Official Dirk is Great Thread - Page 44 - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

markus1234 · 05-18-2011, 06:22 AM

Hollinger Playoff Stats - Player Efficiency Rating - Qualified Players
RK PLAYER GP MPG TS% AST TO USG ORR DRR REBR PER VA EWA
1 Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 11 38.4 .643 10.5 9.5 27.7 2.1 23.5 13.2 29.27 111.9 3.7
2 Chris Paul, NO 6 41.7 .670 36.4 11.6 23.7 1.6 18.6 10.3 28.95 67.0 2.2
3 Dwyane Wade, MIA 11 39.5 .568 15.9 9.9 28.0 6.5 15.0 10.8 28.19 114.8 3.8
4 LeBron James, MIA 11 43.2 .560 16.7 8.5 25.2 5.7 19.2 12.6 26.21 111.4 3.7
5 Kevin Durant, OKC 13 41.6 .608 8.7 6.9 25.2 2.4 18.3 10.6 26.19 126.7 4.2
6 Dwight Howard, ORL 6 43.0 .677 1.9 21.2 24.1 12.3 30.8 21.4 26.15 59.9 2.0
7 Derrick Rose, CHI 12 39.8 .530 20.6 9.5 33.7 2.8 9.6 6.2 25.97 106.8 3.6
8 Jason Terry, DAL 11 32.4 .652 18.6 7.5 21.8 0.7 6.4 3.6 23.71 70.2 2.3
9 Carmelo Anthony, NY 4 39.0 .505 14.1 9.6 29.9 8.5 23.0 14.9 22.56 28.1 0.9
10 Manu Ginobili, SA 5 34.8 .585 16.7 13.5 25.2 1.3 12.3 6.7 22.38 30.8 1.0

sefant77 · 05-18-2011, 08:06 AM

Murphy3 · 05-18-2011, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markus1234

Hollinger Playoff Stats - Player Efficiency Rating - Qualified Players
RK PLAYER GP MPG TS% AST TO USG ORR DRR REBR PER VA EWA
1 Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 11 38.4 .643 10.5 9.5 27.7 2.1 23.5 13.2 29.27 111.9 3.7
2 Chris Paul, NO 6 41.7 .670 36.4 11.6 23.7 1.6 18.6 10.3 28.95 67.0 2.2
3 Dwyane Wade, MIA 11 39.5 .568 15.9 9.9 28.0 6.5 15.0 10.8 28.19 114.8 3.8
4 LeBron James, MIA 11 43.2 .560 16.7 8.5 25.2 5.7 19.2 12.6 26.21 111.4 3.7
5 Kevin Durant, OKC 13 41.6 .608 8.7 6.9 25.2 2.4 18.3 10.6 26.19 126.7 4.2
6 Dwight Howard, ORL 6 43.0 .677 1.9 21.2 24.1 12.3 30.8 21.4 26.15 59.9 2.0
7 Derrick Rose, CHI 12 39.8 .530 20.6 9.5 33.7 2.8 9.6 6.2 25.97 106.8 3.6
8 Jason Terry, DAL 11 32.4 .652 18.6 7.5 21.8 0.7 6.4 3.6 23.71 70.2 2.3
9 Carmelo Anthony, NY 4 39.0 .505 14.1 9.6 29.9 8.5 23.0 14.9 22.56 28.1 0.9
10 Manu Ginobili, SA 5 34.8 .585 16.7 13.5 25.2 1.3 12.3 6.7 22.38 30.8 1.0

Those are some insane PERs

Skywalker · 05-18-2011, 08:51 AM

http://www.nba.com/2011/news/feature...e-1/index.html

Quote:

After 13 NBA seasons, Nowitzki is at the height of his game

Posted May 18 2011 2:05AM

DALLAS -- For the first time ever, there was obvious tread wear on Kobe Bryant's tires this season. The cracks in Tim Duncan's foundation began to show several years ago.

Yet Dirk Nowitzki's game still looks timeless, like it could go on forever.

LeBron James and Chris Bosh bolted to the beaches of Miami. Amar'e Stoudemire fled to the bright lights of New York.

Yet Nowitzki never really considered setting one foot outside of Dallas.

Longevity and loyalty, it turns out, are a difficult combination to beat.

