<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Dirk got to the line over 9 times a game in the Finals. That doesn't sound like someone who's scared to take it to the rack.</div> A lot of those didn't come from him being aggressive though....they would either foul him on the turnaround or Dallas would be in the penalty....he looked timid down the stretch last night. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">You really put Dirk at the same level as them? </div> No, but dude is still a great player none the less.
Dude, he is a star. He is top 10 in the league easily. I bet 25 teams would love to have someone like Dirk on their team to build around. Heat, Lakers, Cavs, Spurs are some of the few that wouldn't. I mean 23 ppg and 11 rpg is a role player? That's news to me. He missed 1 FT to tie the game and 1 FT with like a minute-2 mins left that would have made it a 3 point game. Wade missed 2 FT's that could have cost the Heat the championship. You have to give props to the Heat for defending him, not many teams can stop Dirk the way that they did. They "shut him down", yet he avg 23 ppg and 11 rpg with only 2 Tpg. How many players can you say that about? To tell you the truth, I would much rather build my team around Dirk then Tmac. To say he's not someone to build your team around because of 1 series where he was "shutdown" while still scoring 23 ppg and grabbing 11 rpg is absolutely ridiculous. If anything that cements him as an even greater star that a team could shut him down and he still gets 23 and 11. He hit a bunch of clutch shots too. Yeah I would rather him of driven to the basket more than relying on his jump shot, but Haslem/Posey didn't let him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting THE DREAM:</div><div class="quote_post">A lot of those didn't come from him being aggressive though....they would either foul him on the turnaround or Dallas would be in the penalty....he looked timid down the stretch last night.</div> He didn't look like anything at all down the stretch. He touched it I think one time in the last 5 or 6 possessions. Jason Terry was a blackhole down the stretch. The one time he touched it he passed to Dampier. He had 2 guys on him with Dampier streaking towards the basket wide open and likely would have been a dunk. Unfortunately Dampier dropped it.
Dirk is a very soft defender. 7 footers should be able to play defense, and I think he is a liability to the Mavs on defense. Offensively he can be soft at times, and just settle for shooting jumpers, and fade away shots.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">To say he's not someone to build your team around because of 1 series where he was "shutdown" while still scoring 23 ppg and grabbing 11 rpg is absolutely ridiculous. If anything that cements him as an even greater star that a team could shut him down and he still gets 23 and 11. He hit a bunch of clutch shots too. Yeah I would rather him of driven to the basket more than relying on his jump shot, but Haslem/Posey didn't let him. </div> Dirk shot poor from the field and had a very subpar series...those numbers don't reflect how he played. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He didn't look like anything at all down the stretch. He touched it I think one time in the last 5 or 6 possessions. Jason Terry was a blackhole down the stretch. The one time he touched it he passed to Dampier. He had 2 guys on him with Dampier streaking towards the basket wide open and likely would have been a dunk. Unfortunately Dampier dropped it. </div> Yes Terry took some bad shots (as did Dirk and Dallas), but dude still looked tight down the stretch when he did have an opportunity to score (0 FG's in the 4th quarter of an elimination game??).....as a rockets fan I can honestly say I wouldn't want Dirk for Yao (because big men are so valuable) or Tmac (cause next to Bron, Kobe, and Wade he's the best perimeter guard/sf).....this isn't the first time where Dirk has choked under pressure, and I doubt it will be the last.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BlueBayou87:</div><div class="quote_post">You really put Dirk at the same level as them?</div> Of course not. But the reason has nothing to do with championships, or lack thereof.
Dirk is a great player but he is not at the level he needs or wants to be, he does not step up as the leader of this team. If he wants a ring he needs to step up and take charge of the team and show what he can do
The_Dream, where would you put Dirk as players in the league goes? btw, you guys are talking about Kobe not supposed to take the team to the playoffs or Lebron not supposed to be there in Round 2, how about Dirk? After losing Nash and Finley(2 out of the famed Big 3) no one expected them to be a contender and they were 2 games away from winning it all.
I read all the posts, I agree most with durvasa. Dirk is not soft, did you watch the Finals because he was driving a lot of plays, yes he did take jump shots, BUT mainly cuz he can hit them so why criticize him for taking a few? Dirk played well, it was a good series. I'm upset as hell the Mavs lost, I'm still shocked what happened. Terry wasn't hot and Josh was forcing shots... Marquis played well though.
Dirk is a top notch player IMO, if you want to say he's soft, I guess Duncan is soft for not getting his team pass Dirk's. These kind of threads piss me off, Miami was the better and more experienced team. The Mavs were just too young, give it up, Dirk was just outmatched. Mavs were a good team, don't get me wrong, but they weren't ready for this series IMO.
