duncan228
04-26-2010, 10:21 PM
Time running out for Nowitzki's title hopes (http://www.statesman.com/sports/pro/time-running-out-for-nowitzkis-title-hopes-627443.html)
Cedric Golden, Commentary
Dirk Nowitzki's face was a mask of frustration on Sunday night.
The San Antonio Spurs had just taken a 3-1 lead over Dallas in their first-round playoff series, pushing the second-seeded Mavericks to the brink of elimination.
Nowitzki knows the undeniable truth that's pounding away at his furrowed brow.
"It's tough,'' he said after the 93-89 loss. "I'm not going to sit here and lie about that."
That truth hasn't become reality yet, but unless the Mavericks become just the ninth team to win a series after trailing 3-1 — 189 others have failed — Nowitzki will have to come to grips with his place in league history.
His words from nearly two weeks ago have taken on an ominous meaning when viewed through the lens of a nearly insurmountable playoff deficit.
"If you don't win it all, that's another lost opportunity. Another year of my prime gone,'' Nowitzki said to reporters. "So we've just got to go for it, get everybody on the same page and see what happens."
Translation? I'm 31 years old with 12 NBA seasons on the odometer. I'm not going to get any better at this point, so I had better lead this team to a title in the next couple of seasons.
If I don't, I'm basically the NBA version of Dan Marino, a prodigy who made it to the Super Bowl early in his career only to lose and never make it back.
Sadly, Nowitzki had his chance. The Mavericks were the best team in the NBA in 2006 and they proved it all the way up to the fourth quarter of Game 3 in the finals. Dallas was up 2-0 on Miami and thinking blowout with a 13-point fourth-quarter lead.
Then life happened, along with Dwyane Wade. Dallas didn't win another game and Nowitzki walked off his home court one week later as a runner-up.
It turns out those were the good ol' days.
It's difficult to envision his current group rallying to win three straight over the Spurs, then somehow pulling it together to make another run at a conference title.
Call it what it is: another Mavs playoff failure and yet another wound to the psyche of the franchise's greatest player.
As great as he has been, Nowitzki is on an unfortunate path to a ringless retirement. Unless the Mavericks find a fountain of youth somewhere in a conference filled with rising stars in Portland, Utah and Oklahoma City, their best player seems destined to join a club that's long on star power and short on hardware. There will be no induction ceremony and his entrance, upon retirement, will be conducted quietly with little fanfare.
It's called the One-and-Done Club, comprised of NBA greats that played in the championship series just once, only to fail in their only opportunity to win a ring.
Charles Barkley is a charter member. Arguably one of the three best power forwards to ever play the game, Chuck captured the 1993 league MVP award in leading the Phoenix Suns to a league-best 62-20 record and a Western Conference title. Barkley was a beast that year, but Michael Jordan was the beast. End of story.
Remember Reggie Miller? He's One-and-Done's shooting guard. Miller spent his long career torching the rival New York Knicks, while feuding with movie director Spike Lee. His one chance at history came in 2000 against the Shaq-Kobe Lakers. It went just as quickly, as the Pacers lost in six games.
At shooting guard, there's Allen Iverson, quite possibly the best little man the game has seen and definitely the greatest little man never to win a championship. His shot at glory ended courtesy of the Lakers, one year after Miller's Pacers came up short.
Patrick Ewing is the big man. His Knicks actually played in two finals (in 1994 and 1999), but Ewing missed the 1999 title series against the Spurs with an Achilles' injury. Because he played in only one finals — losing to Hakeem Olajuwon's Rockets — Ewing is granted admission to the group.
Just like Dirk, these four stars had championship talent, even if their careers are missing the one ingredient we all call up when debating which player was greater.
Nowitzki still has three or four good seasons left in him, but the chance to win a title has passed him by. So prepare to welcome him to the One-And-Done Club.
He'll fit in just fine.
Cedric Golden, Commentary
Dirk Nowitzki's face was a mask of frustration on Sunday night.
The San Antonio Spurs had just taken a 3-1 lead over Dallas in their first-round playoff series, pushing the second-seeded Mavericks to the brink of elimination.
Nowitzki knows the undeniable truth that's pounding away at his furrowed brow.
"It's tough,'' he said after the 93-89 loss. "I'm not going to sit here and lie about that."
That truth hasn't become reality yet, but unless the Mavericks become just the ninth team to win a series after trailing 3-1 — 189 others have failed — Nowitzki will have to come to grips with his place in league history.
His words from nearly two weeks ago have taken on an ominous meaning when viewed through the lens of a nearly insurmountable playoff deficit.
"If you don't win it all, that's another lost opportunity. Another year of my prime gone,'' Nowitzki said to reporters. "So we've just got to go for it, get everybody on the same page and see what happens."
Translation? I'm 31 years old with 12 NBA seasons on the odometer. I'm not going to get any better at this point, so I had better lead this team to a title in the next couple of seasons.
If I don't, I'm basically the NBA version of Dan Marino, a prodigy who made it to the Super Bowl early in his career only to lose and never make it back.
Sadly, Nowitzki had his chance. The Mavericks were the best team in the NBA in 2006 and they proved it all the way up to the fourth quarter of Game 3 in the finals. Dallas was up 2-0 on Miami and thinking blowout with a 13-point fourth-quarter lead.
Then life happened, along with Dwyane Wade. Dallas didn't win another game and Nowitzki walked off his home court one week later as a runner-up.
It turns out those were the good ol' days.
It's difficult to envision his current group rallying to win three straight over the Spurs, then somehow pulling it together to make another run at a conference title.
Call it what it is: another Mavs playoff failure and yet another wound to the psyche of the franchise's greatest player.
As great as he has been, Nowitzki is on an unfortunate path to a ringless retirement. Unless the Mavericks find a fountain of youth somewhere in a conference filled with rising stars in Portland, Utah and Oklahoma City, their best player seems destined to join a club that's long on star power and short on hardware. There will be no induction ceremony and his entrance, upon retirement, will be conducted quietly with little fanfare.
It's called the One-and-Done Club, comprised of NBA greats that played in the championship series just once, only to fail in their only opportunity to win a ring.
Charles Barkley is a charter member. Arguably one of the three best power forwards to ever play the game, Chuck captured the 1993 league MVP award in leading the Phoenix Suns to a league-best 62-20 record and a Western Conference title. Barkley was a beast that year, but Michael Jordan was the beast. End of story.
Remember Reggie Miller? He's One-and-Done's shooting guard. Miller spent his long career torching the rival New York Knicks, while feuding with movie director Spike Lee. His one chance at history came in 2000 against the Shaq-Kobe Lakers. It went just as quickly, as the Pacers lost in six games.
At shooting guard, there's Allen Iverson, quite possibly the best little man the game has seen and definitely the greatest little man never to win a championship. His shot at glory ended courtesy of the Lakers, one year after Miller's Pacers came up short.
Patrick Ewing is the big man. His Knicks actually played in two finals (in 1994 and 1999), but Ewing missed the 1999 title series against the Spurs with an Achilles' injury. Because he played in only one finals — losing to Hakeem Olajuwon's Rockets — Ewing is granted admission to the group.
Just like Dirk, these four stars had championship talent, even if their careers are missing the one ingredient we all call up when debating which player was greater.
Nowitzki still has three or four good seasons left in him, but the chance to win a title has passed him by. So prepare to welcome him to the One-And-Done Club.
He'll fit in just fine.