Fiba basketball review

[dude1394]

Pretty nice review of the Group B that the dirkster is going to win.

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1435

Jonathan Givony

As arguably the biggest non-American NBA star in this tournament on an otherwise extremely weak team, everything will start and end for Germany with Dirk Nowitzki and his ability to take over games. Although the International game is one that is based on team play more than individual matchups, look for most of Germany’s offense to revolve around getting Dirk in position to use his height to get his shot off in the spots he feels comfortable scoring from, while playing off the rotations he forces and the double teams he will surely draw.

Dirk will play the power forward position for Germany as he does for the Dallas Mavericks, and will be even more of a mismatch using all of his 7 feet of height, excellent mobility and coordination to put the ball on the floor, receive the ball in the mid-high post and just shoot over the top of his man with his deft touch and high release, or stroke the three pointer when the opportunity presents itself.

More than ever, though, he will have to show that he can first and foremost hurt his matchup inside the arc before he steps outside, much like he did this past season with the Mavs. This is a terrific opportunity for Dirk to show his always improving post up game, as few players anywhere in the world can stop him when he receives the ball with his back to the basket before spotting up for a quick fadeaway jumper.

Last summer, Nowitzki went out and solidified his spot as one of the top International players ever with an incredible showing at the Eurobasket tournament in Belgrade. Nowitzki led an injury riddled German squad, which most pundits had written off as marginal candidates to even make the quarterfinals, all the way to the finals against Greece, averaging a tournament high 26 points while pulling down 10 rebounds per game.

The way he carried that team on his back, while never forcing the issue or doing anything less than making everyone around him better, truly set the standard for showing us how a legit superstar can perform on a stage like this.

With the competition stiffening here in Japan, Nowitzki will likely have to repeat his incredible form from a year ago, even though he only had just a few weeks to rest after taking his team to the NBA finals and playing no less than 111 games (including preseason) in 9 months. Fatigue could play a big part in how far he can lead this German squad, since they’ll need every drop of energy he’ll be able to muster up for them.

One reason for that is since helping his team out defensively and especially on the glass will be a must for Germany to reach the advanced stages of the tournament. Despite the challenged involved with playing with such a weak supporting cast, Dirk will also have to make his teammates better. No one wins games by themselves in the International game, but Germany and Nowitzki will come about as close as you can get.

[mary]

If I'm not mistaken, we should be able to see Dirk in action Tuesday night on NBATV.