It wasn't just the 48 points Nowitzki scored in the Mavs' 121-112 Western Conference finals opener win over the Thunder that were jaw-dropping, it was the ease with which he did it, coming on just 15 shots from the field.

It wasn't the NBA playoff record for most free throws in a game without a miss -- 24-for-24 -- that took your breath away, but the manner in which Nowitzki ran through nearly half the Thunder's roster that tried and failed to stop him.

Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Thabo Sefolosha might as well have been trying to hitch a ride on the winds of a twister. Nowitzki filled the lanes on the fast break to finish. He drove baseline to rattle the rim with dunks. He came off the pick-and-roll time and again to bury jumpers and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

"He's been doing it for a lot of years against a lot of great players," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "He had a good rhythm. He got off to a good start. He was making shots and then we were fouling his jump shots and he's a terrific jump-shooter."

Perhaps the most surprising thing about his stat line is that Dirk almost bagged a half-century without even attempting a single 3-point shot.

But the amazing thing is that in his 13th NBA season, Nowitzki doesn't appear to have lost even a half step or the slightest elevation on that reach-to-the-sky extension on his shots.

"Dirk spends a lot of time of time working on his game, keeping himself ready," said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle.

Duncan is 35 and is just a shadow of the former MVP who carried the Spurs to four championships. Kobe, who has five championships on his belt, will turn 33 in August and at times this season and in the playoffs looked out of gas and out of ideas.

Nowitzki, who'll turn 33 in June, is still seeking his first title and maybe it's the quest that keeps him young. Of course, his critics will say it's his so-called "soft" style of play. Or maybe it's the much lower mileage on his wheels after all of those first- and second-round playoff eliminations.

But know this. For all the talk that LeBron has done about needing someone beside him to share the heavy lifting required to win a championship, nobody has been on his own more than Dirk. Since Steve Nash was allowed to flee to Phoenix, Nowitzki has been a virtual solo act in Dallas. His co-stars are a 38-year-old point guard in Jason Kidd and a streaky, conscienceless jump-shooter in Jason Terry

Know this as well: If any member of last summer's bumper crop of free agents had a reason to go running into the night screaming for a change of venue and a more loaded roster, it was Dirk, who couldn't have been blamed if he'd had an inclination to change teams.

"Not really," Nowitzki said. "This is where I wanted to be. I had a great talk with Cubes (team owner Mark Cuban), a meeting, and all I wanted to hear was that he's gonna go for it and he's gonna keep bringing players in for us to ultimately get our goal. So that's all I really needed to hear and it was an easy decision after that."

The harder decision will be for the Oklahoma City coaching staff to come up with a different plan for trying to handle him. Brooks had said before the game that he does not generally like the idea of double-teaming a big scorer, because it can leave perimeter shooters wide open.

But Ibaka had tried his hand at Nowitzki and had three fouls before halftime. Then he picked up his fourth on the first possession of the third quarter. Collison, who was so effective in Game 7 of the Memphis series in dealing with Zach Randolph, was the next victim to get tied into knots.

Harden and Sefolosha were clearly too small to handle the job one-on-one. Even the 6-foot-10 Durant took time out from scoring 40 points to take his turn, but that short-lived experiment ended when he drew back-to-back fouls midway through the third quarter.

On the night, Nowitzki took a combined 39 shots -- field goal attempts and free throws -- and missed only three. How is that possible?

"He's a 7-foot jump-shooter," Durant said. "He shoots one-legged fadeaways."

Is it that simple?

"Yeah," said Durant.

But only Dirk makes it look that easy.

He manages to keep shining when his contemporaries are fading. He chose to stay when he had every reason to leave to fill his trophy case.

All of which would make Nowitzki's championship, maybe not only the most unlikely, but the most satisfying.

Fran Blinebury has covered the NBA since 1977. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

BGMaverick9 · 05-18-2011, 10:44 AM

Dirk Nowitzki Nearly Flawless in Game 1 Victory - Mavs Fast Break

http://www.mavsfastbreak.com/2011/05...ame-1-victory/

sj_munoz · 05-18-2011, 12:45 PM

The debate about how good Dirk is has grabbed much attention, what say you ...

http://sj.yntmedia.com/?p=1575

tsar · 05-18-2011, 03:05 PM

Great article on SBnation on Dirk. Pretty much stating that nothing can really stop him now

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/5/1...-playoffs-2011

Quote:

The bottom line is that all the defensive strategies a team used to be able to use on Nowitzki to slow him just don't work anymore. He and his team have mastered them all, leaving you pretty much powerless. Nowitzki was always great, but this year, he's taken his understanding of the game up a notch, with the help of his teammates and his coach. Below, a quick summary of some of those strategies and why they don't work anymore.

