Who is the best comparison for Dirk Nowitzki? I know it's hard because no one has ever really played like he has, shooting 3s and fadeaway jumpers,especially at his height.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mavsfan1000 @ Mar 3 2007, 02:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Garnett's the closest I can think of. He doesn't have the dribble skills that Dirk has though.</div>Garnett is nothing like Dirk....at ALL. Dirk's game is basically all 10ft and out, jumpers, fadeaways, etc... Not to mention he is clutch. Garnett is more of a spotup midrange jumpshooter along with really athletic and good around rim. Plays better defense and rebounds better. KG is very agressive and passionate, while Dirk is a bit more relaxed and layed back. And I don't know where you get KG doesn't have Dirk's ballhandling skills....do you watch basketballa t all outside of the Mavs?Larry Bird was fairly similar to Dirk. Tall, great shooter, white, etc...
Dirk plays like nobody...and Bargnani does not play like Dirk...he shoots threes like Dirk, but that doesn't make him the same player.btw, KGs ballhandling is better than Dirks without a doubt.But if I had to pick somebody, it would be Adam Morrison. They actually play the same way and style, but Morrison is about 4 inches shorter. So my pick is Morrison.
you can't really compare dirk and bird because larry was 6'9 and dirk is 7'0. bird also was much more successful in his career and was better earlier on than dirk was. people say that bird passed better, but after this season I don' t think that should be said anymore because dirk has flirted with a triple double 4 or 5 times this year with pts, rbs, and assists.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (41nowitzness41 @ Mar 3 2007, 03:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>you can't really compare dirk and bird because larry was 6'9 and dirk is 7'0. bird also was much more successful in his career and was better earlier on than dirk was. people say that bird passed better, but after this season I don' t think that should be said anymore because dirk has flirted with a triple double 4 or 5 times this year with pts, rbs, and assists.</div>Yes I know his passing has improved a lot this year, but only flirting with triple doubles a few times this year shows why he ISN'T up to Larry Bird. He had 59 in his career...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Nitro1118 @ Mar 3 2007, 07:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Garnett is nothing like Dirk....at ALL. Dirk's game is basically all 10ft and out, jumpers, fadeaways, etc... Not to mention he is clutch. Garnett is more of a spotup midrange jumpshooter along with really athletic and good around rim. Plays better defense and rebounds better. KG is very agressive and passionate, while Dirk is a bit more relaxed and layed back. And I don't know where you get KG doesn't have Dirk's ballhandling skills....do you watch basketballa t all outside of the Mavs?Larry Bird was fairly similar to Dirk. Tall, great shooter, white, etc...</div>They both like the midrange fadeaway jumper but Garnett does it more Olajuwon style with his back to basket than fade. Dirk is like a point center. I'm sure KG has some dribbling skills but not at Dirk's level. He is more a catch and shoot with some midrange post moves. Yes Garnett is better on defense and rebounding but it's not that much different. I would give Dirk the slight edge but this one is really close. Before this year I would say Garnett has been clearly better.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chris @ Mar 3 2007, 02:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Yes I know his passing has improved a lot this year, but only flirting with triple doubles a few times this year shows why he ISN'T up to Larry Bird. He had 59 in his career...</div>Yeah, I know, that's why I said you couldn' t really compare these two because larry was much more well rounded and has won championships, something dirk has yet to do. Larry Bird also won the MVP several times as well.
If u look at Dirk in the early years him and Bargnani look alot of like with Bargnani being better.They have very simular games and as Bargs develops more you'll see.
