Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

[Briman123]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont....f78507d7.html

He really should get strong MVP consideration!! 3time conference POTM!!

We all know Delonte West is the best player in the NBA.

[Chewingthehardfacts]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

LOL, Serious now Dirk is a top 10 player, no doubt. Conference player of the month in the NBA is a completely useless thing to base it on.

The Conference player of the month is simliar to a Golden Globe, Everyone has a chance to get it easily, This is depending on who is hot at the time.

[Chewingthehardfacts]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

LOL, Serious now Dirk is a top 10 player, no doubt. Conference player of the month in the NBA is a completely useless thing to base it on.

The Conference player of the month is simliar to a Golden Globe, Everyone has a chance to get it easily, This is depending on who is hot at the time.

[Blaxican8504]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

dirk should be mvp but will not because he is white and foreign. any other player w/ those stats not named dirk woul be automatic mvp

doubt that

[Blaxican8504]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

dirk should be mvp but will not because he is white and foreign. any other player w/ those stats not named dirk woul be automatic mvp

doubt that

[Playmakers]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

By Eric Neel
Page 2


Why aren't we talking about the Mavericks?



They're 38-17. They've gone 19-7 since New Year's Day.



So why aren't we talking about them?



In the last few weeks, they've beaten Miami, Seattle and Phoenix, all the teams du jour. But we're not talking about them?



Are we still lugging around memories of the 2002 Western semis, when the Kings rolled them like a threadbare rug and beat their defenseless (and I do mean defenseless) butts up, down, and sideways?



Are our minds' eyes still fixed on the image of a busted-up Nowitzki and a worn-down Nash shuffling off the 2003 Western Finals stage down there in San Antone?



Is it Nellie's ties? Avery's voice? Are we just too tired of Cuban's DQ stints and blog entries?



Is there a feeling, maybe going all the way back to John MacLeod's loose, lavender curl and Derek Harper's pinched, anguished expression, that this team just never has been for real?



It wasn't so long ago, the Mavs were an "it" team, racking up points like the pinball wizard and fans like the young Elvis. They were the Suns before the Suns, a freewheeling club playing the beautiful game, a group responsible for some of the great offensive numbers of all-time (Check out page 33 of Dean Oliver's "Basketball on Paper." But these days, they're pretty much off the radar.




Any wonder why some people don't take Dirk's hoops skills seriously?
Is it losing Nash? Is it the long, steady shadow cast by Duncan's Spurs?



It isn't like they can't play. In fact, they've got a very legitimate MVP candidate in Nowitzki (27.1, 10.1, 3.1 and a PER of 26.41) right now, a guy who's come up big time again and again for them in big games this season, a guy who's grown his hair long, and shaved his hair off, and debased himself for your love selling "NBA League Pass." And still, you hear almost no buzz.



This happens. Teams go out of fashion. Like Marty Scorcese, they hang around doing dazzling work but never winning the big prize; and after a while, we just kind of take them for granted. It isn't that we don't enjoy their work, when someone points it out. It's just that we don't think about it much any more.



It doesn't help that their superstar is hard to get a handle on. His numbers are stunning, but you can't sum him up. He's a giant, but not a post threat. He's an amazing shooter, but not a pretty one. All his moves, creative and effective as they are, come off a bit, raggedy, like he's Detective McNulty stumbling out of a Baltimore bar. He plays with fire, but not quite the way KG does. He's incredibly versatile, but you don't think of him the way you think of LeBron. And he doesn't really have any mythic moments to underwrite his game.



The Mavs get our attention, but they don't do quite enough to keep it. There is no stirring, gut-check win in modern Mavs history (their biggest win, Game 7 of the 2003 Western Semifinals, was a 13-point close-out that nobody remembers); no Robert Horry dagger; no Kobe-to-Shaq alley-oopish comeback in a Game 7; and no rewrite-the-lede upset a la last year's Pistons, either. They're a club largely without drama (if you don't count their owner's sideline histrionics). And worse than that, they're a club that's lost the biggest games they've been in, including Game 6 to the Spurs two years ago.



So what happens is, we close the book on them. We figure, nice as the view's been, the window of opportunity has closed. We don't bother ourselves with little details like Nowitzki's getting hurt in the third game of that Spurs series. We decide they're not tough enough. And we decide it doesn't really matter anyway, because we know they can't defend (though that 2003 team was ninth in the league in terms of defensive efficiency), and we know defense wins championships.



And all that works as a kind of blinder. We just don't see the 2005 Dallas Mavericks. They're not happening.




