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Charles Barkley is awesome.
Charles Barkley definitely didn't back down from the TNT crew's Dirk-dissing comments when he joined Mavs homers Ben, Skin and Tim Cowlishaw on 105.3 The Fan yesterday (audio here).
The Round Mound of Profound, who went off with Chris Webber and Kenny Smith after hearing a soundbite of Dirk praising the three Nuggets who defend him, said a great player should never utter a phrase that could give the enemy confidence.
"I've been a great player; I've been around great players," Barkley said. "To be great, you have to think nobody can stop you. ... First of all, the only thing that makes you a great player is supreme confidence in yourself. Like I said, Dirk Nowitzki is a Hall of Famer. He's a great player. You don't ever give a defense credit, saying guys can stop you. That's the only point we were trying to make. ...
"If he'd have said one guy, it would have been different, but he gave three guys credit. Let me tell you something: There's not three guys in the whole world who can stop Dirk Nowitzki, and to give credit to three guys ... Tell the people in Dallas to listen sometimes and stop being homers."
I understand what Barkley means, but it sure seems like a pretty silly point after Dirk's 35-point performance. You can argue the semantics of Dirk's soundbites, but he obviously doesn't believe there's a Denver player who can defend him one-on-one.
Nevertheless, Barkley makes a solid point about MFFLs being a bunch of sensitive homers.
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archi...-sometime.html
Charles Barkley is awesome.
mffl is a ing gay acronym
lol mffl
A couple points about the whole thing for both sides:
-Ernie Johnson made a good point in the TNT broadcast, but Charles, C-Webb, and Kenny completely ignored this fact: Dirk never once said any of those three guys, Birdman, K-Mart, or Nene could stop him. He didn't say it. He didn't say they could "stop him." He said what they did well or what things they presented that allowed them to be tough, but he never said they could stop him.
-On the flip side, despite having a good statistical game, Dirk did not show he was tough in game 2, and the Mavs still got blown out in the fourth quarter. Dirk didn't defy what they were saying about him because he scored 35 points. He was still getting pushed around by the Nuggets, especially in the fourth quarter. So, he didn't really help his own cause to dispute what they were saying about him.
What is that? Some kinky sex combination? Male, female, female, Lakersfan?
I didn't know either. I looked it up. Pretty obvious once you realize what it is.
Mavs Fan For Life!
Much ado about nothing. Chris Webber has absolutely nothing to say to Dirk Nowitzki.
JamStone, Dirk is the best player of the series, by far. He is the only one keeping the Mavs in the game. In fact the Nuggets blew the game open when Dirk went to the bench to get a breather after going one on five almost every possesion.
Seriously man, what kind of level do we hold Dirk Nowitzki up to???? He is averaging 32/10.5 on over 50% shooting and the only one going to the line consistently. If this is not tough, undefendable, whatever, I don't know what is.
Thankfully cooler heads have prevailed in this debate. Kelly Dwyer drilled Barkley and Webber as hard as anyone has, but Stein and others have followed suit.
Fact is, Webber and Barkley at best came out as absolute morons that night, and definetely unqualified to give any intelligent opinions. At worst though their comments were racist and showed a huge gap in understanding different cultures and personalities. If this was anyone other than Dirk, who right now is not a media darling, they would be in much more trouble than they are right now.
p.s Dwyer's article: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/bal...urn=nba,161494
I didn't defend Barkley or Webber on their comments, especially as to the extent they took it. Because they kept saying that about "I wouldn't say anyone could stop me" and Dirk never said that, I thought they were taking it way too far.
However, Dirk came back into the game in the fourth quarter with over 10 minutes left in the game and the Mavs trailing by 8 points. After getting a rebound, Dirk followed up in the next few plays with a turnover and a missed shot, and the lead ballooned to 17 points before Carlisle threw in the towel and Dirk and the other starters and regular rotation players were finally taken out. After Dirk re-entered the game, they never got it under that 8 point deficit when he returned.
