Something interesting I found on YA...thoughts?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AriXd16BCPbAsBt78PBDK8_4DH1G;_ylv=3?qid=20100317120129AAsCNJW

Yeah, JM is kinda jocking on Dirk (again) in this question but I found this to be an interesting read actually. Any thoughts/opinions/questions surrounding this?

That's true

I mean the definition of a big man in the NBA is rebounds,blocks and inside scoring,not shooting outside of the paint etc.Big men in Europe are skilled inside with post moves,yet they have sweet mid range(some shot well 3/s too) and good rebounders,blockers

There's nothing wrong in the fact that your big man is versality and skilled to play it on the perimeter or sometimes to play as a point...that's what makes European big men versality and more skilled then the typical NBA center right now.If you take a look at Pau and Dirk,they are easily the most skilled big men in the league now because of their versality,ability to have a perimeter game,ability to knock down a mid range shot etc...

My answer (yes I know, I write too much ):

Dirk isn't discredited because he goes to the outside, he's discredited because he DOESN'T go to the inside. You would think, that having that big seven foot frame would give him a considerable advantage over other players who make their living on the perimeter and in the mid-range, like Carmelo Anthony. However, he doesn't because he is actually a worse post player than Anthony, who is four inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter. I actually really respect Dirk for his outside game, because he's one of the few seven footers with the ability to do that, but he doesn't take advantage of match ups against undersized players like David West, and even when he doesn't have a particularly good defender on him, he's content to take turnaround and fade away jumpers. He should be taking these guys in the post instead of continuing to take defended shots. No matter how good you are from the perimeter, shooting from four feet is always easier than shooting from 20. Having that outside range and ability is a great thing to have, but he doesn't use it as effectively as he could. He should be mixing it with somewhat of an inside post presence, because he's a seven footer who's often defended by 6'8" power and small forwards. If he could combine his ability to knock down shots with a more effective post presence, he would be a much better player, even offensively. Another knock on Dirk is that he isn't really a very good defender. He isn't a post stopper and he has trouble staying in front of a wing player. Due to his length, he's not terrible, because he can reach his long arms out for blocks and steals, but his defense and defensive awareness could definitely improve. The biggest thing with Dirk though, is his leadership. Can he lead a team? Obviously he's the Mavericks best player and he's been their best player in a some really good seasons, but is he really a very good leader? Is he vocal when a mistake is made? Or when people are out of position? I really haven't ever seen it. He's an elite scorer, and pretty much one of a kind, but he's kind of become a one dimensional player offensively, and is continuing to become a worse defender as he ages. Even now, with the Mavericks on a roll and the team looking like it has a chance to possibly upset the Lakers, he isn't the leader. It's Jason Kidd. So Dirk is a great perimeter scorer, especially for a big man. Obviously that isn't what people are criticizing him for. They're criticizing him as a legitimate superstar because he doesn't do all the other things that it is necessary for a superstar to do.

Does anyone know why JM thinks ppl hate on Dirk sooo much?
I get that he has trolls, there's even one on the first page of the Basketball section; but does he realize that he is the reason for this?

The only time I see ppl diss Dirk on y!a is *because of JM lol.

But anyway, he just needs to go inside more. That's all it is.

I blame you Jade. You're the reason everybody hates Dirk. Since you're the scapegoat, it's your fault.

of course

im the original dirk haterererrr

I knew it!

Class! Go now!

Bye Jade

Dirk should probably go more inside

LOL! Misunderstanding

I cant read it. Blocked.

LMAO. U got Blocked by JM?

Yup. Lol.

lol I got blocked by JM too..


Anyway...
JM knows his basketball....he just doesn't say it in the right manner...
He's extremely paranoid about someone hating on Dirk....but he knows his stuff..

For those who are blocked by JM; this is what he said:
And Ryan, he responded back to your comment (well-written btw), lol.

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Who says a post is "SUPPOSE" to be strictly stuck to the paint and limited only on the inside. There is nothing wrong with Dirk being a perimeter player primarily. He took a team to the finals so obviously its not proven you can't win like that or that it's worse to be on the perimeter. I think some of you think this way because this is how YOU ARE TOLD to think.

