Put Tim on the Cavaliers, put LeBron on the Spurs, and explain to me how the result would have been any different.
Better yet, put Kobe on the Cavaliers and explain to me how the result would have been any different.
Or maybe LeBron sucks because he can't beat the best of San Antonio's championship teams all by himself.
I couldn't care less about Craig Smith, and he actually drew blood.
Last edited by Findog; 01-06-2009 at 07:07 PM.
Amen. Terry scored in Atlanta, but he did it shooting between 41-43%. That sucks. He's shot anywhere from 47-50% in Dallas.
you forgot to add the refs
??? You want to tell me that 26.8 ppg, 12.0 rpg and 4.0 apg are a piece of ? The whole team besides Dirk (you can add Bass as well) choked against the Hornets, but definitely not Dirk. He also had the highest PER in the playoffs last season -> Link
1- Kobe
2- Duncan
3- Wade
4- Pierce
5- KG
Refs? Ok I agree there were some calls in the Finals that maybe were questionable. But what about Dirk's shooting at less then 40 percent? Then how about the 1st round exits to Golden State and New Orleans? For some reason the Mavs have been owned by Guards the last 3 seasons in the playoffs.
...which clearely is Dirk's responsability!!!
Loooooong before that too. Know a guy named Steve Nash? Remember him getting his pushed in by Mike Bibby?
ballijauna's just mad Jerry Stackhouse has beaten the out of every player to put on a Jazz jersey.
Not saying checking guards is his responsbility. Just saying that when it counted in the 2006 Finals Dirk was M.I.A. That fact that Wade,Baron and Paul dominated the Mavs made Dirk's disappearing act all the more glaring. Like it or not the franchise player gets all the credit and the blame.
Yeah right. When's the last time Nash has taken blame from the media for failing every year?
He only shot poorly against Golden State. His Finals was actually quite good, but Wade's was greater. Against New Orleans, he was just as good as 2006.
If you want to detect a theme with Mav playoff failures, here it is:
2005 - Steve Nash (they also almost let T Mac out of the first round)
2006 - Dwyane Wade
2007 - Baron Davis
2008 - Chris Paul
Which, as was noted, is Dirk's defensive assignment.
Yes I know it sill happens but wan't Jason Terry supposed to improve on that?
uh no.
You obviously didn't watch that series. He was clutch in G5 and G6. Wade was just that much better. Take away the leeway Wade received from the refs and that Dirk did not get, their performances are pretty much a wash with each other.
And to answer Spur fan objections about how Dirk got "Wade" treatment in the semis, so did Duncan. Duncan lived at the line in that series.
Go look at games 5 and 6 again, the ones that decided the Finals.
Why is that since Wade, Baron, Paul WON against the mavs, it makes Dirk's dissapearing act even more glaring???? Wade and Paul are among the elite (top 5-6 players in the league) and Baron was playing just as well during those playoffs. That makes no sense at all.
He only shot poorly against Golden State. His Finals was actually quite good, but Wade's was greater. Against New Orleans, he was just as good as 2006.
If you want to detect a theme with Mav playoff failures, here it is:
2005 - Steve Nash (they also almost let T Mac out of the first round)
2006 - Dwyane Wade
2007 - Baron Davis
2008 - Chris Paul
Which, as was noted, is Dirk's defensive assignment.
Nash was not in Dallas for the 2005 playoffs.
Yes, the first team all-nba defensive player JET terry was supposed to change that....
And even if he did, how is that relevant when we are discussing Dirk?
He means a guard owning the Mavs again, just like in 04 and 02 by Mike Bibby by the way.
Obviously. Seems to be the only reason why he's bashing Dirk continuously. Moreover, he controverts himself all the time. On the one hand he called Dirk being soft, but how can such a "soft" guy shove Kirilenko and Harpring...? According to his opinion, Dirk should have started crying instead of shoving. Moreover, it seems that he forgot that one of the most dirty players ever within the NBA was on his team, namely Karl Malone. I do not want to know how many players he shoved onto the ground with injuries.
Dirk and KG are at the same level.
U still mad over Kirilenko and Harpring?
Edit: @ ballijuana: Well, I can understand you if you are pissed, because one of your players went down after a flagrant (Kirilenko). But even if you dislike a player, it should not be impossible to give someone the respect he deserves in terms of the game. It's the same with Malone. I don't think you can really say that he was such a nice guy on the court. If necessary, he was dirty as .
Although it shouldn't be a thread of Dirk vs. Garnett or about the thoughness of Dirk, I will add some lines about Dirk and how he's being treated sometimes (I wrote about it earlier around here). Because I'm pissed about the lack of respect he gets around the NBA, respectively from the media and the fans. Personally I do not have any problem to give other good players the respect they deserve, no matter on which team they are.
