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Awesome thread. I'll always refer to the 2006 Mavs as NBA champs. the Dirk haters, he's our finals MVP.
Today marks the 3 year anniversary of the worst call in the history of the NBA. the NBA temporarily died at this point, when an unjustified champion was crowd due to obvious one sided officiating, but luckily was rejuvenated with an infusion of young superstar talent and emergence of big market teams such as the Lakers and Celtics.
The beloved Mavs, up 1 in a critical game 5 against the Miami Cheat, Cheat ball. D-Whistle aimlessly drives to the basket, probably carrying/traveling along the way, and gets bailed out by a phantom call with 1.9 seconds left, the call made by one of the worst officials in the league, Bennett Salvatore.
The preceding play before this was Dirk's brilliant shot over Shaq. A shot that would live in infamy if not for the worst call in history.
The Heat won this game and after a similarly poorly officiated game in Dallas, won the NBA Championship.
Wouldn't it have been a beautiful story? A lone superstar, an unconventional foreign power forward, guiding a young, deep talented team to a championship? With a game 7 win on the defending champs home court, a 50 point performance in Game 5 against the Suns, and his beautiful shot to give the Mavs a 3-2 lead with 2 games left @ home?
Instead we get a primadonna wheelchair and his group of veteran washed up assholes celebrating at the AAC. Indeed I must say, there is no God that this was allowed to happen by Salvatore.
The call in all likelihood has caused Dirk to be considered a "choker", "soft"... and I swear it, I've seen figureheads in the past suggest Terry or Howard are the best player on the Mavs. I swear to ing God I've seen it.
It will now be said, Dirk was never capable of leading a team to a le, he was just an overachieving Robin. Indeed it would be blasphemous if not for the worst call in Finals history.
In reality, Dirk is considered soft because of his humility and skin color. Dirk is considered a choker due to xenophobia.
But let us not dwell and mourn, let us take this time to appreciate the best European player of all time and the best power forward in the game. I think the Mav nation takes beloved Dirk for granted sometimes... after all, I've seen mono suggest trading him in packages for unproven scrubs like Anthony Randolph and Tyrus Thomas, I've seen mavsfan1000 suggest Josh Howard is the best player on the Mavs, I've seen some other sucker compare Dirk Nowitzki to Allen Iverson with regard to impact on game being less than stats. Did you guys know Dirk has made all-NBA team the past 9 times? Kobe and Duncan are the only other 2 who have done that. Pretty impressive feat by our beloved German. And they will say, but Kobe/Duncan have rings... and we will say, if you say that, fine... but be aware of the cir stances that robbed Dirk of a ring. and keep that in mind in your criticism of him.
I don't wanna focus on the heartbreak, let's just enjoy the good times this generation of men in blue have had. And God willing, Dirk's dream of an NBA championship, a dream that should have been fulfilled 3 years ago will be fulfilled with our MEN in blue in the near future.
If you're still mourning:
And here's a little prayer I made up:
Diiiiiiirk has dieeeeeeed
Diiiiiirk has riseeeeeen
Diiiiiirk will come agaiiiiiin
Awesome thread. I'll always refer to the 2006 Mavs as NBA champs. the Dirk haters, he's our finals MVP.
This thread rants louder than any condemn against the Miami Cheat. If there was a presidential campaign in the Mavs Nation, I would definitely give my votes to Ghazi's team. No matter who are possessing the rings and O'Brien cup, I still and will forever consider the Mavs as the champions of 06.
I would say this thread has some merit, as far as Dirk being unfairly labeled a choker....but he proved that he was in the following playoffs when he was basically running from the ball against the Warriors. Do you not recall the flameout that year, where his coach was basically saying you can't be a scary ass and be a leader?
And the Game 7 win in SA was more about Manu being a dumbass. The Spurs had that game won...but he was an idiot and comitted a touch foul.
Dirk gets too much hate. He's done a lot more in the playoffs in his career than Nash, Carmelo, Bosh, Amare, Arenas, TMAC, Yao, Paul, and many other players yet Dirk is always the one being called a choker.
I would like to think GS should be considered an exception to the rule rather than the rule itself.
The rule is that Dirk is a fine playoff performer. 25/11 averages, FG%/scoring average increasing in elimination games, undefeated in Game 7's, etc.
Yes, he doesn't have a ring. Let's keep in mind why though. BUt even then, any great player who hasn't won a ring should be considered a choker?
