Who is the best defender Dirk has faced 1on1?

[BUMP]

Dirk has that rare breed of size, quickness (for a 7 footer), and shot that makes him almost impossible to guard 1 on 1 . In your opinion who is the best at guarding Dirk 1on1 and if there is anybody, i guess historically, who has given him the most problems stat-wise?

Just by watching I'd have to say Varejao seems to give the most problems simply by getting physical with him and getting under his skin.

[pauls931]

I'd hardly call him quick, but his faceup shot is damned impossible to guard.

[Shastafarian]

His girlfriend's lawyer?

[BUMP]

I'd hardly call him quick, but his faceup shot is damned impossible to guard.

In a general sense no, but he's probably the quickest big man off the dribble

[doobs]

Stephen Jackson owned the shit outta him in 2007.

[fevertrees]

David West is the only person I can think of that has successfully pimped slapped him in a game.

[SenorSpur]

Rasheed Wallace and KG do an admirable job on him. Of course, no one is totally going to shut him down.

[SenorSpur]

Francisco Elson.

I mean that in a serious way too.

I was going to suggest Elson - but in a comical way.

I don't think us Spurs fans really ever got to see Elson assigned to Dirk for long stretches of time, when he was here.

[Double-Up]

Long and athletic SF's do the best job on him. I remember the 2005 Rockets vs Mavs matchup and yes I know we lost but during that series T-Mac/Ryan Bowen held Nowitzki to around 38% FG for the entire series.

[Shastafarian]

I hear if you manage to embed some of your teeth into his arm, he loses some shooting touch. Oh he also cries like a little girl.

[duhoh]

bowen

[stretch]

Rasheed Wallace and KG do an admirable job on him. Of course, no one is totally going to shut him down.

um no he torches them

when he wants to, no one has ever been able to guard Dirk as well as Lamar Odom

[stretch]

Stephen Jackson owned the shit outta him in 2007.

you mean Steven Jackson + the other 1 or 2 defenders that would run at dirk every time he touched the ball. steven jackson didnt do shit straight up, maybe one nice play here and there, but dirk was killed by quick double and triple teams, not jackson

[crc21209]

Dirk has that rare breed of size, quickness (for a 7 footer), and shot that makes him almost impossible to guard 1 on 1 . In your opinion who is the best at guarding Dirk 1on1 and if there is anybody, i guess historically, who has given him the most problems stat-wise?

Just by watching I'd have to say Varejao seems to give the most problems simply by getting physical with him and getting under his skin.

Somebody's all up on his jock...starting a thread to praise his skills...:lol

[BlackSwordsMan]

Hard to defend 17 foot fade away shoots

[Fpoonsie]

This guy is so ridiculously good. He keeps gettin beast-ier each year. He's the guy on the opposing team (and not many team's have this one guy) that, once the ball's in his hands, you just KNOW it's going in, so you all but give up hope once somebody feeds it to him. I threw up my hands each time he got it last night, even when he was in a bit of a slump, 'cause you KNEW he was gonna come out of it eventually...tha fucker.

Edit: Oh, and in response to the question, a 1on1 defender is so ineffective that I can't come up w/ a good answer. Stretch hit tha proverbial nail. The best guard against him is a quick double or trip team using long, athletic SFs.

...tha fucker.

[iggypop123]

Hard to defend 17 foot fade away shoots

[baseline bum]

Stephen Jackson by far.

[Findog]

David West is the only person I can think of that has successfully pimped slapped him in a game.

If you watched that series you'd know that Dirk made West his bitch.

[Findog]

Stephen Jackson by far.

with lots of help. Oh, I guess that would invalidate the answer then.

[Findog]

According to Dirk, the guy who has given him the most trouble 1 on 1 is Shawn Marion.

[Cleveland Steamer]

Just by watching I'd have to say Varejao seems to give the most problems simply by getting physical with him and getting under his skin.

this.

lock up the thread. it's over.

[ffadicted]

Marcus Haislip

[BUMP]

Stephen Jackson did a pretty good job but it was really Don Nelson's quick double and triple teams that shut him down.

It seems like Poppovich lately has been showing those effectively when it comes to defending the Mavs.

[daslicer]

Haslem and James Posey did pretty well against him in '06. I would say Stephen Jackson in '07. Rasheed Wallace very long, tall, and mobile gives him problems. Also I think KG probably has had good success against him due to his long frame.

