Here's my take on Dirk in the 2004-05 season. His first season without Nash has been a mixed bag of good and bad things. Let's start with the good: -- He made First Team All-NBA which showed he has gained some media respect. -- He made the All-Star game again (4 straight, I think) which shows his popularity among fans. -- He was top 5 in the league in Points per Game (4th), Free Throw Attempts (5th), Defensive Rebounds Per Game (2nd), Points per 48 Minutes (4th), Efficiency Ranking (3rd), Free Throws Made (2nd), Defensive Rebounds (3rd), Total Points (5th), Free Throws per 48 Minutes (3rd), Total Efficiency Points (3rd), AND Efficiency Ranking per 48 Minutes (4th) -- He has career highs in Total Blocks, Total Points, Free Throws Attempted/Made and Total Assists. -- In the regular season, he showed that he can create his own shot by driving the ball to the basket, rather than just settling for the open jumper or fade away. Now the bad: -- He showed an inability to will his team to win in the play-offs. -- His leadership skills were questionable at best in the play-offs. -- His one-on-one defensive ability was still suspect whether in the post or especially out in space. Conclusion: He was able to elevate his game this year and receive some impressive accolades, however, when it really counted (as in the playoffs), he still fell woefully short. Even beyond statistics, Dirk has improved this year, but it still wasn't enough to move his team to the NBA Finals. Until he can change this, then he won't deserve any "superstar" designations. He is a good player that is getting better. He is leader in the making. He is all these things, but he is NOT "superstar". The question is will he ever be?
Dirk is a great player, but he needs to learn how to take advantage of his size more. This year in the playoffs, teams figured out that you can't match up against him with a PF or C. You have to put a SF on him. And it basically worked. Dirk is around 7'1, so he should have no problem posting up players like McGrady and Marion and just abusing them down low. That, more than anything else, is what he should work on for next year. Becoming a great low post player.
I think he had a great regular season, taking charge of the Mavs due to Nash's absence...I loved how he stopped settling for 3s so much and took it to the basket more...averaged 10 FTAs a game...however, in the playoffs, that all stopped...he rarely took advantage of smaller defenders on him, shot too many fadeaway and midrange jumpers and was subpar defensively...I dont think he's a franchise player...he needs another scorer with him; someone else who will take a lot of the pressure of off him or is willing to set him up...
I agree. Until Dirk can learn to exploit any match-up a team puts against him, then he will simply be a scorer and not a superstar. I also agree that he can't do it alone. Even Jordan needed Pippen to get to the championship and win consistently. So, needing an superstar-b is not a strike against him. Bottomline is that Dirk still needs to get better, and his team along with him for Dirk to be considered a superstar and for the Dallas Mavericks to become a champion.
