Official Dirk is Great Thread

[croco]

Originally Posted by fluid.forty.one

I still can't stop smiling. I think we've all forgotten a few months ago when we all thought it was a real possibility that Dirk could retire without a championship. It is sooo amazing to never have to worry about that again.

It's also SO fitting that the Mavs first championship came with Dirk on the team. It still would have been great to win years from now if Dirk hadn't gotten it done, but there would have been a part of me saying "wow.. I really wish Dirk was here".

I'm so happy.

I feel the same way. Whenever I see a new photo, video or anything Mavs related, I can't help but smile and be incredibly happy.

[beatLA]

I think Dirk uses more gestures now.

[markus1234]

And the best thing is:

We will hopefully see him (and Kaman) in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuroBasket_2011

[Sportstudi]

Not sure if it has been posted yet. ESPN Sport Science on Dirk's fadeaway.

Btw, 469 positive ratings on this comment after one week: "why dont they make a sports science episode of why lebron keeps travelling?"

[Bayliss]

Dirk has over 200K followers on Twitter. Three months ago, they had to give away prizes just to entice people to follow him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlftRcdRn7Y

"Oh my God! You're giving away shoes?" You have got to love Brian Cardinal.

And here is another one... where you see why Dirk called him one of his Fav Mavs....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO4MpdgOHas

[mavspwnage]

Cardinal is gonna be hilarious during the parade.

[Bayliss]

Cardinal is gonna be hilarious during the parade.

I bet he will put on a show that Mark Madsen will die of embarrassment.

[Underdog]

This Championship pretty much ensures that Dirk will retire a Dallas Maverick...

So glad we didn't have to see him pull a Karl Malone and try to win a ring with another team in his twilight years!

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by Underdog

This Championship pretty much ensures that Dirk will retire a Dallas Maverick...

So glad we didn't have to see him pull a Karl Malone and try to win a ring with another team in his twilight years!

VERY good point.

[GhostFace]

Originally Posted by Underdog

This Championship pretty much ensures that Dirk will retire a Dallas Maverick...

So glad we didn't have to see him pull a Karl Malone and try to win a ring with another team in his twilight years!

I would have hated to see this. Loyalty.. can't buy that.

[Mavericks Rockets Fan]

Dirk has had to defeat Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade to get his NBA Title. Dirk = GREATNESS.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by Mavericks Rockets Fan

Dirk has had to defeat Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade to get his NBA Title. Dirk = GREATNESS.

Another good point!

[Nowitzness81]

Got into a debate on another board.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...ts_career.html

Look at that list and tell me who is going to pass him soon after he retires.

Duncan and Paul Pierce are older than Dirk so they're out. Vince Carter is a joke. McGrady's career is just about over due to injury. Lebron James, probably, but he is 5,000 points behind Dirk so it's going to take him a while. Carmelo Anthony is even further behind. He needs to maintain his production for five years....FIVE YEARS...to have a shot at passing Dirk. Dwayne Wade is going to be lucky to tie Dirk with the way his injuries are piling up.

Everyone else is so far out of the conversation it's hilarious.

Dirk is going to be on the top 10 scorers list for a long time.

[GermanDunk]

Originally Posted by Nowitzness81

Got into a debate on another board.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...ts_career.html

But still about 4500 points to go for the 10 spot and Dirk is 33.

[MavsFanTillDeath]

Originally Posted by GermanDunk

But still about 4500 points to go for the 10 spot and Dirk is 33.

dirk is 23rd all-time. no one really cares about the ABA scoring list.

he needs 3,919 points to pass oscar robertson for 10th all-time. assuming he plays until he's 37, averages 75 games per season without major injuries, he only needs to average 13.0 ppg over the next 4 seasons. that's a joke for dirk

i think he will finish much higher, maybe 6th all-time behind kobe? his game doesn't depend much on athleticism and strength. like phil jackson said once, he can shoot his shot out of a wheelchair.

[Scott McGuire]

If he project him to play only 3 years (this is what I think he really really wants) I believe he can average the same 22-25 he has been. With limited injuries I believe he will put up nearly 2000 points a year.

On a side note.... I assume LeBron will destroy this amount as will Carmelo to a lesser degree.

Untill LeBron and Carmelo get there I believe Dirk will settle in right around Shaq for 5th all time and top 10 for at least 20 years. (I also am not using the ABA numbers) Kobe will end up 3rd behind only Malone and Kareem. Dirk could get that high if he chooses to stay in till he's 38 but I really really doubt it.

