Those who have been vying for elbow room aboard the Dirk Nowitzki Xpress seem to believe the sweet-shooting German has somehow morphed from a garden variety All Star to an elite franchise player in just a few weeks.
His history shows the only thing that has changed is the lens color of the observer -- you.
Perception can be a powerful force in all walks of life, but it influences our view of sports to a disproportionate degree. So for those who are convinced this is the year we’re finally watching Dirk turn the proverbial corner as he leads the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, here’s a news flash … the guy has been great for a long time.
Great as in Top 5 in the league over the past decade, hands down. Of course, the knock on the Dallas Mavericks forward long has been that dreaded “soft” label that we so eagerly assign star players who fail to win a championship.
That, and the fact that he’s a mild-mannered, European player from a small-market team, can’t help but cloud our already omnipresent biases.
For a long time, the general knock on Nowitzki generally centered on the notion that he had some novelty appeal as a 7-footer who can knock down fadeaway 20-footers on his tiptoes, but that the shaggy-haired, wiry forward tends to wither come crunch time.
And this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, Dirk’s numbers suggests he thrives in the postseason. In the past 10 years, he has regular-season averages of 25 points and 9 rebounds per game, while his postseason averages are 26 points and 10 rebounds. He’s posting 28.4 points and 7.5 boards in this postseason.
Blaming Dirk for the Mavericks’ misfortunes in the 2006 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, in which they lost a 2-0 series lead and dropped four straight, is akin to an Andrew Bynum-type forearm in the crosswalk in front of the Mavericks’ speeding, brake-less team bus.
Again, the history book suggests the outcome had as much to do with fortitude and wherewithal on the part of Dwyane Wade and the Heat as it was any sort of collapse by Dirk and the Mavs.
Three of the final four games were decided by three points or fewer, including a 101-100 Miami win in Game 5. Nowitzki scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in Dallas’ 95-92 Game 6 loss, which gave the Heat the coveted title.
You can point to any number of reasons for the Mavs’ downfall in the past decade. Coaching was at least part of the problem; Don Nelson’s high-wire act was fun to watch but was never going to win consistently at a high level, and the team tuned out Avery Johnson after one season. Rick Carlisle’s hard-nosed approach was a needed change of pace for the franchise.
Moreover, Nowitzki and Steve Nash always struggled to coexist and co-top dogs of the franchise. He’s better off alongside an aging Jason Kidd, who has never minded his role as a facilitator, and a guy like Jason Terry, who thrives as an underrated sidekick.
Keep in mind that the 2006 NBA Finals was the only championship matchup of the decade that did not involve the Los Angeles Lakers or San Antonio Spurs, so shifting the balance of power, even for a year, was no easy task.
For perspective, the 2007-’08 Phoenix Suns team that featured Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion and Shaquille O’Neal didn’t even make it out of the first round. They were hammered 4-1 by the Spurs, and yet somehow Nash and Stoudemire eluded the “soft” label.
Fast forward to this year’s playoffs and, on our days off from Hating Or Loving Lebron Ad nauseum – HOLLA! – as the Heat obliterated their Eastern Conference rivals, many of us have turned our attention to and put our support behind Dirk, whom we’ve finally deemed worthy as a championship-caliber player and leader.
So as you watch Nowitzki’s journey continue in the NBA Finals rematch against Miami, just try to remember: You’ve actually seen this all before, you just weren’t wearing the correct lens.
Those who have been vying for elbow room aboard the Dirk Nowitzki Xpress seem to believe the sweet-shooting German has somehow morphed from a garden variety All Star to an elite franchise player in just a few weeks.
His history shows the only thing that has changed is the lens color of the observer -- you.
Perception can be a powerful force in all walks of life, but it influences our view of sports to a disproportionate degree. So for those who are convinced this is the year we’re finally watching Dirk turn the proverbial corner as he leads the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, here’s a news flash … the guy has been great for a long time.
Great as in Top 5 in the league over the past decade, hands down. Of course, the knock on the Dallas Mavericks forward long has been that dreaded “soft” label that we so eagerly assign star players who fail to win a championship.
That, and the fact that he’s a mild-mannered, European player from a small-market team, can’t help but cloud our already omnipresent biases.
For a long time, the general knock on Nowitzki generally centered on the notion that he had some novelty appeal as a 7-footer who can knock down fadeaway 20-footers on his tiptoes, but that the shaggy-haired, wiry forward tends to wither come crunch time.
And this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, Dirk’s numbers suggests he thrives in the postseason. In the past 10 years, he has regular-season averages of 25 points and 9 rebounds per game, while his postseason averages are 26 points and 10 rebounds. He’s posting 28.4 points and 7.5 boards in this postseason.
Blaming Dirk for the Mavericks’ misfortunes in the 2006 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, in which they lost a 2-0 series lead and dropped four straight, is akin to an Andrew Bynum-type forearm in the crosswalk in front of the Mavericks’ speeding, brake-less team bus.
Again, the history book suggests the outcome had as much to do with fortitude and wherewithal on the part of Dwyane Wade and the Heat as it was any sort of collapse by Dirk and the Mavs.
Three of the final four games were decided by three points or fewer, including a 101-100 Miami win in Game 5. Nowitzki scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in Dallas’ 95-92 Game 6 loss, which gave the Heat the coveted title.
You can point to any number of reasons for the Mavs’ downfall in the past decade. Coaching was at least part of the problem; Don Nelson’s high-wire act was fun to watch but was never going to win consistently at a high level, and the team tuned out Avery Johnson after one season. Rick Carlisle’s hard-nosed approach was a needed change of pace for the franchise.
Moreover, Nowitzki and Steve Nash always struggled to coexist and co-top dogs of the franchise. He’s better off alongside an aging Jason Kidd, who has never minded his role as a facilitator, and a guy like Jason Terry, who thrives as an underrated sidekick.
Keep in mind that the 2006 NBA Finals was the only championship matchup of the decade that did not involve the Los Angeles Lakers or San Antonio Spurs, so shifting the balance of power, even for a year, was no easy task.
For perspective, the 2007-’08 Phoenix Suns team that featured Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion and Shaquille O’Neal didn’t even make it out of the first round. They were hammered 4-1 by the Spurs, and yet somehow Nash and Stoudemire eluded the “soft” label.
Fast forward to this year’s playoffs and, on our days off from Hating Or Loving Lebron Ad nauseum – HOLLA! – as the Heat obliterated their Eastern Conference rivals, many of us have turned our attention to and put our support behind Dirk, whom we’ve finally deemed worthy as a championship-caliber player and leader.
So as you watch Nowitzki’s journey continue in the NBA Finals rematch against Miami, just try to remember: You’ve actually seen this all before, you just weren’t wearing the correct lens.
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