Choker is just a dumb term really. Intelligent basketball minds shouldn't use it in analysis of players.
Funny, they had an entire 5 minutes of overtime to correct that one mistake and still couldn't do it.
That, and the fact that... the refs called the foul on Manu (as they should have) but 4 seconds later they ignored Mavs hanging on to Tim's arms as he tried to dunk. Overtime.
...but it seems some Mavs has been on this...
My guess is that this particular Rocket fan is still bitter about that 40 point ass raping the Mavs gave the Rockets the last time those 2 teams met in a Game 7.
I thought Duncan fouling out after getting stepped on would have been a bad call, Refs were just making it up for you s.
Yeah if it wasn't for the refs & David Stern being in love with Mark Cuban and letting his team have every call in that series, the Spurs would have swept the Mavs.
Because we all know that all David Stern & the refs want is to make Mark Cuban happy.
It's because of how he flamed out in the biggest stage (similar to Karl Malone), and then he backed it up the following year by basically running from the ball for half the series against a #8 seed. You can't honestly tell me you watched the Mavs/Warriors series and didn't think Dirk was choking and basically running from the ball. What exactly should we call a player who wins the MVP by scoring 25 on 50% and 42% on threes and 90% on freebies, is on a team with the #1 record in ball and facing an 8 seed, and then does this in the postseason:
Game 1 - shot 4-16 in a loss at home, missed both 3's and 2 ft's
Game 3 - shot 7-16 in a loss on the road, missed his lone 3 and 2 ft's
Game 6 - shot 2-13 in an elimination game and is held to 8 freaking points
If that's not choking then I don't know what is. His own coach basically said "Baron Davis has a lot of heart, and I wish we had some of that on my team".
Cuban became disliked by Stern in part because of the way he acted towards officials that year. He was fined a great deal, but he got his money's worth out of that series. Y'all claim in a perfect world you would have won the 2006 Finals. In a perfect world, you wouldn't even have been in them.
No...just the ones who fail to bring it in the biggest moments. Using Karl Malone as an example again, he was also a great playoff performer, but he had 2 shots to win a ring and played below par on both occassions. When the games were the most important, he wilted. The same goes for Dirk in those 2 years. I normally don't like to throw the choke word around, but that display against the Warriors was one of the worst that I have seen from a franchise player. Dirk looked like he didn't even want to be out there.
Let's not turn this into a Spurs fans whining about '06 officiating thread.
This is a day of mourning for the Mavs nation, and at the same time, an appreciation of the greatest PF in the NBA today.
and KING MALAKI for the SECOND time, '07 Warriors series "should" be an EXCEPTION to the rule, not the rule itself. And can we disregard the fact that teh Warriors team was an 8 seed? That team wasn't "actually" a ing 8 seed.
Nope, not bitter. I have no problems admitting we got our asses kicked....no need for excuses. Maybe you should apply the same logic to admitting that Dirk failed you in 06 and 07....especially in 07.
Misinformed Comment Of The Night!
congratulations
I've had no problems admitting that. Maybe you should know who you're talking to before assuming that Ghazi and I share the same opinions on Dirk & the Mavericks.
I just find it funny how gleeful Rockets fans get when talking about Dirk being a choker. Forgetting of course, that they got absolutely murdered in a Game 7 by said choker. Forgetting that they have a choker of their own that makes Dirk look Robert Horry clutch in comparison. Or maybe they didn't forget, and they're just happy to call him a choker because they're bitter about how their own team has failed & choked.
*Cue bragging about their ty 15 year old les won when Jordan was playing baseball*
Why should it be an exception is my question? Players don't exactly get that many moments to be judged on, as far as if they are clutch or not. Now, I will admit that sometimes folks can unfairly be criticized for playing bad in one series (see David Robinson in 95), but on the flip side, we gladly anoit these guys as big-time players based on the same limited number of events (see Wade in 06, the Celtics after last year, etc).
When I think of Dirk in the postseason, that Warriors series is the first thing that comes to my head. Just like when I think of Karl Malone the first thing I see is him bricking those FT's in the Finals, or when I think of Magic it's the baby hook in 85, or when I think of Stockton it's the dagger he hit to send Utah to the Finals in 97, or when I see Robinson it's Hakeem drilling him in 95. Players don't get that many chances to show whether they have "it" or not.
Yes.
I still cry about it to this day.
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