[endrity]

Jackson, Matrix, even Bowen, were all figured out eventually by Dirk. Jackson was made to look amazing by the quick double teams and also the fact that both Stack and Jet had awful shooting series and couldn't take advantage of the space given to them. Dirk has easily torched him in some other games since then.

Historically the best against him, as I remember were the Pistons 0f 04-07. It wasn't really Wallace, I think he was too flat-footed or slow to follow him around the screens, but both Ben and Prince were tough on him. Ben was especially mobile, you knew Dirk wasn't backing him down, and he still had length to bother his shot. I think Dirk had some of the worst games for him during that period against them.

p.s to the people that think KG can defend him...:lmao. He has owned him one on one since the beginning of the decade. KG is mobile yes, but he is simply too uncomfortable having to follow Dirk around.

[BUMP]

Bowen did a great job on him in the playoffs as well.

By Bowen, I mean Ryan Bowen. That was his one job to frustrate the hell out of Dirk and he was able to do it most of the series.

[endrity]

Well Dirk killed him in game 7, and generally got better as the series went on in 06. Bowen was a pesk, but Dirk's free throw line post up was the way to counter what Bowen usually.

As for Ryan Bowen and the Rockets, don't forget that before in the year Dirk had 53 against them. But after Avery took over in 05, Dirk had a bit of a tough time adjusting. He didn't shoot particulary well even in the second round against the Suns, though he did win game 2 with some clutch shots in the end. I haven't seen Ryan Bowen ever be able to replicate his success against Dirk, so I am not sure he was much of a true Dirk-stopper.

[Double-Up]

Well Dirk killed him in game 7, and generally got better as the series went on in 06. Bowen was a pesk, but Dirk's free throw line post up was the way to counter what Bowen usually.

As for Ryan Bowen and the Rockets, don't forget that before in the year Dirk had 53 against them. But after Avery took over in 05, Dirk had a bit of a tough time adjusting. He didn't shoot particulary well even in the second round against the Suns, though he did win game 2 with some clutch shots in the end. I haven't seen Ryan Bowen ever be able to replicate his success against Dirk, so I am not sure he was much of a true Dirk-stopper.

Ummm....no.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200505070DAL.html

Dirk's stats from game 7 of that series: 14 points, .35 from the field, .66 from the FT line, and no 3pters.

[Findog]

Ummm....no.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200505070DAL.html

Dirk's stats from game 7 of that series: 14 points, .35 from the field, .66 from the FT line, and no 3pters.

Ummm....no

He's referring to Game 7 of the Spurs-Mavs series in 2006.


Well Dirk killed him in game 7, and generally got better as the series went on in 06. Bowen was a pesk, but Dirk's free throw line post up was the way to counter what Bowen usually.

As for Ryan Bowen and the Rockets,

[endrity]

Game 7 in 06, read what I wrote. I was referring to Bruce Bowen in the first line, on which Dirk had his amazing 37pts 15rebs performance plus the key basket of the game.

I admitted later that Dirk did not shoot well at all in 05, but given that he hasn't been able to replicate I don't think it is a big evidence of him being a stopper. Plus, going all crazy defense on Dirk gave Jet a lot, and I meat A LOT, of space during that series. If he did to the Warriors in 07 what he did to the Rox in 05, we might just have a ring now. But the Rox are one of the few teams that Jet is always ready to play.

[baseline bum]

with lots of help. Oh, I guess that would invalidate the answer then.

Lots of help from Dirk choking that series away?

[mavsfan1000]

Richard Jefferson, Haslem, Posey, Marion, Bowen, Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, and Artest. Basically SF's and athletic power forwards.

[Double-Up]

My fault. Either way my point still stands, long and athletic SF's have always given him trouble because he has no post game.

[endrity]

Dirk has more of a post game that Garnett has shown the last few years, that's for sure! The guy basically lives in the 10-12ft are nowadays.

[Double-Up]

Dirk has more of a post game that Garnett has shown the last few years, that's for sure! The guy basically lives in the 10-12ft are nowadays.

Yea nowadays is the key word. KG has a solid post game and can use it when needed kinda like Rasheed did during Detroit's title run.

