Official Dirk is Great Thread

[Underdog]

Intersting bit on Dirk from a recent DSJ interview:

It’s gonna be a good year. I’m enjoying while he’s here this year and next year.

https://www.dmagazine.com/publicatio...las-mavericks/

The rook seems to think Dirk plays next season as well... Would love it if he's right!

[Underdog]

@FanSided: Dirk Nowitzki is not just another legend to Kevin Durant (by @IsaacHarrisNBA - @thesmokingcuban)
https://thesmokingcuban.com/2017/10/...-kevin-durant/

[DevinHarriswillstart]

See? How can you hate Durant?

[sefant77]

Cupcake is an immature loser

[Underdog]

@nbastats: Dirk Nowitzki has passed Moses Malone for 6th in @NBAHistory for defensive rebounds (9,482).

[EricaLubarsky]

If Dirk plays the remaining 76 games this season and averages 15.2 ppg, he'll pass Wilt and be #5 on the all-time scoring list (briefly)

He's currently only averaging 10, but had 13 and 14 the last two games.

[sefant77]

He wont pass Wilt this season. No way he averages 15.2 AND plays all games....he will be a few hundred short after this season

[Budapest Maverick]

Dirk might be done as an impact player. Last year he was definitely worse than ever before, but still had some good games. I feel this might be it. There is no shame in that btw., Wade was done like three years ago, for example. But anyway, no matter how badly Dirk plays, it will not diminish any of his triumphs.

[EricaLubarsky]

Yeah Dirk is done as a starter. Dude can still hit the three a la Peja, but he’s done as a starter

Unfortunately we don’t have much better youth to try. Powel is trash. Barnes isn’t a PF. Kleber was a borderline d-League Guy we signed as a favor to Dirk. DFS is a SF that can’t even get on the floor.

[BPo001]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Yeah Dirk is done as a starter. Dude can still hit the three a la Peja, but he’s done as a starter

Unfortunately we don’t have much better youth to try. Powel is trash. Barnes isn’t a PF. Kleber was a borderline d-League Guy we signed as a favor to Dirk. DFS is a SF that can’t even get on the floor.

I was hoping he would play and move well this year so he could pass Wilt on the all time scoring list, but I can see Dirk hanging them up after this year if he keeps playing like this.

[j0Shi]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Yeah Dirk is done as a starter. Dude can still hit the three a la Peja, but he’s done as a starter

Unfortunately we don’t have much better youth to try. Powel is trash. Barnes isn’t a PF. Kleber was a borderline d-League Guy we signed as a favor to Dirk. DFS is a SF that can’t even get on the floor.

Weirdly, Kleber leads the team in several advanced stat categories. Against limited sample and scrubs, but he should probably get more minutes.

[SMC0007]

Kleber should clearly be getting more minutes. Especially Dirks minutes. I love Dirk, absolutely love Dirk and it's not his fault but he needs a smaller role. For our sanity during these games and to see wtf we have going further into our rebuild.

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Unfortunately we don’t have much better youth to try. Powel is trash. Barnes isn’t a PF. Kleber was a borderline d-League Guy we signed as a favor to Dirk. DFS is a SF that can’t even get on the floor.

Dirk told that the Kleber signing had nothing to do with him

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Dirk told that the Kleber signing had nothing to do with him

Suuuuuuure

[Skywalker]

Dirk has been working with Shammgod, apparently, and it's paying off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p4fobsyOh0

lol

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by Skywalker

Dirk has been working with Shammgod, apparently, and it's paying off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p4fobsyOh0

lol

He’s going to break some ankles with that one. Hopefully not his own

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Suuuuuuure

They didnt know personally before, wasnt friends...never met before Dallas (just this fan picture Kleber took with him at age 12)

[BPo001]

This is great. Where do I sign up?
https://www.facebook.com/dallasmavs/...9428600855461/

[Underdog]

Just passed Hakeem for #8 all-time in field goals made...

[Murphy3]

After a bad first 4 games, Dirk's really starting to fall in line statistically with where he has been throughout his career shooting the ball. It's good to see that he can still be an impact player. Obviously, he isn't what he was, but could be an important piece if this team was worth a crap.

[dongtouch]

I had hoped Dirk would be able to average around 15ppg this season and catch Wilt but it doesn't look like it'll happen.
Given his mobility, I hope this is his last season.

If he does play one more, he'll likely be able to catch Wilt by averaging just 8ppg but I prefer to see Dirk retire while still he's still able to contribute (not like what Vince is doing now or Pierce did last season).

[sefant77]

Lebron is going to catch Wilt probably before Dirk...and Dirk wont play all remaining games scoring 15PPG

[NeedlesKane]

I just read that Dirk is now the most effective screener in the league. How about that? 1.03 points per screen has him ranked in 1st.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by NeedlesKane

I just read that Dirk is now the most effective screener in the league. How about that? 1.03 points per screen has him ranked in 1st.

At least there is one benefit to being an unmovable object.

