Will Mavs win 70? Who's best in West?

[Covert Rain]

I agree with you, and stated so on the first page. I would consider Nash a harder cover as he can create his own shot at ease, is masterful in the pick 'n' roll, and even more deadly than Dirk from beyond the arc. Kobe is a harder cover as well.

When Dirk is not hitting the outside shot which we have seen happen, are you scared of Dirk in the interior? If Nash is not hitting his shot, you still have to account for him and getting others involved. If Nash is hitting his shot then he is a double threat.

Guys like Kobe also can drive like no tomorrow as well as get hot from the outside. I just don't feel threatened by Dirk living on the block and posting up anybody. He is still a great player but there are other guys that scare me much more. I never looked at Dirk's game and said "wow Dirk's going to eat us up in the paint". I feel like IF you can contain Dirk's outside game you have a much better chance then against some of the others mentioned.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Ahhh yes I did not catch what the Mavs troll claimed, but still, I don't see anybody being that "much tougher than Dirk". Just as tough, but certainly not tougher, if that makes any sense

Ah yes. I knew you were talking about Greg Anthony, that troll.

 

[jenna2891]

"oh yeah, an african swallow, maybe, but not a european swallow. that's my point. " <-----this argument

 

[SO91]

Ah yes. I knew you were talking about Greg Anthony, that troll.

I was refering to this piece of information, which I did not see before making the post you refered to.

...Dirk would be his dominating self on any team and still be the toughest matchup in the league...

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I was refering to this piece of information, which I did not see before making the post you refered to.

I know, I was trying to attempt a joke, based off of this information.

Greg Anthony is Dirk's groupie.

 

[Jay Cardinal]

Is Dirk really the hardest player in the NBA to guard? I would put Kobe, Nash and possibly even Arenas in there over Dirk.

Thoughts?

I am a Suns homer, but I still think Dirk is the toughest to defend in the NBA. He is seven feet tall, and when he shoots off of the high pick and roll it is nearly unguardable. He keeps the ball so high and shoots it over his head. Very difficult to defend.

I think Amare is the second most difficult to defend. He has the strength of a guy much heavier than him, but is as quick as a guard. The fact that he is improving his outside shooting and his passing make him that much more difficult to guard.

 

[TheFallen49]

I would argue that he did. In fact, the Dirk that was playing then is not the same as the Dirk playing now. If not for the improvment Dirk made in his game since Steve left, there is no telling where Dallas would be. To say Nash wouldn't have an impact on very many teams is baseless.

Also since when is Dirk the toughest match up in the league? Dirk is only tough when guys have to lag off him to cover the paint and Dirk is left alone out there. I don't consider Dirk a great post up player either. I can name other players that are much tougher to guard then Dirk. What makes Dirk so tough to guard is that you have to account for him at all time because of his ability to hit the jumper so well for a guy his size.

I was thinking about changing my quote a little, I know Nash made us better but what I meant was he wasn't as effective as he is in Phoenix for numerous reasons. We didn't build players around him and devote the entire system to his strengths. My argument about Nash being as effective on others teams as he is in Phoenix is pretty simple: how many teams are like Phoenix? How many teams have the players that Phoenix has that have been carefully selected to make Nash's job easier? Not many in my opinion. Yeah each team has it's shooters and athletics, but if you have a guy like Nash on a halfcourt team he won't be nearly as effective (ex. replace Amare with Shaq, Shaq would DIE trying to run the whole game playing 40+ min). My argument was also based on the fact that Dirk doesn't rely on his teamates to play his game (and you would argue he doesn't make his teamates better), so he is as valuable on Dallas as he is on any other team primarily for two reasons: his efficiency and his uniqueness.

For the record, Dirk is hardly ever left alone. He gets double teams, he's learned how to swing the ball around to the open man. He is a coaches nightmare, almost no teams have a guy who is big enough and athletic enough to guard all of Dirk's weapons. Marion comes close, but he's still pretty small to cover a seven footer. Like I said guys like Kobe and Arenas are a dime a dozen, guards who can shoot all over. Big surprise. There are players with the skills to stop them, but guarding a seven footer on the perimeter is something the majority of teams aren't ready for.

 

[Covert Rain]

guys like Kobe and Arenas are a dime a dozen, guards who can shoot all over. Big surprise. There are players with the skills to stop them, but guarding a seven footer on the perimeter is something the majority of teams aren't ready for.

OK. Now I can't take what your saying serious. Guys like Kobe are a dime a dozen? I want some of what your smoking. The reason you can't guard guys like that is because if they are not hitting from the outside they can drive right by you.

Dirk scores alot of points from the outside because the Mavs like the Suns like to spread you out. All Dirk needs is a step and he can hit the outside shot. If Dirk is not hitting his shot like in the GS game then Dirk dissappears. He is not the type of player who can drive around you or post you up on a consistant basis.

Thank goodness for the Mavs, Dirk doesn't have shooting funks that often. However, Dirk doesn't really have anything to fall back on when he is not hitting his outside jumper. So I would much rather face Dirk then other players like Kobe when they are on.

 

[TheFallen49]

Kobes a shooting guard... he's SUPPOSED to be able to shoot. Just like Nash is SUPPOSED to make plays for his team. Dirk as a forward isn't SUPPOSED to hit a shot from anywhere, but he can. I'm just saying Kobe does what a typical SG does, there's no question he's a hell of a lot better at it than most (in fact all in the league).

 

[Covert Rain]

Kobes a shooting guard... he's SUPPOSED to be able to shoot. Just like Nash is SUPPOSED to make plays for his team. Dirk as a forward isn't SUPPOSED to hit a shot from anywhere, but he can. I'm just saying Kobe does what a typical SG does, there's no question he's a hell of a lot better at it than most (in fact all in the league).

I am commenting on what they bring to the court skills wise. Not what they typically should do at that position. Who cares what they should or shouldn't do? I am talking purely from what they bring to the court. Typical or not, players who have more then one type of game are a harder cover IMO then someone who is more 1 dimensional at ANY position.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Kobes a shooting guard... he's SUPPOSED to be able to shoot. Just like Nash is SUPPOSED to make plays for his team. Dirk as a forward isn't SUPPOSED to hit a shot from anywhere, but he can. I'm just saying Kobe does what a typical SG does, there's no question he's a hell of a lot better at it than most (in fact all in the league).

Ok, Dirk is a POWER Forward, shouldn't he be able to overpower his opponent in the post? Looks to me that he is a 7 footer playing out of position.

Look, Dirk is great, and I love his game. Just because you can shoot a jumpshot doesn't make you the hardest to guard in the NBA.