[hitmanyr2k]

Wow, how is it no one mentioned Tracy McGrady in this thread? I know T-Mac doesn't play defense consistently and never has but he definitely locked Dirk up in the first round of the 2005 playoffs. That was about the only time I ever felt bad that T-Mac didn't get to the 2nd round because he put all effort into both ends of the floor showed that he could be an elite defender when he put his heart into it. Unfortunately that series was about the only time I ever saw him put that much effort into defense and it's also the worst I've ever seen Dirk play in a series.

Edit: Sorry Double-up...missed your response on the first page :lol

[Findog]

Lots of help from Dirk choking that series away?

I would say so. Pretty much every player scored below their season averages.

[Findog]

Wow, how is it no one mentioned Tracy McGrady in this thread? I know T-Mac doesn't play defense consistently and never has but he definitely locked Dirk up in the first round of the 2005 playoffs. That was about the only time I ever felt bad that T-Mac didn't get to the 2nd round because he put all effort into both ends of the floor showed that he could be an elite defender when he put his heart into it. Unfortunately that series was about the only time I ever saw him put that much effort into defense and it's also the worst I've ever seen Dirk play in a series.

Edit: Sorry Double-up...missed your response on the first page :lol

McGrady was a monster in that series. Dirk played far worse in that series that Dallas won than against Miami or Golden State.

[DPG21920]

I would say an Odom or Marion makes sense. It is hard to tell effectively because so many things have happened over the years.

But on another note, Dirk is not even close to the quickest big man off the dribble.

[mavsfan1000]

I would say an Odom or Marion makes sense. It is hard to tell effectively because so many things have happened over the years.

But on another note, Dirk is not even close to the quickest big man off the dribble.
Odom, Gasol, and Amare are probably the fastest. But jump shooting is very important as well. Otherwise teams can pack the paint. Dirk is good enough to make shots even when players are real close to him and can draw fouls that way as well due to being close. So yeah the jump shot is very important for a big man and for pretty much anyone that wants to be a big scorer. Shaq being the exception.

[DPG21920]

For sure. Dirk is easily the best offensive big man, I was just making a point about his quickness off the dribble that someone made earlier.

[endrity]

He isn't quick off the dribble, he barely dribles to begin with most of the time, though Dirk in his prime was pretty fast baseline to baseline (there are many youtube clips of him running the floor in his earlier days). He is agile, mobile, in a way unusual for a 7footer, he runs the floor and stops, turns, spins on a dime as if he was a guard, he moves through screens, fades away. Few big man, can replicate that sort of movement. It's not the typical athleticism, but it's a coordination and mobility that is simply rare. His secret is probably the hips, that's where most big man are far behind him in terms of mobility and coordination. And to me, that, more than his shooting prowess, is what truly makes him great.

[Mr.ChugDynasty]

Who the hell is Marcus Haislip?

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Francisco Elson.

I mean that in a serious way too.

Yeah, Elson had one game where he stopped Dirk. I remember that too.


David West is the only person I can think of that has successfully pimped slapped him in a game.

I've seen him shut Dirk down once, but not regularly.


This guy is so ridiculously good. He keeps gettin beast-ier each year. He's the guy on the opposing team (and not many team's have this one guy) that, once the ball's in his hands, you just KNOW it's going in, so you all but give up hope once somebody feeds it to him. I threw up my hands each time he got it last night, even when he was in a bit of a slump, 'cause you KNEW he was gonna come out of it eventually...tha fucker.

Edit: Oh, and in response to the question, a 1on1 defender is so ineffective that I can't come up w/ a good answer. Stretch hit tha proverbial nail. The best guard against him is a quick double or trip team using long, athletic SFs.

...tha fucker.

Have to agree with this. When he snapped out of that 3-16 slump with about 10mins ot go yesterday, I thought uh-oh. When he hit that first 3 a few minutes later on a secondary break we'd defended well until he popped up as the trailer, I knew we were fucked. :depressed

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I would say an Odom or Marion makes sense. It is hard to tell effectively because so many things have happened over the years.

But on another note, Dirk is not even close to the quickest big man off the dribble.

I reckon Nene would be up there.

[PGDynasty24]

odom does good on him. but dirk is going to get his shot off no matter who is guarding him,so its all on dirk

[NickiRasgo]

Earl Boykins.

[Allanon]

Klomar plays Dirk pretty good.

I think Kobe's scoring and Klomar's defense on Dirk are pretty much the reasons why the Lakers have done ok against the Mavs in recent years.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Malik Rose before he got really fat always did a good job on him. Idk why Posey hasn't been mentioned yet.