top 5 players....is Dirk still there?

[-primetime-]

I told yall before when he couldnt post up Steve Nash something was up...Dirk is soft like CHARMIN...Wade wipes his *** with him, and so does Stephen Jackson.

Wade doesn't wipe his own ass, the refs do that for him

[Richie2k6]

you're a fool....Dirk would have countless wide open shots and would be in the running for a scoring title.

Open shots? Are you insane? That's like leaving Pippen open all night long because you're busy guarding Jordan. You don't let a 7 foot MVP sniper have open shots all night long, ever. No defense is stupid enough to leave Dirk, a franchise player, open for any circumstance.

because GS is the only team that plays small ball....they don't play with a center, they play with 2 guards and 3 forwards...they left Damp/Diop alone and tripled up on Dirk...other teams don't have that ability...

And being the normal, one-sided Dirk he is, he chose to shoot jumpshots over "midgets", in reference to Charles Barkley's description. What did Barkley say Dirk had to do to win? "Get them on the block, post'em up and punish those midgets." What did Dirk do? Get them on the arc, jump up and shoot the ball. He didn't attack the rim much at all. He let small players get to him. He attacks the rim more, though still not enough, against big men, but is scared and settles for jumpshots against midgets? I'm confused.

now I am not saying that Dirk didn't have a bad series, but there are legit reasons that GS gave Dirk much more problems that other teams...

Because they swarmed him and Dirk DECIDED to shoot all day. He wasn't forced to. That's just his nature - settles for jumpers with his one-sided game play style. Turn around, fadeaway. Post up, fadeaway, pump fake, fade away, once in a while go in for a layup. Otherwise he's pretty much shooting all day unless he gets easy looks to the rim. That's another reason why he isn't a top 5 player. His game is far too one dimensional. He's a big man that plays like a guard, and everybody knows that big men that shoot all day and don't dominate in the post never win.

still, you just proved that it was Shaq that had to dig the team out of the hole without the help of Wade...they wouldn't have even made the playoofs without Shaq

Okay? And? Shaq is the second option on offense - it was his JOB to carry them.

Wade doesn't wipe his own ass, the refs do that for him

Oh be quiet about "the refs" and the Finals stuff. This is all coming from the mouth of a Mavericks fan. Wade > Dirk. Simple. Wade attacks the rim like crazy is why he got so many calls. Sure, some of them were just flat out bad, but he still deserved many of the calls. This always happens. Who ever averages more FT attempts or gets to the line most always get criticized for "cheating". Stupid is all it is.

[Free]

It's not really about Dirk though, it's the idea that a player that failed to prove himself in the 2006-07 season but still manages to make my top 5.

If we were discussing the players with the top 5 seasons, I wouldn't put Wade in the top 5, he probably wouldn't be in the top 20 becuase he didn't play enough games. But in this case we're discussing the top 5 players which implies not only performance but ability. I won't write off an injured, player especially in this case becuaes there's a strong possiblity he'll recover and be back to his old self next year. There were no signs of Wade declining as a player, in fact he was having probably the best season as an individual prior to his injury.

[-primetime-]

Open shots? Are you insane? That's like leaving Pippen open all night long because you're busy guarding Jordan. You don't let a 7 foot MVP sniper have open shots all night long, ever. No defense is stupid enough to leave Dirk, a franchise player, open for any circumstance.

I wasn't saying that he would be left ungaurded...i was saying that with a center like Amare that teams wouldn't be able to double or triple team him the way that GS did

[The Italian]

1. Duncan
2. Kobe/Bron
3. Kobe/Bron
4. Garnett
5. Wade/Nash

I would take Wade and Nash over Dirk but I can see why people would take Dirk. I just don't think that Dirk is a top 5 player. He is the definition of soft. He fades away in critical times. He can't handle pressure. Thos are the reasons Dirk isn't in my top 5.

[Richie2k6]

I wasn't saying that he would be left ungaurded...i was saying that with a center like Amare that teams wouldn't be able to double or triple team him the way that GS did

You said he would get tons of open shots and be in the run for a scoring title. I don't see how you can have open shots and not be unguarded.

[-primetime-]

If we were discussing the players with the top 5 seasons, I wouldn't put Wade in the top 5, he probably wouldn't be in the top 20 becuase he didn't play enough games. But in this case we're discussing the top 5 players which implies not only performance but ability. I won't write off an injured, player especially in this case becuaes there's a strong possiblity he'll recover and be back to his old self next year. There were no signs of Wade declining as a player, in fact he was having probably the best season as an individual prior to his injury.

the team was below .500

[-primetime-]

You said he would get tons of open shots and be in the run for a scoring title. I don't see how you can have open shots and not be unguarded.

by beating the ONE guy that is guarding you

[Richie2k6]

the team was below .500

Dude, read. It said AS AN INDIVIDUAL.

[Richie2k6]

by beating the ONE guy that is guarding you

What does Amare have to do with that? What, will he draw double teams? That doesn't mean they'll leave Dirk. They'll just leave someone else.

Either way, Dirk will not get a sifficient amount of "open shots" and will never win a scoring title. With Melo, Lebron, Wade, Durant, Kobe, McGrady, Iverson, etc, he has no chance.

[mlh1981]

the team was below .500

Yes, but team wins is only one factor you look at when determining a list of top 5. If you used that criteria, Garnett wouldn't even be in the top 20-30

[DatZNasty]

I'm done defending Dirk and the Mavs. In fact, the more i think about it, I'm tired of their act and don't know if I could even consider myself a Mavs fan anymore. So many things about that team I don't like.

And there's no defending Dirk's playoffs either. You Mavs fans would like the world to believe that the double team is some illegal tactic that was just invented this yr to stop Dirk, or even that Dirk was doubled every time he touched the ball.

They swarmed him like that the first game, then the effect it had on Dirk mentally just lingered. 4 times he was in the post, the real post, iso'd against Stephen Jackson. 1 time he spinned off him and made a layup. The other 3 SJax mollywhopped his shot off the backboard.

Furthermore, he has a defeatist attitude which you never want to see in a leader i.e "If we lose this game [potentially the 3rd L in a 4 L series], the season's over" or the "I'm making what they're giving me, I just can't do much" type quote or the "Avery wants me to get a post game, I'll work on it but it's never going to be a strong point of my game" type quotes.

[-primetime-]

Dude, read. It said AS AN INDIVIDUAL.

yes, and that INDIVIDUAL could lead his team to wins like Lebron or Kobe

[Richie2k6]

yes, and that INDIVIDUAL could lead his team to wins like Lebron or Kobe

Oh God.

Individual as in person accolades. MVP, scoring title, career number averages, all-NBA selections, etc.

Not championships, winning percentages, etc. Those are team accolades.

[-primetime-]

What does Amare have to do with that? What, will he draw double teams? That doesn't mean they'll leave Dirk. They'll just leave someone else.

since Damp/Diop don't know how to score nobody has to worry about gaurding them...that frees up a player to focus on Dirk...GS left Damp/Diop all alone, Avery knew this would be a problem and decided to not even play them half the time...

If Dirk had an Amare type player then other teams would have to worry about the paint and that would give Dirk more outside shots...teams just don't have to worry about Damp/Diop becuase they can't score worth a sh-it.