The "Soft" Label

[MannyIsGod]

I hated for years that David Robinson had the "soft" label. When did David ever choke the way Dirk chokes year in and year out? Why doesn't the media stop fawning over this jump shooting goat and call him out for being the softest "superstar" this side of Kevin Garnett? You never hear shit from the same people who made a living out of talking shit about 2 time NBA champ David Robinson in a ridiculous manner. And David had to go up against one of the greatest centers of all time with teams that were no where near as talented as this years Mavericks team.

Game over Mavs fan. Dirk somehow managed to avoid labels after last years finals debacle but good luck avoiding it now. I thought nothing could top the excercise bike lines but I think from now on I'll just post this intead:


Dirk Nowitzki, PF 39 2-13 0-6 4-4 2 8 10 2 1 0 3 2 8

[baseline bum]

Nowitzki's legacy is done. This is what he will be forever remembered for.

[Nbadan]

Garnett and Nowitzki hmmmm.....

[WalterBenitez]

Dirk has no balls, period!

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Dirk has no balls, period!
Exactly, Cuban ate them.

[sabar]

Has to do with being a center which is supposed to dominate the paint and get bruised vs being a jump shooter.

I figure jump shooters are soft by default. Robinson was just a scapegoat, people needed to latch onto something to bash.

[BeerIsGood!]

Dirk isn't a natural leader, and I feel bad for him that people expect him to be. Dirk is Pippen, now he needs to play with a true star and leader in order to allow Dirk to play without the pressure. It's not a knock on him, I'd guess at least 98% of the people on this board aren't leaders either. probably close 100% - if they were leaders they'd be too busy to post here.

[timvp]

If Dirk wins MVP, they should just do away with the award. It'd be worthless.

[Testing]

People are too hard on Dirk. Yes he had a horrendous series, but credit Nellie and SJ defense for it. Where's the soft label on the rest of his teammates? none of whome showed up consistently in 6 games? Dirk didn't win the 67 games by himself.

People expect him to be something he's not and when he doesnt' meet that standard they call him out. Dirk is who he is: an incredible 7 footer with unlimited range, a sweet shot, and decent rebounder. Where was Avery this whole game teaching him/telling him to post up and take it to the rim?

[maxpower]

Dirk = MVP

most vanishing player.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

People are too hard on Dirk. Yes he had a horrendous series, but credit Nellie and SJ defense for it. Where's the soft label on the rest of his teammates? none of whome showed up consistently in 6 games? Dirk didn't win the 67 games by himself.

People expect him to be something he's not and when he doesnt' meet that standard they call him out. Dirk is who he is: an incredible 7 footer with unlimited range, a sweet shot, and decent rebounder. Where was Avery this whole game teaching him/telling him to post up and take it to the rim?

He didn't win 70 or 71, either.

D. Nowitzki 38 2-13 0-6 4-4 2 10 2 3 1 0 2 8

[Stahlkugeln]

Nein! Dirk's kugeln bist STAHL!

[L.I.T]

A 'franchise' player shouldn't put up the stats he did, and look as pathetic as he did. THAT was the softest, least clutch performance by a supposed big-time player in NBA history...hell I'm trying to think of another time a big-time player in any sport played that badly under the bright lights. Norman on the back 9 of Augusta? Elway in the Super Bowl in '90? Clijsters in grand slam finals? Scott Norwood in 91?

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

The Mavs were able to deflect a good deal of the blame for their failure last year onto the refs (whether or not that was true is for another thread) which bought Dirk's reputation some time. But while there's plenty of blame to spread around the Mavs the lion's share will land on Dirk, and rightfully so.

Game 6 alone was as bad as choking gets on an individual level. For the series on the whole the Mavs lacked leadership; leadership that the world was expecting Dirk to provide. If he bounces back from this I'll have some respect for him, but nothing I saw in this series would make me think that he could.

[samikeyp]

I still believe that anyone who puts in the hard work it takes to make it in the NBA and succeed at a superstar level is not soft....but like it or not, until he wins a title, Dirk will wear that collar.