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"the chance to win a le has passed him by"
lol
Time running out for Nowitzki's le hopes
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 le 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 le.
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 le. 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 e 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 le 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 le has passed him by. So prepare to welcome him to the One-And-Done Club.
He'll fit in just fine.
"the chance to win a le has passed him by"
lol
Not likely, but still possible for a couple more seasons. It just depends on how they revamp the roster.
Jumpshooting teams dont win les.
..
Salvatore's whistle has tainted Dirk's legacy.
next year is the last shot for the mavs to do anything.
In 3 years, he'll only be 34 as Duncan is now. It's only fair to give him at least that much time. Dirk's said himself that he has about 3-4 good years still in him. The shooting touch won't go away with age, necessarily.
But that alone doesn't win you championships.
Dirk will be around a while. His game doesn't depend on athleticism and he hasn't shown the history of knee issues like Duncan yet.
Didn't need an article to tell us all what we already know.
dirk still has chance but he cant be the real option.he can be like garnett, just join 3 all stars in one team and win.
lol... in other words, Dirk is a 2nd-4th option at best. truer words have never been spoken.
sons I have said this many times before ... the ONLY chance Dirk has of ever winning a NBA championship is whenever he is 38 years old, signed for the league minimum, and cheering from the bench.
yes. its true. dirk is a jump shooter big man. only larry bird is successful like that. dirk tries but his fail lol.
Dirk will still be around until he's 38 years old and by that time, his game won't change dramatically. That's the beauty of Dirk's game that I always appreciate. He's tall, so he doesn't have to jump that high to release his shot, that means less wear and tear. He's 7-feet tall and yet he plays in the perimeter, again, less wear and tear. I think he's a young 31 in spite of all the games that he has played.
Dirk has no chance if Jason Kidd is still playing 35 mins per game in the regular season. His contract is too big to trade and he's exploited by most ballclubs in the playoffs. Too many quick and talented guards for his old and fatigued legs at the end of these heavy minute seasons.
Last edited by Cane; 04-27-2010 at 01:29 AM.
If you consider dirk to be a 2nd-4th option then there are maybe 2 or 3 1st options in the whole league(as far as scoring goes). Thats definitely not the problem. Wade isnt winning by himself in Miami too and he's gooooood, it's all about the supporting cast.
Teams with only 1 go to scorer dont win les.
The Mavs supporting cast including JKidd has been a huge dissapointment this year.
exactly, that's also why Larry Bird enjoyed a relatively long career as well.
He will never win with the mavettes. He should go somewhere else. It's a shame, just like Steve Nash. Great players, wrong teams.
Do not agree that its ALL about the supporting cast. The leader needs to do what he needs to do - excel and dominate. When the other team starts throwing double teams, the supporting cast then comes to play. I would say more of a 50-50 situation.
Before the playoffs, would you saying the same thing about the Mav's supporting cast ? Everyone is lauding Mav's depth and in fact, it is true that Mavs squad is stacked. So what is the problem?
Dirk is the problem here. He just does not have the leadership qualities and I dare say his overall game is lacking. MJ, Duncan and other championship-winning leading stars plays at both end. The teammates know they not only can count on them to score during crutch moments but also to get the necessary stop on the end. You don't get the same aura from Dirk.
Don't be mistaken. Dirk is an excellent offensive player that can get his points anytime but does not have the leadership abilities to provide the emotional support that the team needs at the low points. Mavs tried to fix that by bringing veterans do so but most unfortunately, it starts and ends with the superstar and in this case, Dirk quite simply does not have the quality to carry his team to the championship
Dirk should come to the Lakers and become the 2nd option he's supposed to be.
Imagine Dirk wearing a Spurs jersey. That would be sick
i think dirk can play till his 50....his fkn shot wont go away, even after 35 he can still join a team and just be a spot up shooter and play zone defense....his still a mixmatch nightmare for most teams anyway....
Dirk can come to San Antonio and replace Bonner. That'd be incredible.
It's possible if LA is willing to part with Walton and Sasha.
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