But you have never seen what perimeter bigman can can used for. Every skill set has a combination that can go with it and bring out the max potential in it. A Kobe type skill set (dominant wing player) goes well with a dominant inside player like Shaq and that is why you see the max brought out in them. The same for (Duncan/ Manu/ Parker). Dirk has never EVER played with a dominant post player inside like Shaq.

If he played with Shaq he would lure the other bigman (PF) away from the paint and allow Shaq to operate down low and Shaqs double teams would even get Dirk more open looks and higher percentages and since Dirk passes well to centers high/ low, he can get Shaq even more looks inside and both would compliment each other well. People just say Dirk shouldn't be on the perimeter because they never seen the max potential of it. He never played with anyone who COMMANDS a double team. A great perimeter player will succeed with a great post, like Kobe with Shaq, but Carter never had one, therefore he never did much and Pierce, Allen, and KG never did anything before playing with each other to compliment one another.

Dirk's skillset is a once in a lifetime skillset and if he played with someone like Shaq or TD you would see that. He still took a team to the finals with no great guard or bigman and shouldn't be discredited for playing on the perimeter because it allows for more versatility because he can create his own and score from anywhere. It just needs to be put with the right type of group (JUST LIKE ANY OTHER SKILL SET).

Promise you, if TD and Shaq never played with wing players that were GREAT, teams would just collapse on them 24/7 and they wouldn't be effective because you need to space the court same with any perimeter great that don't have a bigman. Therefore Dirk's skillset shouldn't be judged like that until put with the right combo to succeed. Dirk is still a mixture of both though which is why he had so much more success without either one which the others can't do without their complimentary player.

I just logged out of my account...and then clicked it lol..

Personally, I don't think anyone who hasn't recently watched Dirk Nowitzki is in no position to criticize his game. (Not talking to anyone here, just people in general). Sometimes I feel where Jamaican Man is coming from.(On all this Dirk stuff that is. the trolling is another story) It seems like only people in Dallas understand how good Dirk Nowitzki is. In Dirk's pre-finals years, he wasn't even really considered as a "superstar"; he was more on the "star" level, that today consists of players like Michael Redd or Danny Granger. As a Mavs fan I sometimes wonder why Dirk isn't hailed as he properly should be. People say he lacks toughness. Watch a Mavs' game. People say he is soft inside. There is a difference between softness, and finesse. Dirk's leadership is always criticized, but there is no mold for greatness. I'll admit he's not the greatest verbal leader in the NBA, but any Dallas Maverick will tell you how Dirk sets the tone. It's crazy how Dirk has to hits 8 game winners in a half of a season and bust a 13 game winning streak of off a new trade for people to realize how good he is. His stats have been better. One NBA columnist chalked it up to the fact that Dirk just does not fit in with the style of your Howards, Pauls, and Bryants (being a 7 foot lanky White European). I just think that Dirk lacks the flash of those other guys, but the effienciency is always there.

☆®¥ån☆ wrote:

I blame you Jade. You're the reason everybody hates Dirk. Since you're the scapegoat, it's your fault.

lol, another person blaming one of the most beautiful people on the planet

I didn't read all of it but Dirk isn't being ragged on for being a perimeter player, he is ragged on for not pushing his team over the hump. Dirk is a legit 7-footer that doesn't play defense as well as a traditional 7-footer, now when one of the your big man doesn't play well defensive that hurts your defense, when your leaders doesn't play defense well that hurts your defense too. NBA is a very physical game and it's very hard to win in this league w/o a strong physical presence inside. Also when it comes down to it, paint points are easier than perimeter points and usually whoever dominate the paint wins the game, so when Dirk gets pounded by a traditional PF, that's where the critics comes in.

The media sort of blasted dirk after everyone of his failures but you can't be surprised when the media tears him apart when his team lost a 0-2 lead in the finals (Wade's performance helped boost the media attention) and then that epic upset the year after.