Of course, nobody has to be a fan of Dallas and it is okay to dislike a team, but at least you should be fair enough to give the players the respect they deserve. For instance, name me another 7-footer who has collected over 1,000 made-three-pointers?? There is no other. He's a 7-footer with the ability to launch a perimeter game. That's also one reason why he doesn't get so many boards on the offensive end like Garnett.
Dirk was, is and will always be mistreated by the fans and the media. He will never get the same credits like KB, LBJ, Duncan, Garnett or anyone else of the star-players, although he can play on the same level. Read for instance this article:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...BA-officiating
Citation: "What takes the hit is Dirk's FG%, because he is getting fouled repeatedly and not allowed to play his game. And the impact of this is huge. It allows one player to defend Dirk rather than double or triple teams, which impedes the offense and prevents the other Mavs from scoring.
And the way Kobe is officated does the complete opposite for his teammates. They are getting wide open three pointers constantly and layups because you need multiple defenders to defend Kobe, because unlike with Dirk, one guy isn't allowed to foul Kobe constantly."
Another one:
http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/200...opean-players/
Yes, and Dirk is always called a choker... The 2006 finals were the product of the dreams of Stern and Salvatore who wanted to have Wade as the next superstar. Point. Even T-Mac stated once (don't remember where I read that) that the refereeing in the finals was nothing but a big joke. Of course, it is easy to blame that on one player. Especially if he is not marketingable for the media like Dirk is.
There is another article to be found here. The part concerning the NBA Finals is in the upper third. Some parts out of this one (I put it here because then you don't have to search throughout the whole blog):
http://theabsolutebestblog.blogspot.com/
The Miami Heat have Dwyane Wade, one of the best players in the NBA and People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.” The Heat have Pat Riley, the championship-winning Head Coach. The Heat have Shaquille O’Neal, and while he definitely won’t be mistaken for De Niro, the Big Malapropism is still the NBA’s Fonz. And yes, the Heat have the bright lights and beautiful people of South Beach.
The Dallas Mavericks best player, Dirk Nowitzki, is a lanky German that resembles Scooby-Doo’s Shaggy. The Mavericks Head Coach, Avery Johnson, sounds like he just inhaled a balloon-full of helium. The Mavericks Owner, Mark Cuban, is an ex-computer geek so uncool he makes Technology Kip look Fonz-like. And once again, Dallas’ backdrop ain’t got jack on Miami’s.
Based on marketability, that’s an easy pick. Right?
That’s just the thing—you don’t pick in sports. Ever hear the expressions “let ‘em play” or “may the best man win?” Sure, they are trite, but they are also true. The reason we fell in love with sports in the first place is because sometimes History writes better storylines than we could ever conceive ourselves. I say let History pick up the quills and do its thing.
Unfortunately, NBA Commissioner David Stern doesn’t agree.
Not only has Stern and his regime favored the Heat during these NBA Finals because of the abovementioned reasons, but also because of his disdain for Cuban. Let’s just say that Cuban and Stern have had some tiffs in the past, usually over the policies of the league and the performance of its officials.
As a result of both the appeal of the Miami Heat and his hatred of Cuban, Stern seems -bent on making O’Neal and Wade Miami’s most popular duo since Vice’s Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs.
Since I’ve made the accusations, here is the evidence…
The Odds are Stack-ed Against ‘Em
In Game 4, Mavs G Jerry Stackhouse impeded what would have been an easy Shaq dunk with what used to be a "good, clean, hard foul." In fact, even the refs officiating the game didn’t believe that the foul was excessive. They only issued Stackhouse a Flagrant One foul. I think Wade’s knee-jerk reaction to mediate a potential fight made the foul look more severe than it actually was.
Stackhouse is a well-respected player that has been accused of being “soft,” but never, ever of being a bully. He simply wanted to keep Shaq, a horrendous free-throw shooter, from getting two easy points. That is no easy task. Stackhouse had no idea how hard he would have to contact Shaq in order to prevent an easy flush, so he went for the ball hard, getting a lot of body in the process. And when a 340 lb man hits the ground after running at full speed, it will always look bad.
Stackhouse’s one-game suspension is a joke. Sacramento Kings F Ron Artest, the NBA’s version of Mike Tyson, received a one-gamer for maliciously going after Manu Ginobli in a blowout. Heat F Udonis Haslem received a one-gamer for chucking his mouthpiece at a ref. Mavs G Jason Terry and Nuggets F Reggie Evans both received one-gamers for trying to rearrange their opponents man-atomy.