Do we need to remind you that Michael Finley is a good player?
But the thing is, they are happening. They are most definitely happening. They went 9-3 in February. They're posting a second-best-in-basketball 103.4 ppg. They're playing a fast-paced, entertaining style (96.4 possessions/game) with few turnovers (13.4), same as it ever was. And, get this, they're also defending a bit, giving up only 97.9 points per game (for those of you scoring at home, that's 5.5 less than they put up every night, the fourth-best differential in the league) and 96.8 per 100 possessions.



We should be talking about this team.



We should say, "Yeah, Phoenix is terrific, Miami is for real, no doubt; and San Antonio is, of course, San Antonio. But don't forget about Dallas. Dallas could sneak up and bite somebody on the butt."



We should note how deep they are: Seven players averaging 9.5 ppg or more (eight if you count the recently injured Erick Dampier).



We should spill a bit of ink on Josh Howard (12.4, 6.5, 1.5 and a PER of 15.53), Jason Terry (11.6, 2.4, 4.9 and a PER of 18.87), and Marquis Daniels (9.9, 4.2, 2.4 and a PER of 15.64).



Somebody ought to remember that Michael Finley still plays for this club, the same Michael Finley who's responded to his coach's call to get more aggressive by bumping up his point, percentage, rebound, and assist numbers this past month, the same Michael Finley who recently put together a 23-24-33-24 stretch, thank you very much.



And somebody ought to mark down April 7, the next time they play the Spurs, because that's going to be a game. Yeah, it's true, they're 0-for-3 against San Antonio so far this season. But two of those losses were very early, and the last one was six weeks ago. I'm telling you, this one's going to be a game, and a good one.




Sure, his scoring helps. But Keith Van Horn's knee socks were part of the deal, too.
I'm on record saying the Spurs will win the West, and then the whole enchilada. I still believe that. But if you ask me to pick the team most likely to overturn the San Antonio apple cart, I'm not going to say Phoenix, Seattle or Miami. I'm going to say Dallas. The way I see it, they handle Sacramento in Round 1 of the playoffs; and then they get seven with San Antonio, and they've got a shot. They match up. They'll have trouble with Duncan, but everyone does; and maybe they can muscle him a bit with Dampier. They can dare Nesterovic or Horry to try to keep up with Dirk. They can penetrate and dish (nine different players have led the team in assists on a given night so far this year). They can defend the perimeter. They can shoot the ball well inside and out (Bowen can't stick both Stackhouse and Finley, and Ginobili will use a lot of energy picking up the slack). They have legs for days. They've just added a scorer-passer-rebounder in Van Horn. I think they're going to present problems for the Spurs.



I think if we remove the blinders and take another look, it's pretty obvious: We should be talking about the Mavericks.



Eric Neel is a columnist for Page 2. His Basketball Jones column will appear each week during the NBA season.

[Playmakers]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

By Eric Neel
Page 2


Why aren't we talking about the Mavericks?



They're 38-17. They've gone 19-7 since New Year's Day.



So why aren't we talking about them?



In the last few weeks, they've beaten Miami, Seattle and Phoenix, all the teams du jour. But we're not talking about them?



Are we still lugging around memories of the 2002 Western semis, when the Kings rolled them like a threadbare rug and beat their defenseless (and I do mean defenseless) butts up, down, and sideways?



Are our minds' eyes still fixed on the image of a busted-up Nowitzki and a worn-down Nash shuffling off the 2003 Western Finals stage down there in San Antone?



Is it Nellie's ties? Avery's voice? Are we just too tired of Cuban's DQ stints and blog entries?



Is there a feeling, maybe going all the way back to John MacLeod's loose, lavender curl and Derek Harper's pinched, anguished expression, that this team just never has been for real?



It wasn't so long ago, the Mavs were an "it" team, racking up points like the pinball wizard and fans like the young Elvis. They were the Suns before the Suns, a freewheeling club playing the beautiful game, a group responsible for some of the great offensive numbers of all-time (Check out page 33 of Dean Oliver's "Basketball on Paper." But these days, they're pretty much off the radar.




Any wonder why some people don't take Dirk's hoops skills seriously?
Is it losing Nash? Is it the long, steady shadow cast by Duncan's Spurs?



It isn't like they can't play. In fact, they've got a very legitimate MVP candidate in Nowitzki (27.1, 10.1, 3.1 and a PER of 26.41) right now, a guy who's come up big time again and again for them in big games this season, a guy who's grown his hair long, and shaved his hair off, and debased himself for your love selling "NBA League Pass." And still, you hear almost no buzz.



This happens. Teams go out of fashion. Like Marty Scorcese, they hang around doing dazzling work but never winning the big prize; and after a while, we just kind of take them for granted. It isn't that we don't enjoy their work, when someone points it out. It's just that we don't think about it much any more.