[croco]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Wilt Chamberlain
Magic Johnson
Moses Malone
Larry Bird
Michael Jordan
Hakeem Olajuwon
Tim Duncan
Shaquille O'Neal
Kobe Bryant
Dirk Nowitzki

What do these 11 players have in common?

All of them have won a NBA championship, were named NBA Finals MVP, NBA regular season MVP and are at least 10-time All-Stars. The NBA Finals MVP award has been given since 1969, pretty amazing list to be on.

[iella]

Originally Posted by croco

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Wilt Chamberlain
Magic Johnson
Moses Malone
Larry Bird
Michael Jordan
Hakeem Olajuwon
Tim Duncan
Shaquille O'Neal
Kobe Bryant
Dirk Nowitzki

What do these 11 players have in common?

All of them have won a NBA championship, were named NBA Finals MVP, NBA regular season MVP and are at least 10-time All-Stars. The NBA Finals MVP award has been given since 1969, pretty amazing list to be on.

So, uh, remind me again why it's such a huge stretch that Dirk is including in discussions of top 10 all-time?

[Nowitzness81]

Originally Posted by Scott McGuire

If he project him to play only 3 years (this is what I think he really really wants)

I don't know why Dirk would only play 3 more years.

He has no side businesses.

He has no wife or children.

He doesn't play for money.

He loves basketball. He is obsessed with it.

His game is not going to diminish much because his game has never been about athleticism. It's more about his height, the work he puts in and his skill level.

He's never been injury prone.

I think he could be one of those guys who plays until he's 40.

[mavspwnage]

Originally Posted by Nowitzness81

I don't know why Dirk would only play 3 more years.

He has no side businesses.

He has no wife or children.

He doesn't play for money.

He loves basketball. He is obsessed with it.

His game is not going to diminish much because his game has never been about athleticism. It's more about his height, the work he puts in and his skill level.

He's never been injury prone.

I think he could be one of those guys who plays until he's 40.

Dirk needs to step up his game and have a kid so we can draft him in the future.

[Scott McGuire]

Originally Posted by Nowitzness81

I don't know why Dirk would only play 3 more years.

He has no side businesses.

He has no wife or children.

He doesn't play for money.

He loves basketball. He is obsessed with it.

His game is not going to diminish much because his game has never been about athleticism. It's more about his height, the work he puts in and his skill level.

He's never been injury prone.

I think he could be one of those guys who plays until he's 40.

I hope he plays more I just think Dirk is the type of guy to always leave you wanting more.

When he's playing in a game I wish he'd play more.
When he is being interviewed I wish it would go longer.

I hope I'm wrong and that he can stay on and average 18/8 age at 36/37/38. If so he'd end up behind only Jabbar, Malone and Kobe on the all time scoring list (as long as he plays 75+/season)

[Nowitzness81]

Originally Posted by Scott McGuire

I hope I'm wrong and that he can stay on and average 18/8 age at 36/37/38. If so he'd end up behind only Jabbar, Malone and Kobe on the all time scoring list (as long as he plays 75+/season)

He probably has about 3 years left of being the Mavs #1 scorer.

After that he's going to struggle to get open consistently enough if he's drawing all the attention defensively.

Mavs are going to need a big-time threat in the post or a slasher to take the attention off him.

[Big Boy Laroux]

yeah, but has Dirk been named All-Star game MVP?

only that would put him in the top 10...

[mavspwnage]

Originally Posted by Big Boy Laroux

yeah, but has Dirk been named All-Star game MVP?

only that would put him in the top 10...

Dirk probably would have won it last year if Carmelo wasn't so selfish and passed to Dirk for the final shot of regulation like he should have. Anyone else on the court would have passed it to the home town guy in that situation.

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by mavspwnage

Dirk probably would have won it last year if Carmelo wasn't so selfish and passed to Dirk for the final shot of regulation like he should have. Anyone else on the court would have passed it to the home town guy in that situation.

Yeah that was incredible lame. Not that Dirk cared much (or at all) but still...

[mavspwnage]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Yeah that was incredible lame. Not that Dirk cared much (or at all) but still...

I have no doubt that Dirk would have at least forced OT. Stupid Melo.

[markus1234]

Crymelo shot 30% from the field in the playoffs, lol.

