when he gets off. Didn't he hit someone with his fist going after a loose ball 2 playoffs ago? Yeah, classy.

These are issues fans generally ignore as long as we get the W, though I've never respected Cuban. Cuban wants to win, but not because he loves the game, only because it's a business. For him, the business just happens to be basketball. Next year it'll be baseball.

At this point, we don't need to focus on SA since we're beating ourselves.

[alby]

I wouldn't be surprised if the mental block that Spurs players had are vanished after their victory the other night. Maybe we still do have a mental advantage against them, but, I wouldn't be surprised if the Mavs didn't have that anymore.

[fluid.forty.one]

I think we can safely say now (like we couldn't before...) that Dirk is not the problem with this team.

Starts with A and ends with "very" as well as "hole".

[nashtymavsfan13]

I think this is on of my top 5 most hated threads in D-M.com history. Plus all the ones Sike posts in.

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by Bathouse Bear

This team isn't built for succes with Dirk taking 12 shots a game and only scoring 15-20 points a game.

our team is made up role players and im tired of our "superstar" playing like a wuss.

right now he's the 3rd best player on this team.

AJ wanted Dirk to be like Duncan... AJ tried to change the best player's game to fit a system.. Perhaps Dirk should have easily been able to adjust, but why neuter one of the best players in the league? Didn't Don Nelson already neuter Dirk once when he made him take a back seat to Antoine Walker? Isn't it time the Mavs had a head coach that stopped tinkering with something that doesn't need to be tinkered with?

[ShaggyDirk]

Originally Posted by Silk Smoov

I call him the 4th best player. Howard, Jet, Harris, then Dirk!!!! I am not being too serious on that, but I feel that way too many times.

this by far wins idiotic statement of the decade. even feeling it once is enough to be banned from this site.

[Bathouse Bear]

I think we can safely say now (like we couldn't before...) that Dirk is not the problem with this team.

Starts with A and ends with "very" as well as "hole"

Ever since I started this thread Dirk has played like a badass. it started with the game against Denver december 6 and the Mavs went on a nice run after that.

I stand by everything I say when I started this thread.

The Mavs can't win with Dirk only taking 10-12 shots a game. Dirk being agressive is the only chance this team has.

[MFFL]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

AJ wanted Dirk to be like Duncan... AJ tried to change the best player's game to fit a system.. Perhaps Dirk should have easily been able to adjust, but why neuter one of the best players in the league? Didn't Don Nelson already neuter Dirk once when he made him take a back seat to Antoine Walker? Isn't it time the Mavs had a head coach that stopped tinkering with something that doesn't need to be tinkered with?

You guys act like using Dirk to his optimum is easy. He is a unique player with unique skills.

Dirk NEEDS to be playing next to a dominant low post player so he doesn't have to set up his offense in a area of the court where he isn't as effective. That guy also needs to be a good post defender so Dirk can defend the weaker front court player. But those guys are impossible to acquire.

Dirk is the best player on the team but due to cultural barriers is not the leader of the team. It is RARE to find a team where the best player is not one of the leaders of the team. Those players are also frequently called soft (a label that Dirk doesn't deserve but has been called that over and over). It is also hard to find a player who can be a second banana on a team yet still be an effective leader. You get weird situations where Stackhouse is the leader.

There isn't an effective way to build around Dirk - he's just too unusual.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by mary

The Mavs currently rank 4th in offensive efficiency. Dirk's had a crap year so far, but the team's offense is well above-average, and has produced well enough to win games.

The Mavs are currently ranked 21st in defensive efficiency.

They rank 25th in the league in guarding 3's.

They routinely give up 30+ quarters.

The defense has been the primary problem - not just in last night's game.

Dirk hitting a game winning shot in San Antonio wouldn't have changed that one bit. We would have one more win, and one less loss - but the defense would still really suck.