And Stack gets a one-game vacation for what used to be a “good, clean, hard foul?” This is simple—Stern saw his chance to aid the Heat in this series and pounced. Call me clinically insane, but I really believe that Stackhouse, possibly the NBA’s best sub, would have made a difference in the Mavs’ Game 5 101-100 OT loss to the Heat.
Dwyane’s World
Game 5 free-throw attempts: Dwayne Wade 25, Dallas Mavericks 24.
Now I understand team’s getting a call here and there at home, but this is getting re-freakin’-diculous. Wade is a damn good player, arguably as good as any in the league today. But all of a sudden the third-year marvel is getting treatment that I’m not even sure M.J. used to get back in the day. The most free throws that his Airness ever attempted during his prolific 15-year career was 27. The numbers just don’t add up.
To make matters worse, the refs handed Wade the game-winning points on a silver platter. First, it looked like there was a backcourt violation when he caught the inbounds pass with 9.1 seconds left in overtime. Second, even though he drew a foul on his drive to the hoop with 1.9 seconds remaining, it appeared that he was the one who was out of control. Wade even knocked Jason Terry down to the floor.
Nonetheless, despite both the apparent backcourt violation and the phantom foul, Wade was awarded two free throws. He calmly stepped up and knocked down both shots, giving the Heat the 101-100 victory.
Out Of Time?
The NBA and Game 5 refs Joey Crawford and Joe DeRosa stand by the claim that Mavs F Josh Howard boneheadedly burned the Mavs final timeout in-between Wade’s decisive free throws. Crawford says that Howard was looking right at DeRosa when he signaled “timeout.”
That is complete B.S.
Howard has vehemently denied this claim, saying that he “was looking straight at Coach" when he made the signal. I watched the entire game. It was obvious to me that Howard was communicating with Johnson over when to call the Mavs’ final timeout. I understand that Howard has to be more alert during late-game situations, but the refs also have to allow players to communicate with their coaches.
The refs jumped all over the Mavs communication breakdown. Although they won’t admit it, it was a subtle way to ensure Stern’s Game 5 objective—another Heat victory.
---
Yes, he had some downs in these games, but the major reason for the final result was biased officiating. How many people hacked Kobe after the loss the the celtics in June? Not as many as in Dirk's case. The Celtics were so strong etc... were the major reasons at this time. Kobe did not perform well, but there was not any bashing in the dimensions Dirk experienced two years ago. In 2007 he did not play well, that is right. No doubt about that. But every player can have a weak series (and in 2006 Dirk played very well until the finals and also in the first two games).
Dirk is not given the respect that most other stars would get with the same performance. But why? As written in that third article, he is a lanky, white, tall European-guy who is shooting the three and using the jumpshot. You have an owner that speaks his mind, and you have a nontraditional foreigner as your best player. Dirk ain't a screamer. Dirk ain't "tough." He has no street cred. He isn't a thug. He goes about his business the best he can. Dirk is "soft" and a "jump shooting big man". Dirk would never say that he's the best player in the world -> http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/wh...t-ar48724.html
Dirk doesn't get arrested and hasn't been accused of anything besides being in the gym too much. Dirk isn't going to give many hot-sports-opinions about other players or get in many fights. Who is his main rival? Who truly despises Dirk. Simply: That isn't sexy for the media and thus they don't favour him and many fans have a bad impression of him.
One of the biggest problems for Dirk is he has the best of both worlds in terms of his game, size and skills, but that in turn gets him the worst of both worlds in terms of officiating. Perimeter players get a lot of touch foul calls. Post players have to be hammered to get a call. The undeserved problem with Dirk is he is physically a post player but he has a perimeter game. A touch foul makes a bigger difference when you are trying to score from 15 feet away. Getting hammered 2 feet away from the basket has less of an effect on a player. To say it plain and simple, Dirk is ahead of his time.
And about a championship: There are players like Dirk, Malone, Barkley, Stockton, Ewing, Reggie etc... Those guys are/were good enough to win a ring, but they are/were victims of bad timing or bad overall teams.
I'm sorry for the very long post. But I had to add it into the discussion. Maybe some will write things like "whiner", "choker" "you are as gay as Nowitzki" after reading that post, but for me that only shows that those people cannot or do not want to argue. The influence of the media has already reached them...
Last edited by Sportstudi; 01-06-2009 at 07:57 PM.
Dirk shot 39% for the series including a 2 for 14 stinker in Game 4.
And Wade was also anonimous in Game 1 and not that much better in game 2. Did you watch Duncan's game 4 in the 05 Finals? Your point again?
Did you watch the ends of games 5 and 6?
Yes yes I know, Dirk is a soft choker, KG is tough, end of the argument.
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