I can name 10 players more CLUTCH than Dirk

[monosylab1k]

If you think Golden State wouldn't improve on their record without Richardson, Jackson and Harrington available all year, then I don't know what to say.

With the constant possibility of mental implosion, I don't think that squad could have won much more than the 42 games.

And I think that makes alot more sense than saying a 67 win team couldn't match up to an 8 seed because of an injury to Erick Dampier.

[Findog]

I think it makes alot more sense than saying that a 67 win team couldn't match up to an 8 seed because of an injury to Erick Dampier.

If you lose your best interior defender, your team is going to suffer. Dampier > Dirk when it comes to stopping dribble penetration. Call him a vagina or overpaid or whatever, he is a good interior defender with a lousy offensive repertoire. A lot of those easy dunks and layups are going to be contested if he's healthy and playing.

With the constant possibility of mental implosion, I don't think that squad could have won much more than the 42 games.

Call me crazy, but adding Davis, Richardson, Jackson and Harrington to your roster makes you much better.

[monosylab1k]

If you lose your best interior defender, your team is going to suffer.

I didn't realize that Diop was out for that series.

[monosylab1k]

And I'm sorry, but it's just ABSOLUTELY LUDICROUS to suggest that a 67 win team can't beat an 8 seed because they don't have ERICK DAMPIER.

[Findog]

I didn't realize that Diop was out for that series.

He's only plays about 25 mpg because he doesn't have the stamina and hasn't learned how to stay out of foul trouble. Dirk played significant minutes at C in that series. Dirk can't guard 6'7 wings, how it played out was predictable.

[Findog]

And I'm sorry, but it's just ABSOLUTELY LUDICROUS to suggest that a 67 win team can't beat an 8 seed because they don't have ERICK DAMPIER.

I think it's absolutely ludicrous to think our interior defense doesn't suffer without him. I'm not saying he would've decisively swung the series, what I am saying is that forays into the paint become harder for Golden State. Also, you can't on one hand point to those 67 wins as meaningful and say that because of them, losing to the Warriors is unacceptable, and then on the other hand, say Dallas isn't as good as their record and they're not a typical 1 seed.

[monosylab1k]

I think it's absolutely ludicrous to think our interior defense doesn't suffer without him. I'm not saying he would've decisively swung the series, what I am saying is that forays into the paint become harder for Golden State.

We didn't lose that series in the paint. We lost it at the unprotected three point line. We lost in the paint on the offensive end, and that's a place where Dampier wouldn't have helped out anyways.

[Findog]

We didn't lose that series in the paint. We lost it at the unprotected three point line. We lost in the paint on the offensive end, and that's a place where Dampier wouldn't have helped out anyways.

I thought we lost it with Devin Harris and Jason Terry undersized and unable to keep Richardson and Davis in front of them, and nobody back to protect the rim from dribble penetration.

[monosylab1k]

Also, you can't on one hand point to those 67 wins as meaningful and say that because of them, losing to the Warriors is unacceptable, and then on the other hand, say Dallas isn't as good as their record and they're not a typical 1 seed.

I didn't do that. This was a 67 win team against a 42 win team. bottom line.

I was just saying that calling the Warriors better than a typical 42 win team was not true, and that IF you're going to say a team was playing "above" or "below" what their win total indicated, then you'd have to go with Dallas not playing as well as their record showed.

[Findog]

I didn't do that. This was a 67 win team against a 42 win team. bottom line.

Yes, quite the disparity in W-L records. Not that it tells the whole story.

[monosylab1k]

I thought we lost it with Devin Harris and Jason Terry undersized and unable to keep Richardson and Davis in front of them, and nobody back to protect the rim from dribble penetration.

i saw the team play alot better in the rare times that they defended the perimeter and let the Warriors do what they wanted in the paint. I'll take a Matt Barnes or Jason Richardson post move over a wide open, nobody within 5 feet of him, Stephen Jackson three pointer any day.

[monosylab1k]

Not that it tells the whole story.

It doesn't tell the whole story about Dallas.

[monosylab1k]

, Al Harrington was missing everything in the paint. Monta Ellis was a non factor with his penetration. Biedrins had limited success. Why not force the Warriors to go there instead of letting Richardson, Davis, Jackson, & Barnes keep throwing up uncontested threes?

[Findog]

Biedrins had limited success.

I could've sworn he did whatever he wanted in the paint. My recollection differs from yours.

[Findog]

It doesn't tell the whole story about Dallas.

