No, but it certainly was a huge part. His defense was quite good, but all season long, he was known for getting thashed by any good big man, whether it was Dwight, Pau, Timmy, Randolph, or Bynum. But he was by no means a defensive equivalent. That would be selling Dirk's offense quite short.
No, Marion and Chandler were great defenders. Kidd had some good moments against Kobe and Durant, but frequently got his age exposed. Stevenson was decent, but not great by any means.
Were they hot? Or did they perhaps regain their early season chemistry? Don't forget that they played at an extremely high level for the first half of the season, until all the injuries hit. They were on pace I believe to win around 65 games until the injuries killed everything.
I agree he was.
What is wrong is to only mentioned the good things the supporting cast did, and absolutely none of their shortcomings, with the sole purpose of dismissing Dirk's run. You can't even begin to claim that you have an objective view of this matter without looking like the got you are.
Didn't I say Dirk's run was impressive a couple of post ago? It was, don't get me wrong but everytime someone thinks of that run thinks of Dirk carrying a bunch of scrubs to a le when that's very far from the truth. I'm pretty sure very few remember how sub-par Dirk was on the finals that year.
so incredibly sub-par.
Duncan making you retire that KobeOwnsDuncan username
Dirk's le run included
1. A Blazers team who was pretty tough for a first round matchup
2. The Gasol/Bynum/Bryant Lakers, 2x defending champions who never looked compe ive in the series after Game 1
3. The Durant/Westbrook/Harden Thunder, took em out in 5
4. The Heat with Wade still in prime form. Their PG play and bench was horrible, but Wade's a first ballot Hall of Famer and he was at his absolute prime that year, and so was James.
I have been watching the game religiously since the mid 80s and the only harder le run I have seen was Houston's in 1995. It's true he had good defenders around him and lots of three point shooting, so but did Olajuwon, so did Duncan, so did Shaq when they won les. Winning a le as an undisputed #1 option, especially against the compe ion he faced, just puts him on a higher level than Garnett, Barkley, and Malone to me. And then the Game 2 comeback in Miami. I ing hated the Mavericks at the time and even I was going absolutely nuts watching that, especially when he drilled that three with about 20 seconds left.
Can't have it both ways DAF. One of Duncan's two or three greatest highlights is destroying the Shaq/Kobe 3x defending champion Lakers with a similar supporting cast to what Nowitzki had when he destroyed that Lakers team with one of the nastiest frontlines I have ever seen and then Kobe too.
I'm not talking about difficulty of oppenents. I'm talking about Dirks and KGs individual runs. People say Dirk carried scrubs to a championship when that's not true and people say that KG was carried by Pierce and Allen when Garnett was head and shoulders above any other Celtic on that run.
Ray doesn't make that shot and LeBron is light another. MVPRay carrying LeChoke
LeBron doesn't make that three on the prior possession, and he's light another.
LeBron doesn't dominate Game 7, and he's light another.
Keep pretending it was all Ray Allen when that was so clearly not the case to anyone who actually watched the game, though
And it was LeBron who bricked the game tying 3 with seconds left in the biggest moment of his career. Alpha Ray saving LeBeta. No matter what else LeBron does or doesn't do in the finals, his legacy will be Ray Allen's faceLeBron doesn't make that three on the prior possession, and he's light another.
LeBron doesn't dominate Game 7, and he's light another.
Keep pretending it was all Ray Allen when that was so clearly not the case to anyone who actually watched the game, though
Nope. His legacy is sending Durant crying to his mommy in 2012, coming up clutch in Game 6 and dominating Game 7 in 2013, and being one of the top 5 players of all time.And it was LeBron who bricked the game tying 3 with seconds left in the biggest moment of his career. Alpha Ray saying LeBeta. No matter what else LeBron does or doesn't do in the finals, his legacy will be Ray Allen's face
Meanwhile, Kirby's legacy is getting outplayed by Austin Croshere and Tayshaun Prince in the Finals and missing the playoffs in his prime
Nope. His legacy is Ray Allen and having a losing record in the finalsNope. His legacy is sending Durant crying to his mommy in 2012, coming up clutch in Game 6 and dominating Game 7 in 2013, and being one of the top 5 players of all time.
Meanwhile, Kirby's legacy is getting outplayed by Austin Croshere and Tayshaun Prince in the Finals and missing the playoffs in his prime
Nope. His legacy is Ray Allen and having a losing record in the finals
How many top 10 players have a losing record in the finals?
JET nutted up that postseason. He may not have been a big name #2 but he played like one during that run. It's not like in '03 where the second highest scorer after TD couldn't even hit 15 ppg and shot 40% from the field. Not to mention the other side, where Dirk was the worst defender in the starting line-up. He had a load of help there.
