Dallas Maverick’s Dirk Nowitzki Is Wrong
Dirk Nowitzki made a very bold statement yesterday, saying “I haven’t seen one team in the West that I’m scared of. I really haven’t. I think we can compete with all of them.” What he’s basically said is that the road to the NBA Finals, at least in the Western Conference, still runs through Dallas.
I’m here to say he is flat out wrong.
Dallas is currently sitting at 12-8, tied with the San Antonio Spurs for first place in the Southwest Conference. In the grand scheme on the playoffs, Dallas would occupy the sixth seed, while the Spurs have earned the fourth.
Looking at the Mavericks offensive numbers, much can be contributed to Dirk not being Dirk. Nowitzki is averaging 17.5 points per game, which is his lowest average since his second season in the league, the 1999-2000 campaign. One reason for this low number is the shooting performance of Dirk, as he is making only 46% of his attempts, compared to a range of 48%-51% since 2005.
The team as a whole has been playing great defense, currently fourth in the NBA giving up only 89.8 ppg. Offensively, they are in the bottom half of the league scoring just 93.1 ppg. Without Chandler (and Dirk lately), the Mavs are 16th in the NBA grabbing only 42 rebounds per game.
Looking over the Mavericks roster, besides Dirk, there is not one player who particularly scares me. Jason Terry is a fine player and must be accounted for, but he can be nullified by one defender. Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, and Vincer Carter are well past their primes, Yi Jianlian and Delonte West are decent, but not great players either.
What does trouble me most has been the lack of competitiveness in some key games for the Mavericks. Against teams with a winning record, Dallas is just 4-6, including blowout losses to the Heat, Spurs, Nuggets, and the Timberwolves twice. They do have close losses against the Lakers, Thunder, and Clippers, but none of those occurred on the second night of a back to back.
The Mavericks, however, have feasted on sub par competition, currently tied for first in the Western Conference with 8 wins against teams with a losing record. Looking closer, that includes two close wins against the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Hornets by a combined 8 points, which both teams have a combined record of just 10-27.
The Mavericks will prove their worthiness come March and April, with only 9 of their 30 games against teams with currently losing records. They play San Antonio twice, Houston three times, twice against the Lakers, the Grizzlies twice, while getting the Bulls, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Thunder, Magic, Heat, and Bulls once. Hopefully they have built some reserve up, because that is going to be a tough stretch.
FEATURED PARTNERS
- 25 Facebook Ads That Make Absolutely No Sense
- Woman Literally Throws Herself At Men
- Fashion Mailbag: Why Are Designer Runway Clothes So Ridiculous?
- NFL Star Jeremy Shockey -- I Want an Apology from the NFL Network
- Infamous Former QB Ryan Leaf Arrested for Burglary and Drug Possession
- Manny Ramirez -- Off the Hook in Domestic Violence Case
- Judging By These Two Videos, SURFING Magazine’s 2012 Swimsuit Issue is Going to Be Amazing
- Power Move, Baby Bro, the Million Mustache March, and Your Weekend Buzz
- 12-Year Old Skateboarding Prodigy Tom Schaar Lands the First Skateboarding 1080 Ever