[Underdog]

Current (forever?) desktop:

[sike]

Dirk right now has to be top 30. And when all is said and done, I think he'll have to be top 15-20.

When that fool retires we (dm) will to settle where he belongs. But for now, I'm willing to just enjoy Dirk's ride up the ladder.

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by sike

Dirk right now has to be top 30. And when all is said and done, I think he'll have to be top 15-20.

When that fool retires we (dm) will to settle where he belongs. But for now, I'm willing to just enjoy Dirk's ride up the ladder.

I think he's easily Top 25 right now. I would actually put him at #14 currently, just my opinion. The only guys I think are better (no order):

Wilt
Kareem
Russell
MJ
Bird
Magic
West
Oscar
Hakeem
Duncan
Kobe
Shaq
Moses Malone

[dalger]

All of that is true, but:

1) Dirk has achieved both of his most important goals--taking part in the Olympics and being an NBA champion. He's pretty much done it all. There's no longer the need to play in order to achieve those goals.

2) Dirk has always had very high expectations of himself. When his contract expires in 2014, he'll be 36 and at an age where some sort of decline is inevitable. Although this is nothing more than a guess, I would be surprised to see him pull a Kidd and play until his wheels fall off instead of going out on top.

He's at a point now where he already has what he always wanted. For the next three years, he can go for even more accolades and then retire while still being one of the best players in the league.

In all honesty, it can be a bit sad when some of the greatest athletes of all time just can't seem to find the right moment to call it a career and end said career as a shell of their former selves.

With that said, engaging in retirement talk is depressing. Let's just stop and enjoy at least three more years of the Dirkster.

[b_o_r]

Anyone got a link to the dallas news piece " The real story behind Dirk's gutsy game 4 performance".

[dude1394]

Not sure if this has been posted...but...
http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2011/6/...2011#storyjump

Dang dirk...you inspire me...brotha...

Quick anecdote:

Ben (Rogers) and I went out to the LA to cover the All-Star game and we set up an interview with Dirk. And we asked Dirk, ‘hey, what is there to go do in LA?" And he didn't know. And we were taken aback to hear the guy who had been in the league for, what, 13 seasons, and he doesn't know what to do in LA? And the reason he doesn't know is because he goes and shoots baskets. That's what the guy does. That's what the guy does for fun. He plays basketball, he works on his game. And so at the big championship party, he said "Well, Holger said that if we took care of business in game six he would let me have a night off." And it was a joke, but it's not that far from the truth.

And in the comments...

Here is another quick anecdote

I had to be at the AAC to inspect something at the facility. The only time I could have access was at 6:30am as they were breaking down from hockey the night before and then setting up the court.
I arrive at 6:15. Guess who came walking in with a gym bag at the same time? Yeah, you know.
"I know everything there is to know about the greatest game ever invented."


by Hoosier Dave on Jun 17, 2011 7:00 PM CDT reply
you've got to be shitting me

that’s just unreal

by rdub on Jun 17, 2011 8:26 PM CDT up reply

no shit

"I know everything there is to know about the greatest game ever invented."


by Hoosier Dave on Jun 17, 2011 8:43 PM CDT up reply

I wanted to walk up to him and, well, I don't know what

I had no words. I just stared.
"I know everything there is to know about the greatest game ever invented."


by Hoosier Dave on Jun 17, 2011 8:44 PM CDT up reply

[dude1394]

A cut...

What many people — in particular, the Miami Heat — don’t know is just how lousy Nowitzki felt when he was on the court but unable to play with any gusto during Game 4 of the Finals.


“He was the best decoy in NBA Finals history,’’ says Holger Geschwindner, Nowitzki’s mentor for the last 16 years. “He couldn’t even walk around for very long. When he tried to drive, he died on the first step.’’


That’s the way it is when you have a sinus infection and fever well over 100 degrees, and you don’t feel like doing anything, much less trying to go to work when your job is to physically outperform younger, stronger, healthier specimens.


If you go back to the turning point in the NBA Finals, it was the fact the Mavericks got away with Nowitzki being the red herring, the lure that sucked in the Miami Heat. In the first half, nine of his 10 shots were jumpers. He did not go to the free throw line. And the Mavericks were only two points down.


“We told him he had to conserve his energy for the fourth quarter,’’ Geschwindner said.
Nowitzki didn’t make a single basket in the third quarter, and when the fourth came around and the Mavericks were four points down, Nowitzki overcame the wheezing and coughing and weakness in his body to score 10 points and grab five rebounds in a quarter that yielded an 86-83 Mavericks victory and forever changed the course of NBA history.