My Reply to JM (If you couldn't finish the first one, you definitely won't finish this one, lol):

EDIT: Alright, I get where you're coming from. You've seen improvements on him as a player, and you wish that everyone would see those improvements. I'm not doubting that Dirk has improved as both a leader and a player overall. Even though he's slowly losing his athleticism now, he's become a much smarter player, and has slowly over time perfected that turnaround jumper, and he's grown as a leader, as happens with most veterans. He still does need to go inside more, though. In the NBA though, it's the job of the captain/leader/best player/superstar to get in the heads of their teammates when they aren't playing great. In the 2007 playoffs(less than 3 years ago), after they couldn't pull themselves back together in the Finals the previous season, the onus was on Dirk to get the job done. To keep a team that won 67 games (in the even then ultra competitive Western Conference) on track to win a championship. He wasn't able to do that. He didn't even keep their heads together enough to get them out of the first round. That season, Dirk was 28, in his physical prime, and what should have been the start of his mental prime as an NBA basketball player. He let his team literally fall apart around him as the Warriors knocked them out in six games. Being a Warrior fan, I watched every game of that series, and I saw Dirk not able to do anything to keep his teammates' heads in the game. The series was basically dictated by whether or not Dirk played great basketball. If he didn't, then the Mavericks lost. This is indicated by his 30 point performance in Game Five and his 23 point, zero turnover performance in Game Two. The Mavericks won the two games he played best in, and lost the other four. Sure, the Warriors had the advantages of having Don Nelson, who knew the Mavericks offense inside and out, and absolutely nothing to lose going up against a team that they were 3-0 against during the regular season. The fact remains though, that the Mavericks were the much better team, who won 25 more games during the regular season. They, being the most talented team in the NBA at the time, should have been able to survive the Warriors and return to the Finals. It was Dirk's second legitimate shot to prove he and the Mavericks were for real and a Championship team, and the first time that they were expected to get the job done, as they were the favorites going into the season. He/they didn't get the job done, again. After imploding in the Finals against Dwayne Wade, and then again when they were the favorites, you really expect me to believe Dirk is a great leader? Yes the Mavericks are a really good team again, probably even better than the 67 win team. Until Dirk helps lead this team in the playoffs with the pressure on, all he does in the regular season means nothing, because he's just a scorer. A Carmelo Anthony, a Kevin Durant. The fact remains that while Dirk is definitely a better perimeter player, he still needs to learn to take advantage of good match ups and go inside, to get his team easier shots. Shots that are much more likely to go in than his deep fade away jumpers. I agree that he has become a little on ball defender, and a smarter player, but minus his athleticism to get to the ball defensively and attack the rim on offense, he hasn't exactly improved a great deal. He isn't mercilessly ripped to shreds as you seem to imply though, he's just forgotten as a superstar a lot, but it is with good reason. Would Kobe ever let the Lakers get upset as the favorite, especially in the first round? How about LeBron? Wade has never fell short expectations with a healthy team, either. Even Carmelo, with as little playoff success as he's had, has never really disappointed as badly as Dirk did over a year's time. What exactly since then should change people's mind about Dirk? Their Fourth place finish in the Southwest Division in 2008? Third in 2009? Yeah, that definitely doesn't erase the previous performance, especially with the 4-1 first round exit against the Hornets in 2008 and and the 4-1 exit against the Nuggets in the second round in 2009. Now, he's going to get another chance to prove he belongs on the level that you say he does. He can sway people's opinions, or set them in stone. We'll see what happens.

You have to get best answer after typing that much

I always typed way too much on Y!A. Even going back right now, I couldn't help but keep typing, lol.

DAM RYAN!!!

But seriously i dont give a shit about what JM does anymore. If u go on Y/A now in my book he is considered a good user.....if u just ignore the dirk jocking

I like JM, he's got good BBall knowledge

I always type alot on Y!A too. It's fun getting BA's and typing alot.

that's how I reached Level 7 lol

He is 100% right.

Put let's say, Dwight Howard (a poor man's Shaq) on the Mavericks. That's an easy 5 more open jumpers for Dirk. And we all know that Dirk would make each and every one. That's 10 more points a game (not counting 3s), which bumps him up to AT LEAST 35. However, some of his touches would be limited with Howard on the team, but Dirk could still average a good 30 points with a player like that