Well I did a search of all the seasons in NBA history for other power forwards who averaged 30 mpg, 20 ppg, 9 rpg, 36% from three point line and 80% from the foul line and came up with:Larry BirdThat's the only guy who's ever hit the low ball estimates of Dirk's stats. However, I think some other kind of reasonable comparisons (not that I don't think dirk is sui generis) areolph Schayes - Could shoot well, rebound, score, as a power forwardKen Sears - Same as schayes for a limited amount of timeJerry Lucas - Many thought he had the best shot in the NBA despite being a power forward who could score and reboundRick Barry - Played PF in the ABA and fits the stats parameters I listed earlier. A great shooter who could also rebound.Neil Johnston - Could shoot well, rebound, and scoreTom Chambers - Could shoot, score, and rebound a bit at the power forward position.Rashard Lewis - Shooter, scorer, tall, can't rebound thoughChris Webber - Strong scorer, Rebounder, good passer, good shooterInterestingly enough, if you go to databasebasketball.com's similarity metric it has all the statistically similar players being swingmen (McGrady is the most statistically similar player to dirk). I think that since nobody is both the same position and plays the same as dirk, it's safe to say he's sui generis
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mavsfan1000 @ Mar 3 2007, 03:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>They both like the midrange fadeaway jumper but Garnett does it more Olajuwon style with his back to basket than fade. Dirk is like a point center. I'm sure KG has some dribbling skills but not at Dirk's level. He is more a catch and shoot with some midrange post moves. Yes Garnett is better on defense and rebounding but it's not that much different. I would give Dirk the slight edge but this one is really close. Before this year I would say Garnett has been clearly better.</div>KG is a FAR better rebounder and defender, there is no comparison there. Dirk is a much better jumpshooter, but KG is more athletic and can do more down low. KG is a lot more of a point center than Dirk, and has better ballhandling skills. He has had seasons of over 5APG, and one season of over 6APG, so you can't say Dirk is the passer KG is.41nowitzness41- I used Bird in temrs of who he plays like. I didn't think you meant who, in terms of talent and individual play he compares to.
What about Bob Mcadoo? I've heard people say dirk resembles him more than Bird. Is this true, I've never really seen him play or looked at his stats?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Nitro1118 @ Mar 3 2007, 08:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>KG is a FAR better rebounder and defender, there is no comparison there. Dirk is a much better jumpshooter, but KG is more athletic and can do more down low. KG is a lot more of a point center than Dirk, and has better ballhandling skills. He has had seasons of over 5APG, and one season of over 6APG, so you can't say Dirk is the passer KG is.41nowitzness41- I used Bird in temrs of who he plays like. I didn't think you meant who, in terms of talent and individual play he compares to.</div>I never said Dirk was the better passer. It could go either way on this. I think you are underrating Dirk's dribble skills though. KG is a great role player but as said before he isn't great being the main option on offense. He had his most success with Cassell taking most of the load on offense along with Sprewell. Dirk doesn't mind being the main man on offense and is willing to take over games in the 4th quarter unlike Garnett. Dirk is up to 10 rebounds on the second best rebounding team in the league and I've rarely had to complain about his defense this year. That's why I'll give Garnett the advantage on defense and rebounding but not as much as you say he has.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>What about Bob Mcadoo? I've heard people say dirk resembles him more than Bird. Is this true, I've never really seen him play or looked at his stats?</div>bob mcadoo had a good shot but not three point range. He was 3 for 27 for his career on three pointers. From the foul line he was a 75% shooter, shooting as low as 65% some seasons. However it's tough to even compare McAdoo to himself because he was so inconsistent. He was a 35-15-3 player some years and a 10-4-1 injury prone player while he was still at the age that most people would be in their prime.
You really can't compare Bird and Dirk. Apart from the position, height and shot, they're not very similar to each other. Bird was more aggressive and is the better player.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mavsfan1000 @ Mar 3 2007, 03:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I never said Dirk was the better passer. It could go either way on this. I think you are underrating Dirk's dribble skills though. KG is a great role player but as said before he isn't great being the main option on offense. He had his most success with Cassell taking most of the load on offense along with Sprewell. Dirk doesn't mind being the main man on offense and is willing to take over games in the 4th quarter unlike Garnett. Dirk is up to 10 rebounds on the second best rebounding team in the league and I've rarely had to complain about his defense this year. That's why I'll give Garnett the advantage on defense and rebounding but not as much as you say he has.</div>In 02-02/03-04 he averavaged 24/14/6/2 on 50% shooting. He has had to carry the load his whole career, but all but one year did he have enough of a supporting cast to get anything done. The 2nd option was hurt in the WCF, and they ran into the Kobe/Shaq train. But KG can definately carry the load offensively. Unfortunately he hasn't been blessed with the ownership, coaching, manangement and surrounding players that Dirk has been blessed with.Ok...Dirk is up to 10RPG, yet KG, in a down year for him rebounding wise, is at 13RPG. KG is a much better rebounder and defender.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (WizGM @ Mar 3 2007, 02:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If u look at Dirk in the early years him and Bargnani look alot of like with Bargnani being better.They have very simular games and as Bargs develops more you'll see.</div>Bargnani also entered the league at age 21 while Dirk entered the league at 18...Dirk's stats when he was 2121.8 ppg/9.2 rpg/1.2 bpg/1 spg/2.1 apgBargnani's stats at age 2111.1 ppg/3.8 rpg/0.8 bpg/0.4 spg/0.8 apgSeems like your statement is false my friend...
