Nowitzki better against better defenders - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

kriD · 04-06-2006, 07:25 AM

Nowitzki better against better defenders

Avery lauds Dirk's increased desire to exploit mismatches

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

When Dirk Nowitzki rose above Sacramento's Ron Artest and swished an 18-foot jumper during the third quarter Tuesday night, it was like throwing a little holy water on a defensive demon.

One nuisance down. One to go.

Actually, more than one remains for Nowitzki to conquer. But when he got the best of Artest during the Mavericks' 127-101 victory, it served as the latest in a line of arguments that he's learning how to beat the conventional defense that teams throw at him, particularly in the playoffs.

Next up Friday in San Antonio is Bruce Bowen, another defender who's nearly half a foot shorter than Nowitzki. Whereas Artest never got close enough to get under Nowitzki's skin, Bowen no doubt will. And Bowen also has better help defenders behind him.

But Nowitzki has gained confidence in handling the smurfs that opponents regularly send at him. And that's part of why he's better at exploiting those mismatches.

"It's going to happen in the playoffs," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. "As we move forward, and especially in the playoffs, he's going to get their best defender. It'll be good to see if we've made some progress there. Last year, he was probably a 2 or 3 doing it. Now he's probably a 6 1/2. We need him to at least move to an 8 in terms of being comfortable down there, making stronger moves. He's a little more comfortable this year when he is double-teamed."

Nowitzki said the last two seasons have conditioned him to better deal with pesky defenders: "It's nothing we haven't seen before."

However, despite the improvement, Johnson is never satisfied. Although Nowitzki is producing better as a post-up player, Johnson said he can always be better. And looking the part is important, too.

"We're trying to get people to realize that even though he doesn't play exactly like Elton Brand or Tim Duncan or Karl Malone, that's OK," Johnson said. "His body's not built like those guys', but he still makes strong moves. And I don't know how much people are convinced of that yet. We hope he continues to get the respect."

No connection: Devin Harris has missed 13 consecutive games with a slow-to-heal strained left thigh, but the problem – which is in the quadriceps muscle – has not been complicated by the fact that Harris doesn't have a spleen.

"As it's been explained to me, the spleen produces red blood cells and makes a difference in fighting sickness and viruses," Harris said. "It takes me longer to get over the flu than most people.

"But as far as physical injuries, I don't think it makes a difference, from what they've told me."

Harris had his spleen removed after it ruptured in a fall on the basketball court in high school.

He still hopes to be ready for the final five games of the season.

Don't act your age: Assuming the Mavericks don't pick up a veteran power forward, Josh Powell may become an important cog in the playoffs. Nowitzki said there is one key for Powell to remember.

"He's got to come in and not play like a rookie for us," he said.

HexNBA · 04-06-2006, 08:06 AM

Yeah I was loving the moves against Artest. The multiple three point plays, and taking him to the hole at least once. I hope to see more of that on Friday.

sike · 04-06-2006, 08:42 AM

I say screw Duncan and take it to the rack...so what if he blocks your shot once.....what about the other 5 times you either get fouled or get to the bucket?

TheBlueVan · 04-06-2006, 12:38 PM

i would love to see dirk mix it up and nail a few jumpers over bowen then take him to the rack and slam it

then he should kick bowen the face next time down the court. the league doesnt care about that kind of stuff right?

Five-ofan · 04-06-2006, 05:19 PM

Umm i would love to see dirk go to the hole but planning on getting fouls called against tim duncan consistantly isnt a winning strategy.

Thespiralgoeson · 04-06-2006, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

Umm i would love to see dirk go to the hole but planning on getting fouls called against tim duncan consistantly isnt a winning strategy.

No it isn't, as we saw in the first round last year when he constantly attacked the rim, usually resulting in a missed shot and no foul. There's a very simple solution to playing against the Spurs. Damp or Diop (preferably Damp) needs to come out, set a pick for him, at which point Dirk shakes Bowen and takes the pull up jumper at the elbow. Duncan can't get out to him quick enough to really contest the shot. It won't work everytime, but more often than not Dirk will make the shot, or he'll get double teamed even before that, which of course opens up someone else. Run that play over and over again, and I guarantee Dirk will have no more problems with Bowen than he has with Juwan Howard.

dude1394 · 04-06-2006, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

No it isn't, as we saw in the first round last year when he constantly attacked the rim, usually resulting in a missed shot and no foul. There's a very simple solution to playing against the Spurs. Damp or Diop (preferably Damp) needs to come out, set a pick for him, at which point Dirk shakes Bowen and takes the pull up jumper at the elbow. Duncan can't get out to him quick enough to really contest the shot. It won't work everytime, but more often than not Dirk will make the shot, or he'll get double teamed even before that, which of course opens up someone else. Run that play over and over again, and I guarantee Dirk will have no more problems with Bowen than he has with Juwan Howard.

I believe it's going to be quite interesting when Timmah comes to double and josh or stack get behind him to dunk on his butt. I'm not sure if stackhouse starting is part of that, but I surely hope that duncan will have a tougher time guarding whomever is out there than he did griffin.

birdsanctuary · 04-06-2006, 07:51 PM

I truly believe the Mavs will beat SA tomorrow, I've got this feeling in my gut, and I've never had it before...

TheBlueVan · 04-06-2006, 10:05 PM

i had that feeling once, before a chemistry test. i got a C on it

Tokey41 · 04-07-2006, 12:04 AM

I love how they called the shorter defenders smurfs... I can see Bruce Bowen all painted in blue.

Five-ofan · 04-07-2006, 12:10 PM

One thing barkley was right about was if they are gonna put little people on dirk he HAS to go to the offensive boards. There is no way bowen should be able to keep him off the boards. Also as has been said ad naseum by kg in particular, they had no answer for the dirk jet pick and roll because bowen was so concerned about dirk that he couldnt help at all. The mavs have got to take advantage of that. A steady diet of pick and rolls should work. The scenario that spiral mentioned above is also another way to attack the d that the spurs are playing.