Pushing him out of his spot

SUMMARY: Denying Nowitzki the ball in the post, forcing him to catch further away from the basket and staying right in his face.
REASON IT SOMETIMES WORKED: Nowitzki wasn't always the best at dealing with contact.
PAST EXAMPLES: David West did a great job of doing this in the 2008 playoffs, when the Hornets eliminated Dallas in five games in the first round.
WHY IT DOESN'T WORK NOW: Nowitzki has dramatically improved his ability to get position, using angles to give his point guard a passing angle and sometimes screening for the ball-handler to give himself a head start. He gets much bigger now and doesn't let his defender get around him.

Fronting and sending the pass to the baseline

SUMMARY: Putting your primary defender in front of Nowitzki, keeping weakside help around the basket and force the pass down to the right baseline, where Nowitzki isn't as lethal because he's better shooting to his left.
REASON IT SOMETIMES WORKED: Nowitzki was better shooting to his left. Also, it made it easier for teams to align their help defense in case they want to double team.
PAST EXAMPLES: The Spurs have had their issues with Dirk over the years, but when they guarded him well, this was how. The Lakers also tried this before and succeeded relatively well until this year's playoffs.
WHY IT DOESN'T WORK NOW: The 2008 trade for Jason Kidd helps most here. Kidd is the best in the league at putting a post entry pass on the money, and he'll find a way to get Dirk the ball one way or the other. Coach Rick Carlisle has also had Dirk set up for position on the perimeter instead of on the block, giving Kidd more space to get the ball into him.

Double-teaming from the top of the key

SUMMARY: Sending a man down from the center of the court to double Nowitzki on the catch and force him to give the ball up.
REASON IT SOMETIMES WORKED: Nowitzki wasn't a great passer out of double teams, and the Mavericks' weakside spacing wasn't great.
PAST EXAMPLES: Golden State in 2007
WHY IT DOESN'T WORK NOW: Nowitzki is so much better at finding the open man, and the Mavericks' spacing is worlds better. The advantage of having Kidd is that the Mavericks can station their best shooter in the corner. Teams often take away the first pass, but Dallas always finds an open shot when they keep rotating the ball. Also, Shawn Marion is really good at cutting and finding openings around the basket, which either result in layups or clearer passing lanes for Nowitzki to the perimeter.

Guarding Nowitzki with a smaller defender

SUMMARY: Treating Nowitzki like a perimeter player and guarding him with a wing player instructed to cut off his drives and stay in his body without worrying as much about Dirk shooting over the top.
REASON IT SOMETIMES WORKED: Dirk is essentially a perimeter player, and he had trouble getting on balance when shooting over someone like this.
PAST EXAMPLES: Golden State in 2007
WHY IT DOESN'T WORK NOW: Nowitzki has developed the perfect counter move: a one-footed fadeaway that gives him the separation he needs. He also uses shot fakes extremely well to force small defenders up in the air, and has mastered a series of jab steps that give him even more separation.

Double-teaming after he starts dribbling

SUMMARY: Confusing Nowitzki with a double team after he catches the ball, whether it's a hard double team or what's known as a "one-swipe," where defenders reach in trying to strip Nowitzki as he's making his patented spin move.
REASON IT WORKED SOMETIMES: Without an explosive first step, Nowitzki's primary means of getting to the basket was that spin move, and teams learned to key on it and attack at the perfect time.
PAST EXAMPLES: The Nuggets used to do this very well, using their quickness on the perimeter.
WHY IT DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE: Nowitzki has studied hard and now can tell when defenders are coming to do this. There were several times on Tuesday where he picked up his dribble at the perfect time, leading to a three by Jason Terry or Peja Stojakovic.

Staying attached to his hip on pick and rolls and taking everyone else away

SUMMARY: Just don't leave him under any costs.
REASON IT WORKED SOMETIMES: His teammates didn't step up.
PAST EXAMPLES: Golden State in 2007.
WHY IT DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE: Have you seen what J.J. Barea has done in this year's playoffs?

