As Nowitzki's career flourishes, so do the Mavericks

[dude1394]

Dirkster putting it together.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...me.adv06.1190/

As Nowitzki's career flourishes, so do the Mavericks

DALLAS (AP) - Dirk Nowitzki's basketball "toolbox'' is almost full.

Once a lanky teenager with little more than a natural jump shot, Nowitzki's raw potential made him a lottery pick at age 20. Even when he became an All-Star at 23, the 7-footer still had plenty of room for improvement.

Defense, especially. Rebounding, too. And for a big guy, he sure had a lousy post-up game.

Now, a month shy of turning 28, Nowitzki has put it all together.

He's coming off his best regular season, topping his performance of the previous year, when he was third in the MVP voting. This one was better because he led the Dallas Mavericks to 60 wins - matching the franchise record he helped set three years before.

While Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and others have been dazzling in the playoffs, Nowitzki's been brutally efficient.

He helped Dallas build insurmountable halftime leads in the first two games against the Memphis Grizzlies. Then, with Game 3 seemingly lost, he grabbed a loose ball, smartly maneuvered behind the 3-point line and swished a shot that forced overtime and essentially wrapped up the series.

Since finishing the sweep Monday, the Mavs have been waiting to see whether they'll play San Antonio or Sacramento in the second round. Nowitzki has spent the week fretting about losing his rhythm, a statement typical of his desire and almost comical to those who know better.

After all, he's no longer a wunderkind. He's an established, dominant player going into the prime of his career and - this is the part the Mavericks really love - he's still striving to improve.

"We've been asking ourselves the last nine years, 'When are we going to hit the ceiling on this guy?''' said Donnie Nelson, Dallas' president of basketball operations and the man most responsible for bringing Nowitzki to the NBA.

"The thing that continues to baffle our minds is how he grows as a player in every situation. He just continues to improve. ... He has an incredible work ethic combined with a very unique talent.''

Nowitzki was deficient in many areas early in his career because he didn't grow up around the game the way most NBA players do.

Growing up in Germany, there were no all-star basketball camps. Not even a high school team. All he had was a coach-mentor-guru who'd played in the Olympics and who knew the quickest way to the NBA was the novelty of someone really big who could shoot from really far.

Even after he established himself in the pros, Nowitzki went home every summer to work on rounding out his game. "Filling the toolbox'' is what the molder of his career, Holger Geschwindner, calls it.

Geschwindner visits several times per season, and was in town at the start of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Nowitzki has been a regular at the team's practice court, refining the shot that's produced at least 20 points in 31 straight games and an average of 31.3 in the playoffs.

Coach Avery Johnson sometimes threatens fines when he fears Nowitzki is overworking himself. He relented this week, even sending a coach to the gym for nighttime workouts.

"I love working on my game, love improving,'' Nowitzki said this week, sweat dripping from a thick, shaggy beard. "I just love the sport so much, I think there's always stuff to work on, get better.

"Ultimately, our goal, my goal, is to take this team to a championship level. The first round means nothing if we lose in the second round. I'm just trying to stay ready and do more of the same in the second round.''

Nowitzki's rising career hit some turning points before and during last season.

First, his best friend on and off the court, Steve Nash, switched teams. That thrust Nowitzki into the front-and-center role of team spokesman and leader, things his talent had demanded long before but his personality wasn't necessarily ready to handle.

Then, six weeks before the 2005 playoffs, his leadership was put to the test with the retirement of Don Nelson, the only NBA coach he'd had.

Donnie Nelson and team owner Mark Cuban already were transforming the team from an ill-fated scheme featuring five shooters on the floor to a system based on the more traditional championship formula of defense first. The plan hit full speed with Johnson replacing Nellie.

Nowitzki had to go along for it to work. The coach of the year trophy now in Johnson's office proves that he did.

Nowitzki didn't do anything heroic, unless you consider how other All-NBA first-teamers might have reacted. Think about it: Offensive-oriented player loses his beloved offensive-oriented coach and is told to play defense and go get banged around in the paint.

Tough sell? Not with Nowitzki.

"There's no ego,'' said teammate Darrell Armstrong, who over 12 NBA seasons has seen all kinds. "It's unbelievable. That makes Dirk Dirk.''

Nowitzki had a forgettable postseason in '05.

His shot was off and so was his temper, leading to embarrassing scenes with teammates Erick Dampier and Jason Terry. Dallas needed seven games to beat Houston in the first round, then was knocked out the next round by Nash and his new teammates in Phoenix.

This season, Nowitzki averaged a career-best 26.6 points despite the Mavs scoring their fewest points since his rookie year. Part of the increase came from his confidence in the low post. Johnson said that on a 10-point scale, Nowitzki has gone from about three to 6 1/2.