[b_o_r]

I actually found the whole article for free at the Boston Herald website:

Mentor says Dirk Nowitzki was more ill than most realized
By Eddie Sefko / The Dallas Morning News
Saturday, June 18, 2011 - Added 8 hours ago

EmailE-mail PrintablePrint Comments(0) Comments LargerSmallerText size Bookmark and Share Share

DALLAS — For a week, the Mavericks have partied and reveled in the glow of their NBA championship.

Sipping from an oversized bottle of champagne that cost $90,000 and riding around town in snappy cars and flatbeds so a city could show its appreciation has been almost enough for Dirk Nowitzki to forget about how tough it really was to accomplish.

Almost.

What many people — in particular, the Miami Heat — don’t know is just how lousy Nowitzki felt when he was on the court but unable to play with any gusto during Game 4 of the Finals.

"He was the best decoy in NBA Finals history," says Holger Geschwindner, Nowitzki’s mentor for the last 16 years. "He couldn’t even walk around for very long. When he tried to drive, he died on the first step."

That’s the way it is when you have a fever well over 100 degrees, and you just don’t feel like doing anything, much less trying to go to work when your job is to physically outperform younger, stronger, healthier specimens.

If you go back to the turning point in the NBA Finals, it was the fact the Mavericks got away with Nowitzki being the red herring, the lure that sucked in the Miami Heat. In the first half, nine of his 10 shots were jumpers. He did not go to the free throw line. And the Mavericks were only two points down.

"We told him he had to conserve his energy for the fourth quarter," Geschwindner said.

Nowitzki didn’t make a single basket in the third quarter, and when the fourth came around and the Mavericks were four points down, Nowitzki overcame the wheezing and coughing and weakness in his body to score 10 points and grab five rebounds in a quarter that yielded an 86-83 Mavericks victory and forever changed the course of NBA history.

Then came the ultimate insult when, a day after Nowitzki overcame the illness, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James mocked him after their practice at American Airlines [AMR] Center.

"We tried to play it down," Geschwindner said. "But they made jokes about it."

It was the difference between class and, um, something that’s not class.

It was intended as a joke, but Nowitzki did not appreciate the ill-advised fun that Wade and James poked at him. He’s as tough as there is when it comes to playing through pain.

This was another notch to add to the many other notches on Nowitzki’s belt of doubt. So many people had wondered whether Nowitzki could ever win a championship. He’d finally had enough. He was good enough to overcome the illness and smart enough to ride his teammates when he had to.

"This was a team America got behind because of how they played, because they played smart, with savvy, were skilled, were talented, but more than anything, they were a true team," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "They needed each other to be successful."

In terms of gratification, it doesn’t come much better than what Nowitzki has experienced during this run. He hushed all the doubters and then, at the end, put a muzzle on the two Heaters who showed him disrespect.

"After 13 years, to finally be on top of the world is amazing," Nowitzki said.

Even if he had to spend a recent part of the journey as a decoy.

___

Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Non-Dirk basketball related news

Dirk wouldn't deny nor confirm his engagement to Jessica to Bild magazine. The writer seemed to speculate that they are already married and his 2 week vacation on a beach will be their honeymoon.

[Nowitzness81]

Dirk's bout with the fever reminds me of Joe Montana coming down with hypothermia in the National Championship during his last game for Notre Dame. His temperature was DROPPING and they had to feed him chicken soup at halftime to try and get him warm.

Brought the Irish back from 3 TDs down or something to win on the last play.

[dalger]

I'm just glad that it's finally starting to be a consensus around the NBA that Dirk is anything but soft. In fact, he's a warrior. After reading the Sefko article that's posted above, seeing a diva like Wade and a mental midget like LeBron mock Dirk makes the victory even sweeter than it already is--and it makes me want to kick Wade and LeBron in their nuts.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by dalger

I'm just glad that it's finally starting to be a consensus around the NBA that Dirk is anything but soft. In fact, he's a warrior. After reading the Sefko article that's posted above, seeing a diva like Wade and a mental midget like LeBron mock Dirk makes the victory even sweeter than it already is--and it makes me want to kick Wade and LeBron in their nuts.

It wouldnt hurt them.

[dalger]

Hmm, was it too kind of me to acknowledge their combined one-and-a-half nuts? Well, probably, you're right.