Dirk does have a higher level, higher standard people will hold him to. He's the best player on the team, a former MVP. This kind of criticism goes along with it. That's why Kobe has taken so much slack over the years after Shaq was traded. That's why win or lose, the Cavaliers' success or failures are all on LeBron's shoulders. Whether you put him up there with the LeBrons and Kobes, that's the type of responsibility he has as the best player on the Mavs. He never took over in the fourth quarter when he came back in the game. He didn't show toughness or resolve or leadership. He scored one bucket in the final quarter. He shot two free throws.
Yes, it's harsh to criticize him when without him they wouldn't have even been close. But, that's what comes along with being the best player, getting the max contract, being a former MVP.
What Barkley and Webber said, especially to the extent they said it, was moronic. But Dirk didn't prove them wrong.
Yes he did prove them wrong. They said he was afraid of the Nuggets, of Martin's push, or whatever. He went out and owned them once again. If 35/9 isn't enough to show that you are better than their defenders, I don't know what is.
And when I say higher level, I mean compared to the other stars, not to the players of his team. Obviously being a superstar means you get the love or heat for how the team does, but it seems like nothing is ever enough in people's eyes when it comes to Dirk. the guy hits numerous clutch shots, yet when he misses one, he is a choker. He is the fourth best scorer in the league this year, after the holy trinity, yet he is declining. He has been doing this for over a decade, consistently, coming back after severe injuries, yet he is overrated, a 7 foot marshmellow, and simply a jump shooter. Other perimeter players can't be touched in today's league, but when Dirk is on the perimeter and defenders are trying to handcheck him, he is a whiner and a flopper. People have selective memory, thanks to the media as well, and they have made up their mind, regardless of facts. The fact that someone would open a thread defending and hailing Barkley after what he said is proof of that. Barkley should be ashamed, and I won't even talk about Webber, the big marshmallow if there ever was one.
He shot 1-for-3 from the field, shot 2 free throws, and score 5 points in that fourth quarter, never exerted himself, and conceded defeat. An 8 point deficit with 10 minutes to go is not insurmountable. And, the best player on the team would take over the game. Dirk didn't. 35 points didn't mean anything in crunch time when he didn't even really shoot the ball when the Mavs were on the ropes. I've often read posts from Mavs fans blasting Josh Howard for being a first quarter beast and ing up in the fourth quarter. This is the same thing that happened but it's Dirk and now you defend it? If Dirk was tough and wasn't intimidated by Denver, he would have shown it in the fourth quarter when the game could still be had. He didn't. He didn't prove what Barkley and Webber said was wrong.
Then he tossed another midget.
1. If he wasn't intimidated in the first, second, and third quarter than why should he be in the fourth? It makes no sense. You are just using "intimidated" as a synonym to losing, similiar to people who use choking for everything nowadays. Dirk Nowitzki is not intimidated by the Nuggets, he scored on them every single quarter, no matter who defended him.
2. The Nuggets are a better team, Dirk scored yet not enough to keep the game close. No big deal there. Dirk has historically come up huge in the 4th quarter, he led the league in either 05-06 or 06-07 and was according to 82games the clutchest player. The comparison with Josh Howard is completely not valid, a player who historically has hot first quarters and then dissapears.
I will be the first to admit that Dirk has had some 4th quarter issues this season, until the end when he went on a tear. It probably has to do with poor conditioning as he had to play two summer tournaments, where he plays almost all game long for his national team. It is evident even now that he has to work hard for every single point, he was gased out halfway through the third, breathing heavily on every break, yet kept going as he always does.
However, none of that applies here. He came back, scored a couple of points, yet the Nuggets were on a tear and blew the game open. Carlisle called it quits, deciding to focus on the next game. How many times does that happen in a playoff game? Countless times. , Popovich retired his team in the third quarter against the Mavs in game 3. Does that mean Duncan and Parker are not 'tough'? How about Kobe in Game 6 of the Finals. Dirk was the reason the game lasted until the 3rd, and he himself could not prevent that in the 4th anymore. It's sad on me as a Mavs fan, but certainly I could not ask Dirk for more.
Again, this is some logic that holds Dirk to a different standard than most stars, and it doesn't have to do much with his game, which has been stellar as always.