FWIW, I don't think Dallas is as good as their record, given that their efficiency ratings, point differential, and other statistical categories were similar to the previous two seasons when they won 58 and 60, respectively. It's important to keep in mind that they were going all out all season long when a good 1/3 of the League was tanking for Oden.

And Golden State was better than their record due to injuries and a major talent infusion with the trade. So realistically, you're looking at a 58-60 win team losing to a team that probably would've won 50-53 games if it had been healthy and together all year long. It's still an upset, it's still disappointing and playing below capabilities, but I only object to the "GREATEST UPSET IN NBA HISTORY" meme. It will go down that way because of the W-L records, but based on the talent gap, it's not even close. I don't offer this as an excuse or a justification, just an explanation.

[monosylab1k]

The more I look at how that series, and the following one against Utah played out, the more I see the Warriors looking like a VERY average team with a VERY limited amount of "moves" to make in a series.

This series was lost by a combination of Maverick arrogance & sense of en lement (which definitely exists), lack of fight when things went wrong, and coaching blunders.

[Findog]

i saw the team play alot better in the rare times that they defended the perimeter and let the Warriors do what they wanted in the paint. I'll take a Matt Barnes or Jason Richardson post move over a wide open, nobody within 5 feet of him, Stephen Jackson three pointer any day.

There's some merit to this, but how is that Dirk's fault? Golden State hit all their jump shots against us. He sucked against Golden State, no question, he went from 25 and 12 in the regular season to 19 and 10 during the GS series. He deserves ample criticism for his performance. But it was a team failure, not just a Dirk failure. That's really the only thing I take issue with in the post-mortem of that loss, that is was ALL Dirk's fault and it was the biggest upset in playoff history. I would modulate it to he sucked and we lost to a slightly lesser team.

[monosylab1k]

It wasn't all Dirk's fault (in retrospect, Avery deserves more blame than anybody), but if he's the team leader and a superstar, he simply can't play that poorly in the first round of the playoffs. It's even worse with the comments he made to the media and the fact that he excused his poor play by pointing out that he had double-digit rebounding totals, like anybody gave a .

[Findog]

The more I look at how that series, and the following one against Utah played out, the more I see the Warriors looking like a VERY average team with a VERY limited amount of "moves" to make in a series.

This series was lost by a combination of Maverick arrogance & sense of en lement (which definitely exists), lack of fight when things went wrong, and coaching blunders.

Well, at least you're spreading the blame around instead of putting it entirely at Dirk's feet. Avery sucked against Nellie. Who on our roster had a good series? Maybe Diop? Maybe Howard?

[Findog]

It wasn't all Dirk's fault (in retrospect, Avery deserves more blame than anybody), but if he's the team leader and a superstar, he simply can't play that poorly in the first round of the playoffs.

I agree he came up too small. And I don't want to gloss over his faults. I'm inclined to go with the Murphy's Law Perfect Storm theory.

[lebomb]

LMAO at the dumbass people who thought this was a serious thread. I was just bull ting.....since I saw the name 10 players better than Dirk thread. After this years playoffs, I could easily name 10 better players. But, that is the other thread.

Dirk has talent, but no heart as of yet.

[Findog]

After this years playoffs, I could easily name 10 better players. But, that is the other thread.

No, you can't, unless you want to be facetious. Dirk's one of the top five or six players in the League.

[monosylab1k]

LMAO at the dumbass people who thought this was a serious thread. I was just bull ting......

ah, so that's how it works. Make a stupid thread, have everybody call you a dumbass, then try to save face by saying "i was just kidding all along!"

what's funny is that there ARE at least 10 players more clutch than Dirk. You just created a really ty list that didn't prove your point in any way.

[Findog]

ah, so that's how it works. Make a stupid thread, have everybody call you a dumbass, then try to save face by saying "i was just kidding all along!"

Give him some credit, he didn't go so far as to claim that Nick Van Exel is a le-making machine, like MrChug.

[stretch]

It wasn't all Dirk's fault (in retrospect, Avery deserves more blame than anybody), but if he's the team leader and a superstar, he simply can't play that poorly in the first round of the playoffs. It's even worse with the comments he made to the media and the fact that he excused his poor play by pointing out that he had double-digit rebounding totals, like anybody gave a .

Well, I'd say that the rebounding thing is because people constantly say that he can't contribute unless he is scoring, which is wrong. He may not be able to take over a game with defense, but if hes not scoring well, the majority of the time he will rebound a lot more, many times getting a good 12-15 boards. I think his rebounding is very overlooked. He very often gets rebounds and tip-outs at very big times. He does help this team in more ways than scoring, unlike what many people say.