Underdog · 05-18-2011, 03:10 PM

^greatness

Bayliss · 05-18-2011, 06:03 PM

The "low mileage" on Dirk is a myth. He may not have played as many playoff games as Duncan and Bryant. But Duncan and Bryant didn't play in all the internationalm competitions. If you factor in World Championships, Euro Championships, qualifying tournaments, etc... the number of miles between the 3 is pretty close.

sinsin · 05-18-2011, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bayliss

The "low mileage" on Dirk is a myth. He may not have played as many playoff games as Duncan and Bryant. But Duncan and Bryant didn't play in all the internationalm competitions. If you factor in World Championships, Euro Championships, qualifying tournaments, etc... the number of miles between the 3 is pretty close.

i m not sure about that...
i mean even if you sum up all of his games he played for the german national team you hardly will get to 81 or more games, also keep in mind those games are usually 8 min shorter than a game in the nba

*edit
just checked: he has 127 games for the german national team...so i was wrong : )
still at least kobe played a bunch more minutes than dirk did

Bayliss · 05-18-2011, 09:06 PM

Btw, can anyone explain to me the Ghostface Drillah nickname? Where did it originate from, etc?

GOMAVS41 · 05-18-2011, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bayliss

Btw, can anyone explain to me the Ghostface Drillah nickname? Where did it originate from, etc?

One of the guys from the Ben and Skin show made it up. It's after Ghostface Killer from the WuTang clan, Dirk is supposedly a fan of them.

Oh and Dirk thinks he looks like a ghost and he drills jumpers.

Skywalker · 05-18-2011, 09:09 PM

Almost 10 minutes of pure greatness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM9MYvoQn8M

Windmill360 · 05-18-2011, 09:36 PM

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/view...?f=6&t=1113461

GermanDunk · 05-18-2011, 11:03 PM

German morning news just broadcast an about 3 minutes report about the 1st game, which was ... yesterday

Blackspider · 05-18-2011, 11:05 PM

This Dirk guy is pretty good.

dude1394 · 05-18-2011, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackspider

This Dirk guy is pretty good.

Do you mean the tall German guy?

LetsGoMavs · 05-19-2011, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Windmill360

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/view...?f=6&t=1113461

btw:
This thread deserves a five star rating.

CadBane · 05-19-2011, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsar

Great article on SBnation on Dirk. Pretty much stating that nothing can really stop him now

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/5/1...-playoffs-2011

Actually, that article is rather poor in citing its examples. West and New Orleans didn't ever do anything to slow down Dirk...he had a very good series. He flat-out destroyed Denver (always has) and they're used as another example.

SleepyEye · 05-19-2011, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GermanDunk

German morning news just broadcast an about 3 minutes report about the 1st game, which was ... yesterday

Yeah. But they repeated it three times. For german television an extraordinary coverage.
It's a shame!

Mavsfan4ever · 05-19-2011, 01:47 AM

I got "The Touch" by Stan Bush playing on iTunes. A perfect song to describe Dirk.

Zaknaf3in · 05-19-2011, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Windmill360

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/view...?f=6&t=1113461

Well, thanks for making me spend hours on just another board.
Left it out so far, for in the past I found it to be rather bad - actually turned out to be thrice the quality of the cesspool that ISH is.

Found this gem somewhere - I laughed hard at Harden's look.

edit:

Whoever this Scott Spangler guy is, he got most of it right.

Quote:

By Scott Spangler
michael redd

This just in: Dirk Nowitzki is now and has been a phenomenal postseason performer – for years.

The lion’s share of NBA “analysts” are hopping aboard the Charles Barkley bandwagon, lauding Dirk’s newfound mindset.

“This is a different Dirk Nowitzki.”

Really?

One of four players to post career playoff averages of 25 points and 10 rebounds and the guy is just now stepping it up?

Read more: http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=7698#ixzz1MnwY9sK0

jthig32 · 05-19-2011, 09:36 AM

Why Dirk is Great

Kirobaito · 05-19-2011, 09:46 AM

Since the beginning of the LA series, Dirk is shooting 61.4% from the field, 72.7% on three-pointers, and 97.5% from the line. 29.5 ppg, 8.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 blocks, 1.8 turnovers.

Holy hell.

