Is this Big Three perhaps better than the one that was here before? Dirk, Howard, Terry vs. Dirk, Nash, FinleyNow in a lot of ways, I will say yes. I'm the kind of guy that looks more into wins than stats. Stats are nice, but the only one that matters is the Win-Loss column. This group might not put up the gawdy numbers like the Nash/Dirk/Finley did, but they also didnt get us to the NBA Finals. I say when its said and done, this three will be regarded as the better of the two.
TIME TO ANALYZE:New Dirk vs. Old Dirk - The obvious matchup... he's the same damn person, for Pete's sake! Dirk now is much matured and improved from then. The biggest improvements are being able to take fewer threes and going in for closer shots and also being able to grab more rebounds.Advantage: New DirkJosh Howard vs. Michael Finley - I wouldn't say that they're a whole lot different. They certainly play different games, but their effect on the team is pretty similar. They have about the same inconsistency (in my opinion). I might give a slight advantage to JHo, simply because he's younger and can be a little bit more aggressive inside.Advantage: JHoJET vs. Nash - Hmm... it's hard to really compare them. They do different things. JET is more of a shooter, while Nash gets more assists and improves the guys around him. I'd say Nash is the better of the two for that last quality there, but JET holds his own.Advantage: NashChemistry: New Big 3 vs. Old Big 3 - I'd say the new big 3's chemistry is better. The problem with the old big three is that they would always go cold all at the same time... usually the playoffs. Dirk and Nash would get sick and Finley wasn't great enough to hold everything together. As long as the new big three doesn't shoot too many jumpers, they can get a lot further in the playoffs. Let's face it though, they're both really good.Advantage: New Big 3
Success wise, you have to give the edge to the new Big Three. Even though I think they need a new name. Big Three to me will always be Nash/Fin/Dirk. That was their niche. We could expand this topic and bring in the Three J's, who I feel if given the chance would have been successful. But Yeah, on the new name. When I watch this team, you could say Dirk/Howard/Terry are our top 3, but I see more then just those three opposed to the Nash/Fin/Dirk led squad. The 4th, 5th players(Harris, Damp) can make as much say for the top 3 then the past Big Three. Probably why I just don't see this as Big Three team.
True...this team is 5 or 6 quality players deep...when back in the older Mavs teams, it was 3 deep...with Van Excell to for a period
I actually think the old big 3 was better but this big 3 has a lot more variety to go with it. Harris, Dampier, and Diop all add something to this team. Mainly defense and rebounding which the old big 3 didn't have as much of.
I agree with Roc, this team is much deeper than the 02-03 team (the team I always think of when I think of the Big 3). It's Dirk, then Howard, then a bunch of very good players behind them, some of which (Jet, Stackhouse, Harris) are able to carry the team to tough victories every so often.