"When you get older, you get more experienced,'' Nowitzki said. "I'm not a great post-up player, but I'm more comfortable.''

Those easy baskets helped Nowitzki shoot a career-best 48 percent from the field this season. He also set personal bests by making 90 percent of his free throws and 41 percent of his 3-pointers. His long-range touch was so good he won the 3-point contest during the All-Star weekend.

While his rebounds dropped a bit to 9.0 per game, his offensive boards were up. And, seeing as he started the most games and played the most minutes, he deserves at least some credit for Dallas allowing the fewest points per game in franchise history.

"Nowitzki used to be a guy you'd go at every time down the floor,'' Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Now he's a good defender. He's good at stripping the ball on the way up and he's a great rebounder. People keep saying he's soft, but what does that mean? It doesn't come from the guys he plays against.''

With his buddy Nash reportedly to be named MVP again, Nowitzki probably will finish second or third. Perhaps he'll eventually earn that individual award, but the focus now is whether his toolbox is complete enough to claim the NBA's most important piece of hardware.

"Dirk,'' Terry said, "is definitely going to be one of the legends in this league when all is said and done.''

[orangedays]

So uh...mancrush on the Dirkster?

Just a little.

[dude1394]

Without a doubt.

[WraithXx]

who wrote this? Dirk's mom?

[bernardos70]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...me.adv06.1190/

[dude1394]

thanks bernardos...Forgot the link, it's in the original post as well.

[vjz]

We are so damn lucky to have Dirk on our team... It's time for the Championship baby!

[candid_snoop41]

"I love working on my game, love improving,'' Nowitzki said this week, sweat dripping from a thick, shaggy beard. "I just love the sport so much, I think there's always stuff to work on, get better.

"Ultimately, our goal, my goal, is to take this team to a championship level. The first round means nothing if we lose in the second round. I'm just trying to stay ready and do more of the same in the second round.''

Dirk's work ethic is unbelievable...i love his attitude...first round means nothing,bring on the spurs,i have to stay ready....great. Love him and our mavs....

go mavs

[kriD]

These 'rats' have bonded

By Mercedes Mayer

DALLAS -- As competitors sometimes do, Dirk Nowitzki might have let his emotions get the best of him after last year's playoff-ending loss to Phoenix .

Nowitzki all but called out point guard Jason Terry, venting about how the Mavs' "basketball IQ wasn't great" and that they made "stupid mistakes [that] should never happen in the NBA."

Specifically, Nowitzki was speaking of Terry not fouling Steve Nash before he launched a game-tying 3-pointer in Game 6.

Sure, Nowitzki also blamed himself for a poor postseason, and Terry took full credit for his defensive lapse.

Nowitzki and Terry vowed to improve, to be more dedicated and to learn from their mistakes.

Nowitzki and Terry have improved. The bond they formed in the process has been evident. Nowitzki averaged 26.6 points per game in the regular season, his best ever, and Terry's 17.1 points per game were his best in three years.

"Their relationship is strong," Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. "They spend a lot of time in the gym together. They've established a really good bond."

Nowitzki has a reputation of always being the last to leave the gym, hitting shot after shot. Terry has said that he liked growing up in Seattle and going to college in Arizona because Seattle's rain and the Arizona heat forced him to be inside working on his game.

Terry finally found his kindred spirit in Nowitzki, and the two have set the tone and provided an example for the rest of the Mavs. Lately, center Erick Dampier has been joining Nowitzki and Terry for extra time in the gym, Terry said.

"It rubs off big time," guard Darrell Armstrong said. "Not just a little. Big time."

Nowitzki and Terry have been seen on the road taking a taxi to find an open gym. Terry even took Nowitzki to one of his old workout spots in Atlanta earlier in the year.

"After practice every day, I can guarantee you you'll see both of them doing something," Armstrong said. "Then later in the night, they'll be here. All you have to do is put your ear on the wall, you can hear the ball bouncing."

Nowitzki and Terry have adjoining lockers, and they regularly text message each other while watching other NBA games are on TV.

They're even perfecting the pick-and-roll the way Nash and Nowitzki did when Nash was with the Mavericks.

"On the floor, he's one of the best shooters I've ever played with, especially in crunch time," Nowitzki said. "And off the floor, he's great for the locker room, a great guy to be around."

Similar to Nash, maybe?

"It's not a Nash relationship quite yet," Terry said, "but it's pretty good."

[orangedays]

Maybe Terry's not going anywhere...

[ocelot_ark]

I love the sound of the Dirk/Terry article. That's the first I've heard of anything like that.

[Stranger]

Originally Posted by kriD

Nowitzki and Terry have adjoining lockers, and they regularly text message each other while watching other NBA games are on TV.

Ha ha ha! They sound like a grade school couple!