There's no argument that KG is the better all-round player but the success is only made when you have the right players at the right time imho. If the Mavs hadn't acquired TC in 2010 the Mavs would've been still free of a ring. KG was unlucky because he joined a ty franchise which didn't give a about winning, and the same fate would've belonged to Dirk as well had he stayed in Milwaukee imho. Give you prime Dirk and prime KG to play 1on1 then I guess KG would win out 8 out of 10 times, but in terms of career, with loyalty, popularity and success all considered, Dirk is definitely the one that stands out of all the 4 names mentioned in OP tbh.
All throughout the 2000s TD and KG were widely considered the best PFs in the game. KG won a le in '08 and that cemented that that much more.
Dirk wins one in '11 and suddenly people want to not only place him in the same class but have him jump KG? WTF kinda logic is that.
TD
KG
Dirk
after that you have losers like Malone and Barkley
I've always said this. Outside of Bryant, no one has benefited more from revisionist history than Nowitzki.All throughout the 2000s TD and KG were widely considered the best PFs in the game. KG won a le in '08 and that cemented that that much more.
Dirk wins one in '11 and suddenly people want to not only place him in the same class but have him jump KG? WTF kinda logic is that.
I still got it: Malone, Garnett, Barkley, Nowitzki.
KG had to team up two prime superstars with win a le though, while the best teammates Dirk has ever had were marginal all stars like JET and Caron Butler, or superstars in their twilight like Jason Kidd. I ain't gonna argue that the prime Dirk would beat KG one on one any day of the week, because in terms of overall basketball ability KG was probably the better one, but saying that KG had a more successful career than Dirk's is simply laughable tbh.All throughout the 2000s TD and KG were widely considered the best PFs in the game. KG won a le in '08 and that cemented that that much more.
Dirk wins one in '11 and suddenly people want to not only place him in the same class but have him jump KG? WTF kinda logic is that.
Revisionist history...tbh. I think it's more a characteristic of this board/Mavs fans though. Most people I talk to outside of here have KG over Dirk.All throughout the 2000s TD and KG were widely considered the best PFs in the game. KG won a le in '08 and that cemented that that much more.
Dirk wins one in '11 and suddenly people want to not only place him in the same class but have him jump KG? WTF kinda logic is that.
Both guys are pretty similar success-wise, with a slight nod to Dirk. KG had a great run in 04, but got beaten by a Lakers superteam that not even Timmy could beat. Dirk had a similarly awesome run in 2006, then proceeded to lose to the Heatrefs. Both guys won les as the best players of their respective teams, and while KG did it with clearly more help than Dirk, I would be careful to overstate Ray Allen's impact on that team. He was no longer the same level of player he was when he played for the Bucks/Sonics and had begun to decline. Just look at his numbers from that postseason. Pierce was great though.
What's this superstar hyperbole BS? Allen and Pierce were all-star caliber players but they weren't superstars. They weren't 1st Team All-NBA guys or in contention for MVP. Pierce was clutch but KG was the only true superstar out of the bunch. I'll concede the fact that Dirk's le run was more impressive bc KG had more help, but then again Dirk's run is also more impressive than both of LeBron's runs since he had Wade+Bosh. That doesn't magically make Dirk the better basketball player though.
Also why is it that when you compare the le runs you look at supporting casts but when you talk about overall success you don't look at their supporting casts in their other years? It's not hard to see that KG had a lot less to work with until he was traded to Boston. I'm not going to call Dirk the better player simply bc KG was stuck in Minny.
I never said Dirk was better as a basketball player than KG, if you let them play one on one Dirk would probably get owned. But just like someone else said above, bigs who can shoot so gracefully and be your leading scorer are rare talents compared to bigs whose biggest strengths are defense and rebounding imho. If we had even the prime KG in 2011 I doubt we could've won the le that year tbh, Dirk was the right player for us and I'm glad that we built a successful team around him that won at least one NBA championship for the city of Dallas. KG, albeit better as a player all-round, will not be remembered at the same height as Dirk imho. You're better, but you're not guaranteed more success than others, such is life tbh.What's this superstar hyperbole BS? Allen and Pierce were all-star caliber players but they weren't superstars. They weren't 1st Team All-NBA guys or in contention for MVP. Pierce was clutch but KG was the only true superstar out of the bunch. I'll concede the fact that Dirk's le run was more impressive bc KG had more help, but then again Dirk's run is also more impressive than both of LeBron's runs since he had Wade+Bosh. That doesn't magically make Dirk the better basketball player though.
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