[Underdog]

@MavsDraft: A fun stat about how great Dirk is:

Despite being labeled a bad defender by many (which wasn't true until the last couple of seasons), he's only had a negative net rating (DRTG> ORTG) twice- his rookie year (95 ORTG 104 DRTG) and last year (103 ORTG 106 DRTG)

[Scoobay]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qDwGKvN9D0

Dirk does the Shamgod crossover... classic.

[Underdog]

@espn_macmahon: List of dudes who had at least 18 points and 3 blocks in a game at 39+: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Robert Parish, Karl Malone ... and now Dirk Nowitzki.

[Luke]

Interesting. Mavs with a higher ORtg than DRtg this year (minimum 100 minutes)
Dirk
Kleber
Mejri
Noel
Powell

[Underdog]

@Mavs_FFL: KD notices how much MFFLs love the big German: “The love Dirk Nowitzki gets from fans in Dallas is unmatched in the NBA”

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Underdog

@Mavs_FFL: KD notices how much MFFLs love the big German: “The love Dirk Nowitzki gets from fans in Dallas is unmatched in the NBA”

He has always shown as much as if not more respect than anyone else in the NBA for Uber. I hope people have finished unfairly trashing him for joining the Warriors...esp with chuck it up Westbrook not changing his ways.

[sefant77]

The cupcake said after joining the Warriors "this is the hardest road to a championship" and thats a freaking joke and disrespectful to a title grinder like Dirk.

[Luke]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

He has always shown as much as if not more respect than anyone else in the NBA for Uber. I hope people have finished unfairly trashing him for joining the Warriors...esp with chuck it up Westbrook not changing his ways.

He is a pansy for joining the Warriors.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

He has always shown as much as if not more respect than anyone else in the NBA for Uber. I hope people have finished unfairly trashing him for joining the Warriors...esp with chuck it up Westbrook not changing his ways.

Unfairly? Didn't he almost single handedly choke away a 3-1 series lead to gs and then jump on their bandwagon?

I'm in f Durant boat.. idc what he says about Dirk

[Bryan_Wilson]

I honestly don't blame him for going to the Warriors. He was with the ultimate ball stopper in RWB. He himself was also a ball stopper, he left and joined a team that shared the ball and everyone is constantly moving and not watching him and waiting for him to do something. He may not have had a huge grind like Dirk for his ring but If he was going to leave the only other places that had a real offer for him were Rockettes and Boston. No reason to dissect why Houston would be a bad idea, and Jerry West sold him on refining his overall game. He's done that in a huge way so far by being a pretty big defensive presence for them. And if we are going to discredit someone for not grinding like Dirk almost everyone will fall short as far as I'm concerned.

Was he supposed to join a shit team and prove he can carry a team on his own? Or stay with the ball stopper RWB and OKC's total lack of finding a real coach? Neither coach they have had has implemented any kind of ball sharing system. It's major iso ball nearly every possession.

[EricaLubarsky]

I gotta say

Can’t blame Durant for ditching Westbrook
I can blame him for going GSW

[mac222b]

He could have gone East to Boston, Washington, Toronto. Winning a title with those teams would’ve been more impressive. But I can understand the appeal of GSW, obviously. Doesn’t change the fact that it was definitely cupcake-y though

[DevinHarriswillstart]

You're not going to make a lateral or lesser move after what OKC had accomplished. That's not how life works when your goal is to win a championship in today's NBA. And you could just as easily trash that decision in ten different ways. Trying to make the road "harder" because it will mean more is pretty ridiculous when you think about it logically.

But we should refrain from derailing the Dirk is great thread.

[EricaLubarsky]

Thing that annoys me more is that Durant admires Dirk for having such a devoted fanbase, but it's not something that magically happened. It took hard work, loyalty, determination, and surviving through some terrible years for the franchise. He stuck with the same team for 19 years despite occasionally having a terrible supporting cast and lockerroom cancers. He didn't bolt when the going got tough and barely even complained. He became the franchise's leader instead of looking at his teammates and deciding to split. That's how you become a god in the eyes of a franchise.

Just like people say "oh, well Dirk has one championship and so-and-so has two" but they don't talk about the years of devotion and the lack of a second superstar that Dirk had. He got his championship the hardest way possible. Not by peacing out on his team and joining a super team.

[saclare]

Dirk is Great.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Thing that annoys me more is that Durant admires Dirk for having such a devoted fanbase, but it's not something that magically happened. It took hard work, loyalty, determination, and surviving through some terrible years for the franchise. He stuck with the same team for 19 years despite occasionally having a terrible supporting cast and lockerroom cancers. He didn't bolt when the going got tough and barely even complained. He became the franchise's leader instead of looking at his teammates and deciding to split. That's how you become a god in the eyes of a franchise.

Just like people say "oh, well Dirk has one championship and so-and-so has two" but they don't talk about the years of devotion and the lack of a second superstar that Dirk had. He got his championship the hardest way possible. Not by peacing out on his team and joining a super team.

This.

Originally Posted by saclare

Dirk is Great.

And this.