[Nowitzness81]

Another great Dirk read.

http://asubstituteforwar.com/2011/06...-role-players/

Silly superstars, 3-pointers are for role players!

As the Dallas Mavericks progressed through the playoffs it was noted how well their offense was faring, and how strong the team’s 3-point attack was. The team shot 39.4% from 3-point land in the playoffs while shooting more than 20 3′s per game. This is devastating and obviously deserving of attention. Of course with Dirk Nowitzki, one of the great shooters of all time leading the way, would you expect anything less?

Yes, actually you would if you’ve been paying attention.

First off, Dirk has never shot 3-pointers like a mad man. While Ray Allen and, ahem, Antoine Walker shot in excess of 600 3-pointers a season Dirk peaked in the high 300s. Still though, when you’re shooting about 5 3-pointers per game, that’s a serious focus of your game.

It’s fascinating then to see how unimportant 3-pointers have become to Dirk’s current game as they’ve become more important to the Mav team as a whole. Dude’s been averaging about 2 3-pointers per game the past few years. How low is that? Well obviously it’s a heck of a lower than the amount that guys like Kobe, Durant, and Rose shoot, despite the fact none of them is the level of shooter than Dirk is (though admittedly Durant is getting close). Even superstars criticized for their lack of outside shooting like LeBron and Wade shoot 3s more than Dirk.



Here’s the thing that really puts it in perspective though:

Dirk was 13th on the Mavs by 3-pointers taken per minute played.

The Mavs hit their all-time high in 3PA’s this year 1768 because most of the roster has become more likely to take a 3 than Dirk. Even funnier? One of the few guys he shoots more 3′s than is Shawn Marion who in Phoenix was himself a guy who jacked up 4+ 3-pointers per game.

Safe to say, these guys aren’t taking 3′s instead of Dirk because they are better at shooting them, so how is this phenomenon working out?

Pretty well I’d say. Here’s how the team’s effective FG% looks over the same period:



Granted there’s more to offense than effective FG%, but it’s pretty clear that the Mavs have made a choice to go toward shooting more 3′s, with more of them coming from role players, and it’s awful hard to make the argument that this has been a mistake.

Now, the strategy of having role players feed off of the space created by a superstar to shoot 3s is nothing new. Hakeem Olajuwon‘s Rockets were arguably the first to do this and it helped them win 2 titles. That model of interior scorers and 3-point role players is still very much in evidence with Dwight Howard‘s Magic today. This particular model is intuitive because a true big man is bound to suck the defense away from the interior and can’t shoot 3s himself.

The dominant offense of the past decade, Steve Nash‘s Phoenix Suns, demonstrate on a variant of the approach. Like Nowitzki, Nash has been the best shooter on his team but not the most prolific shooter of 3s. However, Nash’s primary role was as distributor, so it wasn’t as shocking to see him take less advantage of the 3-point line.

Dirk Nowitzki however is a jump shooting scorer first and foremost. With the 3-point shot being the single most potent way to score in the game, and with him being the best at performing it as well as being a player whose primary job has always been maximizing his scoring impact, the obvious thing to do is to have him shoot 3′s.

Over time however, Dirk has proven more valuable setting up shop in the mid-range. Part of this is certainly because it allows him to make better use of his spin and body moves to present a wide array of different scoring threats. Part of it though is that taking position here causes maximal distortion of the defense, which then allows for better usage of his now open teammates on the perimeter. And to me this gets us to the key epiphany of the 3-point shot:

1) It ain’t hard to find guys who can hit an open 3

2) It’s much easier to get role players open than stars

3) Therefore, it makes sense to build your offense with role players 3′s as a focal point more so than star 3′s

This may seem obvious to some, but it certainly wasn’t obvious historically. The 3-point shot was around for more than a decade before it started really becoming a part of every game plan. People knew then as well as now that 3 points are better than 2, but they simply thought it was too hard for any but the best shooters in the game to make the shot reliably. They were wrong.

Where this gets interesting to me is in the effect this epiphany has on the value to different types of players in the game.

The role player? Becomes more valuable because he is now the player most able to take advantage of the most potent scoring method in the game.

The get-out-of-my-way scorer? Becomes less valuable precisely because his value is in contrast to the role players.

The defense-manipulating star with the awareness to find the open man? Becomes more valuable relative to the get-out-of-my-way scorer.

Dirk’s progression to the next level of impact comes with him fully realizing his potential as such a manipulator.