It doesn't help that their superstar is hard to get a handle on. His numbers are stunning, but you can't sum him up. He's a giant, but not a post threat. He's an amazing shooter, but not a pretty one. All his moves, creative and effective as they are, come off a bit, raggedy, like he's Detective McNulty stumbling out of a Baltimore bar. He plays with fire, but not quite the way KG does. He's incredibly versatile, but you don't think of him the way you think of LeBron. And he doesn't really have any mythic moments to underwrite his game.



The Mavs get our attention, but they don't do quite enough to keep it. There is no stirring, gut-check win in modern Mavs history (their biggest win, Game 7 of the 2003 Western Semifinals, was a 13-point close-out that nobody remembers); no Robert Horry dagger; no Kobe-to-Shaq alley-oopish comeback in a Game 7; and no rewrite-the-lede upset a la last year's Pistons, either. They're a club largely without drama (if you don't count their owner's sideline histrionics). And worse than that, they're a club that's lost the biggest games they've been in, including Game 6 to the Spurs two years ago.



So what happens is, we close the book on them. We figure, nice as the view's been, the window of opportunity has closed. We don't bother ourselves with little details like Nowitzki's getting hurt in the third game of that Spurs series. We decide they're not tough enough. And we decide it doesn't really matter anyway, because we know they can't defend (though that 2003 team was ninth in the league in terms of defensive efficiency), and we know defense wins championships.



And all that works as a kind of blinder. We just don't see the 2005 Dallas Mavericks. They're not happening.




Do we need to remind you that Michael Finley is a good player?
But the thing is, they are happening. They are most definitely happening. They went 9-3 in February. They're posting a second-best-in-basketball 103.4 ppg. They're playing a fast-paced, entertaining style (96.4 possessions/game) with few turnovers (13.4), same as it ever was. And, get this, they're also defending a bit, giving up only 97.9 points per game (for those of you scoring at home, that's 5.5 less than they put up every night, the fourth-best differential in the league) and 96.8 per 100 possessions.



We should be talking about this team.



We should say, "Yeah, Phoenix is terrific, Miami is for real, no doubt; and San Antonio is, of course, San Antonio. But don't forget about Dallas. Dallas could sneak up and bite somebody on the butt."



We should note how deep they are: Seven players averaging 9.5 ppg or more (eight if you count the recently injured Erick Dampier).



We should spill a bit of ink on Josh Howard (12.4, 6.5, 1.5 and a PER of 15.53), Jason Terry (11.6, 2.4, 4.9 and a PER of 18.87), and Marquis Daniels (9.9, 4.2, 2.4 and a PER of 15.64).



Somebody ought to remember that Michael Finley still plays for this club, the same Michael Finley who's responded to his coach's call to get more aggressive by bumping up his point, percentage, rebound, and assist numbers this past month, the same Michael Finley who recently put together a 23-24-33-24 stretch, thank you very much.



And somebody ought to mark down April 7, the next time they play the Spurs, because that's going to be a game. Yeah, it's true, they're 0-for-3 against San Antonio so far this season. But two of those losses were very early, and the last one was six weeks ago. I'm telling you, this one's going to be a game, and a good one.




Sure, his scoring helps. But Keith Van Horn's knee socks were part of the deal, too.
I'm on record saying the Spurs will win the West, and then the whole enchilada. I still believe that. But if you ask me to pick the team most likely to overturn the San Antonio apple cart, I'm not going to say Phoenix, Seattle or Miami. I'm going to say Dallas. The way I see it, they handle Sacramento in Round 1 of the playoffs; and then they get seven with San Antonio, and they've got a shot. They match up. They'll have trouble with Duncan, but everyone does; and maybe they can muscle him a bit with Dampier. They can dare Nesterovic or Horry to try to keep up with Dirk. They can penetrate and dish (nine different players have led the team in assists on a given night so far this year). They can defend the perimeter. They can shoot the ball well inside and out (Bowen can't stick both Stackhouse and Finley, and Ginobili will use a lot of energy picking up the slack). They have legs for days. They've just added a scorer-passer-rebounder in Van Horn. I think they're going to present problems for the Spurs.



I think if we remove the blinders and take another look, it's pretty obvious: We should be talking about the Mavericks.



Eric Neel is a columnist for Page 2. His Basketball Jones column will appear each week during the NBA season.

[Chewingthehardfacts]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

Great Timing, huh

[Chewingthehardfacts]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

Great Timing, huh

[Playmakers]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

Great Timing, huh

Yeah, I saw your reply in the the other thread so I decided to let you have it.

[Playmakers]

Re: Dirk Nowitzki coference player of the month for the 3rd time!!

Great Timing, huh

Yeah, I saw your reply in the the other thread so I decided to let you have it.