Murphy3 · 05-19-2011, 09:55 AM

I know that Dirk is one of the greatest players in the history of the game.. but how in the hell can he stay this hot?

alexamenos · 05-19-2011, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaknaf3in

Whoever this Scott Spangler guy is, he got most of it right.

Good article, and I've been pondering the question of how much of this run is some new found Dirk and how much is Dirk being the Dirk he's always been.

From the article:

Quote:

The guy in Dallas is much the same, too. He is doing what he’s always done. It’s about time we get the story straight with Dirk Nowitzki.

that's what I think...

joemoeschmoe · 05-19-2011, 11:57 AM

Bill Simmons and some other dude on how great Dirk is:

Direct Link: http://podloc.andomedia.com/dloadTra...-18-162031.mp3

Or you can download it in the right sidebar from Bill's page:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/simmons/index

markus1234 · 05-19-2011, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaknaf3in

.

alexamenos · 05-19-2011, 02:53 PM

funny

blasphemy, but funny

fluid.forty.one · 05-19-2011, 03:34 PM

BTW.. "White Mamba" was trending worldwide on twitter last night.

tsar · 05-19-2011, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CadBane

Actually, that article is rather poor in citing its examples. West and New Orleans didn't ever do anything to slow down Dirk...he had a very good series. He flat-out destroyed Denver (always has) and they're used as another example.

They didn't say they completely slowed him down. The dude was just pointing out different techniques that teams have tried in the past and what Dirk has done to adjust over time. Just because he destroyed Denver that doesn't mean they weren't trying to do what what described.

LetsGoMavs · 05-19-2011, 06:07 PM

Anybody got ESPN insider?

Would love to read Trollinger's take on Dirk's Game 1 performance.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/playo...PERDiem-110519

endrity · 05-19-2011, 06:44 PM

Yeah, I'd love to read Hollinger's opinion as well.

LonghornDub · 05-19-2011, 06:47 PM

I actually don't have insider, but my friend who does emailed it to me earlier. Here's a copy.

Quote:

Dirk Nowitzki hung on Oklahoma City in Game 1 on Tuesday, and that's about how many hours the Thunder have to adjust their coverages and find a therapist for poor Serge Ibaka.

Meanwhile, we're still boggling our minds over the wonders of Nowitzki's performance. The final stat sheet: 12-of-15 from the field, 24-of-24 from the line. Meaning he scored 48 points with just three missed shots. Nowitzki's 24 free throws without a miss were an NBA record -- playoffs or regular season.

That's not all. As the ESPN Stats & Information group pointed out, he posted the highest true shooting percentage in a playoff game by any player with more than 25 "true shots" in the shot-clock era, an absurd 93.9 -- and he did it without the benefit of a 3-pointer.
What's amazing is that if you include the past 15 seasons of regular-season games … Dirk is still No. 1. Our Stats & Info folks say he narrowly beats out a 48-point game by Ray Allen in April 2001. Between the two, that's a sample of more than 10,000 games, giving you an idea of the rarity of Tuesday's event.

We'll get to more fun facts on Dirk in a bit. But let's talk about the actual game for a minute. What's funny was that, in the first quarter, I thought it was Dallas that was blinking first. Rick Carlisle made the pre-adjustment of inserting Corey Brewer into the rotation to guard Kevin Durant, thereby making his own team easier to defend, and had a weird first-quarter lineup with Peja Stojakovic at the 4 and Brewer at the 3. Oklahoma City took an early lead as a result, but it was quickly erased by Dallas' mighty mites off the bench and lethal doses of Dirk.

I suspect Nowitzki will get more chances to put up totals like this, too. Just look back to the previous round. In Game 1 of the Grizzlies-Thunder series, Zach Randolph scored 34 points in much the same way Nowitzki did, raining in jumpers from right block post-ups. He didn't get as many whistles, but the impact was the same -- Memphis scored a completely out-of-character 114 points, its most since late February, to steal the opener.

Oklahoma City's reaction? A shoulder shrug, basically. The Thunder made some minor adjustments but continued to single-cover Randolph the entire series with Ibaka and Nick Collison, figuring he couldn't possibly keep raining in long jumpers that consistently all series. Other than a brief flurry in the second half of Game 6, he didn't.
And although one presumes Durant has revised his "best power
forward in the game" list to drop Z-Bo into second place, the reaction from the Thunder to this Game 1 isn't likely to be much different. Scott Brooks talked Wednesday about not wanting to leave wide-open 3s for Dallas' shooters, but the other issue is that so many of Nowitzki's points came before he was even in a position to be doubled.