Making fade-away jumpers doesn't make you not intimidated. It makes you a good fade-away jump shooter. I'll concede "intimidated" is too harsh a word. But, in that fourth quarter, he did not show toughness, when his team was still only 8 points away with 10 minutes left. This is where he should have shown the way the Nuggets were defending him was not affecting his game.
It the game after he got pushed around and man-handled in game 1. If I remember correctly, he put up nice stats in game 1 as well. But, he was still pushed around. This doesn't mean Dirk hasn't been clutch before, hasn't played well in the fourth quarter of playoffs before. But, this was the game after being pushed around and him admitting that the Nuggets played him tough. That's why game 2 was important to show it wasn't affecting him. Shooting a high percentage of his jumpers earlier in the game doesn't make him tough. It makes him skilled. He should have been more of a factor in the fourth quarter.
Sorry man but your argument holds no weight at all and it's pure speculation at this point. Dirk has had great games, 28/12 and 35/9; both over 50% shooting.
Dirk shoots fadeways, that's his game. He is redicously efficient at them and nobody has ever been able to stop him consistently so that part of the argument is null. HOWEVER, even if it didn't satisfy you, Dirk posted up Kenyon numerous times. It seems to me like you barely watched the games to be honest. Spurs fans were surprised at how well he was posting up anyone, from JR Smith to Melo to Martin and Andersen.
And again, teams lose games, with big margins at times, even in the playoffs. Where are the arguments for the lack of toughness of their star players during those games???
The fourth quarter, down 8 points with 10 minutes left is when it mattered. And, Dirk didn't come through.
I watched both games. I didn't memorize every play. But, despite very good stats on paper, Dirk has been out-physicaled and out-toughed by the Nuggets in both games. And, in the fourth quarter of both games 1 and 2, he's a combined 2-for-5, shot a combined 2 free throws, scored a total of 7 points, and his team got blown out in both games. Imagine that. Only two free throw attempts in two fourth quarter playoff games for one of the best players in the league. He hasn't shown any toughness in either fourth quarter. The fourth quarter is where you want your best players to show up, to show toughness, to lead. He hasn't in the two fourth quarters. This is where a guy as good as Dirk answers his critics. He didn't.
Jam you're kinda bein dumb here brah.
You're kind of being a Mavs fan buddy.
1st off WHO is "outtoughing" and "outphysicaling" Dirk? Kenyon Martin hasn't done in this series.
Is Melo physical? JR Smith? ing pussies the lot of them.
The story of the 1st 2 games was 4th quarter sequences where the Mavs missed shots and committed turnovers causing a snowball effect and pushing close games into 15 PT nugget leads.
He hasn't been able to assert himself in the 4th quarter because the offense gets out of sync and starts turning the ball over, mostly attributable to the back court. That is not a reflection on Dirk's lack of "toughness", it's just bad execution. There really is not much Dirk could've done in teh 4th quarters, he really did not have a chance the way the Mavs' have turned the ball over.
Nuggets "physicality" and "toughness" isn't why they're winning the series. It's basically Mavs' turnovers leading to 54 fast break points + Nene's athleticism/quickness giving the Mavs' front line problems. The only thing the Nuggets' "physicality" accomplished in game 2 was 13 FTA's for Dirk and 30 for the Mavs, which I'll accept as a good thing.
Backdoor ing sweep, 2006 NBA Champions
Cowlishaw is irrevelant, he is one of the biggest homers i have ever seen. He is also a hockey fan, which seals the deal.
How about Nuggets are the better TEAM?
People love to hate on Dirk...bottom line.
The TNT crew was way off on Dirk's comments...
I think if it was any other great player in the league, Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Chris Paul, they'd get similar criticism. If they praised the other team on how they defended them and then in the next game they didn't really do anything in the fourth quarter when the game was still within grasp, they'd catch plenty of criticism as well. That's what comes along with being one of the best players in the league, a former MVP, and a max player. And, moreover, if it was Kobe, LeBron, Wade, or Chris Paul, Mavs fans would be right at the front of the line ting on them for "choking" or for being "punks" or for being " es" in the fourth quarter and getting pushed around.
Dirk's a great player, one of the best players in the league. That's why he gets criticized when his team loses.
Once again, JamStone for the win
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