Questioning Dirk.

[johndeeregreen]

Small minded people, not able to give a simple answer without giving an insult.

It's because this is such a ludicrous topic that no one wants to take it seriously.

[haterofhaters]

It's because this is such a ludicrous topic that no one wants to take it seriously.

So far all i've been told that the resounding reasons why they would not be a top 4 team with Okur is that

#1. Dirk is a good defender??? yeah ok.. and Okur is not
#2. Dirk can create his shot off the dribble.

If those two points make it such a ludicrous topic then go ahead burn me at the stake. : Until you can come up with something more than that, then you really have no place making a comment.

[johndeeregreen]

1) Nowitzki is a much more talented, versatile scorer than Okur. And it's not close.

2) He's a superior rebounder, playmaker, and defensive player.

3) He has proven his ability to lead a team; Okur has not. Nowitzki has proven he can also be the centerpiece of a championship caliber team. Okur isn't a franchise player. At all.

I mean, besides being superior in every facet of the game, a franchise player, and a leader of a team that goes to the NBA Finals, what response do you want?

[TMac&Luther]

They're both tall, white, foriegn, and can shoot, but thats where the comparisions stop.

Dirk is the biggest mismatch in the league, he's too athletic for big men, can drive to the basket like a sg, and too tall for guards out on the perimeter.

[statman32]

dirks stats this year: 25.4 ppg 9.6 rpg 3.5 apg .86 bpg .74 spg 50.5 fg% 42.9 3pt% 90.6 ft% 437 ft attempted

okurs stats this year: 18 ppg 7.3 rpg 2.0 apg .52 bpg .50 spg 46.0 fg% 39.2 3pt% 78.8 ft% 259 ft attempted

As you can see dirk is better at every single catgory and all those stats dont even show the leadership he brings too..You cannot comapre the two players...dirk blows okur out

Replace dirk with okur on the mavs and they are a 41 to 46 wins team

[Juvenile]

Replace Dirk with Okur and the Mavs win 21-26 games, cause Cuban will blow up a team that has no shot at a title in no time.

[SupermanOnSteroids]

Two things that I can say to that. #1, race? wow, they're not even the same race first of all and second of all, race had nothing to do with the comparison...

And secondly, If I were 7 fuking feet tall, it wouldn't be that hard to create my own shot.

once again, your intelligence amazes me.

[Skywalker]

dirk is the most dominant high post player in the nba.

no.

[Loki]

I agree that Dirk is better, but I think that if Okur were to be put on the Mavs in place of Dirk they would have similar success. Maybe not quite as much as they do now, but would be a top 3 team in the leauge nonetheless.

[zebraheat]

Dirk is the best player on the best team, who will most likely win the championship. Think MVP.

Okur is the third best player on a very good team, who will likely bow out in the second round. Made the AS team via injury and lack of talent at C position.

HoH, you have either terribly overestimated Okur, or have little respect for Dirk.

They are practically the same race - well, Western European v Eastern European (They are both human ;)).

Swap both players, Utah is the team to beat for the championship, Dallas will be 7th or 8th seed.

Not sure why you put the hate on Dirk, perhaps your an ethnic minority and see him as the superior race Hitler envisioned 70 years ago. Just imagine a world in which germany (today) was the super power, would actually prefer them over the stupid americans.

[DreamRockets]

no.

of course he is, who else ? kg ?! lol with 30 wins per season he sure "dominates"

[Brunch@Five]

Okur doesn't create mismatches, doesn't demand a double team, cannot create his own shot, nor for others.

Those are the things Dirk does night in night out, and those are the things that put Dallas on a 70-win pace and make them the top favorites to win the title.

[malek4980]

Here are some of Dirk's games over the last month:

38/10/6
24/11/7
38/11/8
31/11/6
31/11/8
24/11/7
24/9/7

How many current NBA players can do that?
Not Okur. He can not come close to being this dominant.

[different107]

I would never give up Dirk for Okur. Dirk fits with the guys in dallas and its showing (50-9). The Mavs better finish this June though.

[BballFan422]

I've seriously started to wonder this the more I watch the Jazz play. Mehmet Okur is exactly the same type of player as Dirk. The only real differences I see are that he's a bit slower and a shorter. Granted, Dirk shoots at a much higher fg% which brings most of the seperation but they do have similar game types. So my question is do you think that were he to be plugged into the Mavs and Dirk taken away, would they have a record that's similar to what they have now? (dumbed down for raider fan: not the same record but a top 4 record in the west)

edit: This is NOT saying that Okur is better.... it's just asking if they could sustain a good record were Okur put in his position.

No, the Mavs entire system is built around Dirk (his strengths and weaknesses). You can't just switch players and expect the same results.

If you put Okur in Dirk's place, Howard or Terry becomes #1 option (which changes things significantly).