Dirk is not soft, but I was a little disappointed in his performance. He didn't have the one game in the Finals were he completely took over and dominated. All series long I was waiting for him to erupt against the Heat's defense and drop 50 on them. Dirk is very clutch, he was making tough shots in Game 5 and created a beautiful pass to Dampier for a flush. He missed a free throw down the stretch in Game 5, but it was just a bad break. It was a good shot, the ball just rolled out. If he short armed it or was tight on his release, then maybe you can label it as anti-clutch because nerves got the best of him. It was just a bad break. I still question Avery's decisions with the way he used Dirk. He counted on Dampier and Diop to hold their own against Shaq. All you're going to get from those two is one or two strong games and unfortunately those two were used up in the first two games of the series. After that you have to play the percentages and roll with your best 5 players. Avery played right into Miami's strengths trying to match up with Shaq, instead of taking advantage of his team's strengths, speed, depth, and athleticisim. Having Dampier on the floor allowed Shaq to cheat off him and seal off any penetration. The Heat were more than willing to let Dampier or Diop beat them and made sure to put them on the line if they got an open look. All series long Dallas could not get a defensive stop with these two on the court. Dallas should have turned this into a shootout with Miami because they had the edge in offensive weapons. It's how they beat the Spurs, why abandon that formula?
I think if the Mavs won the Finals, this thread wouldn't even be made. There probably would be a thread saying Dirk is a top 3 player. On the other hand there would be a thread made called Shaq washed up, Miami lost its only chance at the title. I think Dirk is still a great and totally rare player, and that he was a little below his Dirk numbers, but still played well. I think Miami was playing in a way that was making Dallas want to take a lot of perimeter shots.
Dirk = tough as nails. dont believe me? watch how he played in tnhe series against the Spurs, who are a much better team than the Heat. People forget that Dallas had a much tougher road to get to the finals and were probably a little more taxed than the heat by the time they got there. The only good team the heat had to beat was Detroit and Detroit didnt seem to be giving their all but for abouta 3rd of that series
I think Dirk is soft too. You see him whine and give his little temper tantrums all through the playoffs. He never comes through when the Mavs need him either.
EVERYONE whines and has little temper tantrums when they dont get the calls! EVERYONE! why do people always pick random players to harp on specificly about this? "He NEVER comes through when the Mavs need him?" AT you (not with you) Dirk's old fashioned three point play at the very end of regulation in game 7 agianst the Spurs was the single most clutch play of this postseason. you sir are sounding like a flat-out textbook "hater"
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting olskoolFunktitude:</div><div class="quote_post"> Dirk's old fashioned three point play at the very end of regulation in game 7 agianst the Spurs was the single most clutch play of this postseason. </div> Also he sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer against Memphis. He very nearly had the game winner in game 5 of the Finals.
Yeah i lost some respect for dirk in the finals. i actually believed going into them that dirk was arguably the best player int he legue he had the stats and record to back him up, but you dont get shut down by udonis haslem and james posey. The thing with dirk is he's a 7 footer but at time he plays like someone who's 6 feet tall which is good and bad.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Brasco:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah i lost some respect for dirk in the finals. i actually believed going into them that dirk was arguably the best player int he legue he had the stats and record to back him up, but you dont get shut down by udonis haslem and james posey. The thing with dirk is he's a 7 footer but at time he plays like someone who's 6 feet tall which is good and bad.</div> He didn't get shut down ... 23 points a game with 53% scoring efficiency isn't that bad. Much better, in fact, than what Duncan did the year before in the Finals when he won Finals MVP (21 ppg with 47% scoring efficiency). Dirk was the second best player in the Finals. Unfortunately for him, there was just too wide a gap between 1st and 2nd.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I read all the posts, I agree most with durvasa. Dirk is not soft, did you watch the Finals because he was driving a lot of plays, yes he did take jump shots, BUT mainly cuz he can hit them so why criticize him for taking a few? Dirk played well, it was a good series. I'm upset as hell the Mavs lost, I'm still shocked what happened. Terry wasn't hot and Josh was forcing shots... Marquis played well though.</div> Question is did you watch the finals....dude hardly ever took it to the bucket, and he shot a bad percentage from the field and a horrible percentage from the 3 point line, any 7 footer who doesn't take it to the paint and cracks under pressure on the biggest stage = soft in my books....and yes he lost Nash and a over the hill Finely, but he had Terry, Howard, Stackhouse, etc. also around him.....and imo they played well enough for them to win this series, but Dirk didn't play like he needed to, plain and simple <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I think if the Mavs won the Finals, this thread wouldn't even be made. There probably would be a thread saying Dirk is a top 3 player.</div> Yes "if"...."if" Dirk would've played like a superstar Dallas might have won....but that didn't happen....this is reality we're talking about....not if.
Doesn't seem like Dirk is ready for the big stage yet. He even admitted that he was nervous before Game 1 which led to his poor performance. However, he had a tremendous playoffs overall, especially against the Spurs. You can't call him soft if you watched the Spurs series. He took it to the paint, rebounded, made outside shots. Seems like he taking big step towards that other level. Just give him a little bit more time. Not every player will have the mentality of someone like Wade or Jordan in their first finals. Problem is Dirk wasn't there when Dallas needed him in the finals. If he played as well as he did in the previous three series, than this series would have looked a lot different.