If Dirk were averaging 25, 10 and 5 - we might've won a few more games. Its hard to say. Basketball is a bunch of interdependent moving parts, so its difficult to predict what the outcome would be if you change just one thing. (I'm not saying you don't know this, just pointing it out.)

But yes, in general, if your offense scores enough it can cover up the deficiencies of your team. But if it doesn't, that doesn't mean the offense is the problem, or that the offensive production of one particular player is the problem.

MARY!!!! YOU ARE A ******* GENIOUS!

[quiet riot act]

Originally Posted by Bathouse Bear

This team isn't built for succes with Dirk taking 12 shots a game and only scoring 15-20 points a game.

our team is made up role players and im tired of our "superstar" playing like a wuss.

right now he's the 3rd best player on this team.

how smart does this guy look now?

[ty]

Dirk is Superman. How did he not tear anything?

[muzak]

Originally Posted by quiet riot act

how smart does this guy look now?

At that certain point in time, I can't say that I didn't disagree with him. Dirk has stepped up his game of late. Though, we all knew he would.

[monty55555]

Originally Posted by ty

Dirk is Superman. How did he not tear anything?

I was surprised he didn't. I really didn't watch the replay of the injury (seeing it once was painful enough!) but I honestly thought he might have torn his anterior cruciate ligament or his medial collateral ligament. Thank goodness there were no ligament tear seen.

[Kidd Karma]

Originally Posted by monty55555

I was surprised he didn't. I really didn't watch the replay of the injury (seeing it once was painful enough!) but I honestly thought he might have torn his anterior cruciate ligament or his medial collateral ligament. Thank goodness there were no ligament tear seen.

Yea, that was my intial reaction ACL tear, thank goodness it wasn't. Seeing the replays and how the knee twisted, though not as ugly as Livingston, thought it was torn. I guess we're all better off that it was just a high ankle sprain. Hopefully this doesn't lead to chronic injuries that will require surgery. I remember 2 playoffs ago, Richard Jefferson suffered a similar injury, and since it was the playoffs, he continued to play, but never put up the same numbers and was limping throughout the Miami series. He came back presumably at full strength in 06-07, but by January he opted to have ankle surgery and was out for 6 weeks...hopefully Dirk is 100% before coming back.

[monty55555]

Originally Posted by Kidd Karma

Yea, that was my intial reaction ACL tear, thank goodness it wasn't. Seeing the replays and how the knee twisted, though not as ugly as Livingston, thought it was torn. I guess we're all better off that it was just a high ankle sprain. Hopefully this doesn't lead to chronic injuries that will require surgery. I remember 2 playoffs ago, Richard Jefferson suffered a similar injury, and since it was the playoffs, he continued to play, but never put up the same numbers and was limping throughout the Miami series. He came back presumably at full strength in 06-07, but by January he opted to have ankle surgery and was out for 6 weeks...hopefully Dirk is 100% before coming back.

Yes I recall that so well. RJ was not even 50% of his normal healthy self.

Although I hope that Dirk comes back soon, I also hope he will take the careful and thorough road to recovery. Lingering injuries as a result of hastened recovery is not something he would like to have in his career. Most people here have said that Dirk recovers well and faster than most. I really hope thats the case here.

[ty]

Originally Posted by Kidd Karma

Yea, that was my intial reaction ACL tear, thank goodness it wasn't. Seeing the replays and how the knee twisted, though not as ugly as Livingston, thought it was torn. I guess we're all better off that it was just a high ankle sprain. Hopefully this doesn't lead to chronic injuries that will require surgery. I remember 2 playoffs ago, Richard Jefferson suffered a similar injury, and since it was the playoffs, he continued to play, but never put up the same numbers and was limping throughout the Miami series. He came back presumably at full strength in 06-07, but by January he opted to have ankle surgery and was out for 6 weeks...hopefully Dirk is 100% before coming back.

At the time, RJ was a high flyer. Dirk isn't and has never been one of those. He'll be back at atleast 70%.