SAVING FACE
Though his progress slowed this season, Dirk Nowitzki tries to make more noise as an elite player
By Richie Whitt
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Dirk Nowitzki over Kevin Garnett?
In April 2004, you\'re dead. But as recently as April 2002, you were dead on.
After watching the Mavericks sweep the Timberwolves out of the NBA playoffs two years ago, the chic analysis was that Nowitzki had caught -- and might soon pass -- the Timberwolves\' man-child. Then just 23, Dirk dazzled in Dallas\' Game 3 romp in Minneapolis with 39 points and 17 rebounds, capping a series in which he averaged 33 and 16 to Garnett\'s 24 and 16. He has since sniffed the NBA Finals; Garnett still hasn\'t won a playoff series.
But fast-forward two years and find Garnett the No. 1 player on the NBA\'s No. 1 seed. And, because of various speed bumps both in and out of his control, find Dirk\'s development plateaued and his production decreased.
Both remain 20-something freaks with 7-foot size and shooting-guard skills. But the once debatable sliver between them has grown/eroded into a chasm.
Garnett will be MVP. Dirk isn\'t even on the ballot.
\"Dirk isn\'t on the same planet as Garnett,\" said ABC NBA analyst Tom Tolbert. \"Anybody who thinks there\'s a debate between them is welcome at my poker game any night.\"
As evidenced by his still elite-level play, his newfound vocal leadership and even the 5,000 foam heads given away at Tuesday\'s home finale, Nowitzki is undoubtedly the fuzzy-chinned face of the franchise. (And to think, former owner Ross Perot Jr. risked losing him in the \'98 draft for a mere $1 million.) But in a frustrating season in which he\'s fought his jumper and given ground to Garnett, his expression has been more irked than Dirked.
\"Honestly, it really hasn\'t been a good year for me,\" Nowitzki said after Thursday\'s practice at American Airlines Center. \"It\'s been tough on me, tough on all of us. I played well in stretches, but never really found my rhythm until the last couple of weeks. Hopefully it\'s not too late.\"
Fortunately for the Mavericks, a bad Nowitzki is still very, very good.
He averaged 21.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and finished behind only Shaquille O\'Neal, Tim Duncan, Elton Brand and Garnett in NBA efficiency rating, which is akin to the NFL\'s quarterback rating.
Look closer, however, and the Mavericks\' dip from 60 to 52 wins can be traced directly to Nowitzki\'s decreased involvement. A 25-point scorer who made All-NBA second-team in \'03, Dirk this season attempted 179 fewer field goals and 125 fewer free throws.
Add all the talent you want around him, but getting less from your best can\'t be sound strategy, can it?
\"I think he\'s better than ever,\" point guard Steve Nash said. \"But he\'s sacrificed a lot this year in terms of stats. There were points this year when it got real crowded out there offensively and his numbers have taken a hit.\"
Said Dirk\'s longtime personal coach, Holger Gerschwindner: \"I don\'t want to put honey on it, but we didn\'t prepare for this. We thought [the Mavericks] were going to get a center. Maybe it\'s my fault, but we didn\'t prepare. Coming into the league, we wanted to show he could shoot. But this year, he\'s had to show he can do everything else, too.\"
Bottom line: The failed experiment to make Antoine Walker point-forward made Nowitzki\'s progress point backward.
\"We struggled with our roles and our spacing and that confusion showed up in a lot of areas,\" said Nowitzki, who suffered declines in points, rebounds, assists and whose 34.1 3-point percentage was the lowest since his rookie season in \'99. \"My jumper was in and out all season. Part of it was because, mentally, I was really struggling.\"
The low point came in early January when, for the first time since being a rookie, Dirk had doubt.
\"It\'s the lowest I\'ve been in many years,\" he admitted. \"I wasn\'t moving. I wasn\'t shooting. I was really down. Tough times.\"
He called Holger. He leaned on Nash. He sat down with assistant Donnie Nelson. He talked openly and honestly, sometimes for three hours after practice.
Then a funny thing happened to Dirk on the way down. He grew up.
\"We\'re all a little spoiled because a talent like Dirk doesn\'t come around very often,\" Donnie said. \"We forget he\'s a human being, a young kid. His emotions go up and down. He gets shakes in his confidence. Like everybody, he needs a shot in the arm every now and then.\"
Said Dirk: \"I cleared my mind. And now I\'m better off for going through it.\"
On March 26, the new Dirk debuted. After a heartbreaking overtime loss at Miami that left the Mavs 44-28, Nowitzki -- for the first time in his six-year career -- spoke up and spoke out. He ripped players (see: Walker) for pouting. He questioned leadership (see: head coach Don Nelson and owner Mark Cuban). He pointed the finger at everyone (see: himself).
\"He spoke up when we needed someone to do so,\" owner Mark Cuban said. \"And that\'s an important step for him.\"
The outburst has been as effective as it was shocking. Echoing Dirk\'s urgency, Nelson announced the switch to \"small ball\" the next day. Nowitzki was named Western Conference player of the week for averaging 32 points and 12 rebounds in the following seven days and the Mavs went 8-2 down the stretch.
He was fined $2,000, but his Fraulein flare-up might still be paying dividends deep into spring.
\"He hasn\'t said much in his six years, but that worked wonders,\" Nash said. \"It was proactive. It was right. It showed growth.\"
Now a captain and a leader in the locker room, the next step for Dirk needs to be in the low post.
No big man -- not even Garnett -- can create shots off the dribble like Nowitzki. But for all his size and skill, Dirk hates to bang as much as he loves to bounce.
His defense has improved, but still blocked fewer shots (104) than the Bucks\' Dan Gadzuric (105) and Denver\'s Chris Anderson (114). His rebounding has improved, but still grabbed fewer offensive boards (1.2 per game) than any rebounder among the league\'s top 40. His aggression has improved, but still attempted fewer free throws (423) than point guards Steve Francis (435) and Chauncey Billups (460).
Dirk\'s biggest compliment is also his biggest criticism: You forget he\'s 7-feet tall.
\"He is the most beautiful jump-shooter since Larry Bird,\" said ESPN NBA analyst Bill Walton. \"If he adds just one move in the low post, with the way he shoots free throws, he\'ll be completely unstoppable. And I mean 30-plus-points-a-game unstoppable.\"
That didn\'t happen this season, nor will it in the playoffs. In the first round the Mavericks don\'t need Nowitzki to be better than Garnett, only Sacramento\'s leading scorer, Peja Stojakovic. Best-of-seven, best European wins.
Though Nowitzki effortlessly swished jump hooks with both hands after practice, he was being guarded not by Vlade Divac, but rather equipment manager Al Whitley.
Said Holger, \"No one can guard it. But the only way to get him to shoot it is to put money on it. He thinks it\'s too old-fashioned.\"
Nowitzki, who opened last year\'s playoffs with a career-high 46 points in Game 1 against Portland, openly admits he hasn\'t reached his potential.
\"[The hook] just feels a little weird still,\" Dirk said after an hour-long post-practice of shooting, dunking and happy-go-lucky frolicking that included friendly trash-talking with Walker and a comedic interruption of Michael Finley\'s TV interview. \"I know my post play is my weakness as far as banging around and scoring. At some point, maybe when I\'m 28 or so, I\'ll be a complete player. But I know I\'m not there yet.\"
Bad news: Dirk Nowitzki isn\'t Kevin Garnett.
Great news: He\'s still closer than most. |
楼主