Besides, the real focus at Oklahoma City's practice shouldn't be on double-teaming, it should be revisiting the "don't put two hands on the post player's back" rule, something the Thunder violated several times to give Nowitzki easy points at the line.
How easy? Well, Nowitzki hadn't had 24 free throw attempts in a game in half a decade -- May 13, 2006, in Game 3 of the second-round classic against San Antonio. He made only three shots form the field that game and finished with 27 points; otherwise, he has had more than 17 free throw attempts in a game just once in the previous five years. I think we can safely call the 24 in Game 1 an outlier.

Actually, Brooks' comment about leaving shooters open pinpoints another, more critical issue that still isn't getting enough attention: This is about much more than just Nowitzki. Dallas' offense as a whole has gone completely and unexpectedly gangbusters in the playoffs after finishing eighth in offensive efficiency in the regular season. The Mavs are No. 1 by a mile in playoff offensive efficiency at a blistering 113.7, more than six points ahead of second-place Oklahoma City. (And yes, the fact that these are the top two playoff offenses goes a long way to explaining the Game 1 shootout; Nowitzki and Durant alone combined to outscore the winning team in Wednesday night's Heat-Bulls tussle).

Unfortunately, a lot of folks were thrown off the scent by the languid pace of Dallas' first-round series against Portland; the Mavs are still tied for the second-slowest pace among playoff teams because the Blazers were playing so ridiculously slowly.
Instead we're hearing a lot of blathering about toughness and how the Mavs have become a dominant defensive team.

Please.

Dallas is above average defensively, just as it's been for the past several years, but the reason it's up 1-0 on the conference finals is because the Mavs are setting the nets on fire. Dallas' 58.6 playoff TS% is miles ahead of that of No. 2 Boston (55.2 percent), and that was the case even before Nowitzki's Game 1 eruption. The Mavs are shooting 41.6 percent on 3s and 50.3 percent on 2s. But everybody looks "tougher" when the ball goes through the net.

The secondary players were nearly as problematic for Oklahoma City as the Nowitzki explosion. J.J. Barea and Jason Terry continue to baffle opposing defenses in ways they never did before, with Barea in particular proving lethal on the pick-and-roll with Nowitzki because the man guarding Dirk is terrified of switching. Unfortunately, I think the Thunder need to get help from the big man and live with the consequences because we've seen the alternative is giving up either a Barea layup or a corner 3 from Terry.

Oklahoma City was at least more successful exploiting Dallas' small guards on defense than the Lakers were, but that won't matter if the Thunder give up 121 points. At Wednesday's practice, Kendrick Perkins talked about needing to "dig" against Nowitzki and not leave a defender on an island, but that's something you do once the ball is on the floor -- Nowitzki did most of his damage without ever dribbling. Ibaka and Collison need to play him way closer and count on some help coming from the backside.

Alternatively, I wonder whether the Thunder would consider putting Perk on Dirk, which would leave Ibaka on the weak side to guard the rim. It's a major challenge mobilitywise for Perkins, but he's somewhat disposable in terms of foul trouble and his physicality will at least present a different challenge, especially if he has the stones to crowd Nowitzki and make him drive into Ibaka.

No matter what they try, it's likely a losing proposition. They're just trying to keep Nowitzki in the 20s rather than the 40s and hoping Durant can make up for it at he other end.

And in Game 1, they failed miserably. So let's get back to Dirk. I was just getting warmed up at the top, but here are a few more juicy nuggets from his opening outburst:

•* In the past quarter century, regular season or playoffs, only one other player has needed fewer than 20 field goal attempts to score 48 or more points. You will never guess his name in a million years. (Hint: He's the worst player ever to score 50 points in an NBA game). Answer below.
•* Nowitzki drew 16 fouls in Game 1. The only other player to draw at least 12 fouls in a game this postseason was Orlando's Dwight Howard, who did it four times. (Pretty impressive given that he played only six games).
•* Nowitzki tied a record by going 13-of-13 from the free throw line in the third quarter, a mark held by … Dirk Nowitzki, who went 13-of-13 from the line in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against Portland. That was the last time Dallas was truly threatened in a series -- the Mavs trailed by six midway through the fourth quarter before rallying.
•* In the past 20 years, every other player to score 48 points in a playoff game needed at least 26 field goal attempts. Dirk took 15.
•* He did not, however, have the fewest shots in a 40-point playoff game. That honor still belongs to Portland's Terry Porter, who went 12-of-14 from the field in a 41-point game against Utah in 1992. Porter is the only player in the past two decades to score 40 points in a playoff game on fewer than 15 shots.
•* Nowitzki's 48 points on 15 shots is unmatched in the regular season, too. Only five players have hit the 40-point plateau with only 15 shots since 1985-86, but with a high of just 43 points by Miami's Alonzo Mourning in 2000 (13-of-14 from the field, 17-of-24 from the line).
•* Nowitzki's game didn't quite break my PER system, as our Brian Windhorst tweeted, but it came close. His mark of 54.60 nearly doubled that of regular-season league leader LeBron James. Interestingly, it was very nearly not even the highest-rated game by a Maverick in the past five years -- this forgotten masterpiece by Josh Howard rated a 53.58.
•* In the past 20 years, Vince Carter is the only other player to have at least 48 points and four blocks in a playoff game.
•* It was also only the eighth time somebody has taken at least 24 free throw attempts in a playoff game in the past two decades. Nowitzki and Shaquille O'Neal are the only players on the list twice; Dallas fans, however, will note the name "Dwyane Wade," as well, with his 25 attempts in Game 5 of the 2006 Finals.
•* The answer to my question above? Willie Burton, who scored 53 points on 19 shots for the Sixers against the Heat on December 13, 1994. It was one of only two times in a 316-game career that Burton would score more than 30 points.
Finally, here are two areas where Nowitzki's game isn't quite as unique as you might think:
•* Dirk averaged 3.2 points per field goal attempt, which seems amazing given that the most you can get from a shot is 3. But actually, it's not the best in history, or even the best of this postseason. For instance, Miami's James Jones had 25 points on 7 shots in Game 1 against Miami, for a blistering 3.6 points per field goal attempt.
•* Finally, our Bill Simmons asked whether Nowitzki's 16 points per missed shot is some kind of record. Apparently, it's not as rare as you might think. It's not even in the top 30 all time among 20-point games, according to Stats & Info.
And it's not even the best by Nowitzki in a Game 1. Just a year ago, he scored 36 points with only two misses in Game 1 of the San Antonio series -- he went 12-of-14 from the field and 12-of-12 from the line.

LetsGoMavs · 05-19-2011, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

I actually don't have insider, but my friend who does emailed it to me earlier. Here's a copy.

Thanks man!

endrity · 05-19-2011, 07:04 PM

Thanks dude, I hope to not see a repeat of the SA series from last year, given that Dirk has had a somewhat similar start.

EricaLubarsky · 05-20-2011, 01:20 AM

Bill Russell - passed 2011 playoffs
Patrick Ewing - passed 2011 playoffs
Robert Parish - passed 2011 playoffs
Charles Barkley - passed 2011 playoffs
Sam Jones - passed 2011 playoffs
Clyde Drexler - passed 2011 playoffs
Reggie Miller - passed 2011 playoffs
18th place-- 48 to James Worthy
17th place-- 114 to Julius Erving
16th place-- 142 to Dennis Johnson
15th place-- 208 to Kevin McHale

Dirkadirkastan · 05-20-2011, 02:01 AM

It would be interesting to see all the dates he passed those players without having to dig through the thread to figure it out.

BGMaverick9 · 05-20-2011, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

It would be interesting to see all the dates he passed those players without having to dig through the thread to figure it out.

April 19, Bill Russell
May 2, Patrick Ewing and Robert Parish
May 4, Charles Barkley
May 17, Sam Jones
May 19, Clyde Drexler and Reggie Miller

feel free to spread love

CadBane · 05-20-2011, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsar

They didn't say they completely slowed him down. The dude was just pointing out different techniques that teams have tried in the past and what Dirk has done to adjust over time. Just because he destroyed Denver that doesn't mean they weren't trying to do what what described.

Yes...but the author didn't just say those teams TRIED that, he said they had SUCCESS in that...which they didn't.