I predict 41 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals which will lead Dallas to a 112-94 win. Everyone can make fun of me if he sucks and Dallas loses.
You must have predicted one hell of a second half... Horrible First quarter, decent second quarter for Dirk.
****. I should have shut up. Three things lost the game for the Mavs tonight: - Nash's turnovers - Dirk's terrible shooting - They allowed the Kings way too many offensive rebounds. Oh, and Bobby Jackson. That little %!%!%! was having a career night. With a team that has Nash and Van Exel, you would hope that the opposing backup point guard doesn't kill you.
Bobby Jackson Rocks! That was a steal pickup from the Wolves. I love to see players show up at money time, too.
It's no coincidence that the Kings managed to win a close ballgame with Chris Webber gone for the last ten minutes. (five in regulation and then OT) That was the result of team basketball, instead of a power forward holding the ball and taking 18 foot jumpers to beat the clock. On the Mavs side, Nowitzki just had the Tim Duncan syndrome from last night. Yeah, there were occasions where he was defended well, but he had a ton of shots like the last one in overtime that just bounced all around the rim and out. However, I still don't quite think this series is over. The Mavs don't strike me as the type of team to roll over, and they have the offensive capability to get hot for a couple of games and extend this to seven.
I really hope you are right. This whole series is a big learning experience for Dirk. Fortunately, he keeps improving all the time. His shots have just not been falling, he looked a little bit tentative at times today. Well, he managed to foul out both Webber and Stojakovic, (and also, Christie has been on him sometimes) but right now he just doesn't have the confidence in his shot he normally has. I think that he really doesn't like playing both Turkoglu and Divac (by the way, Germany with Dirk lost only two games at the European Championships last year - one against Turkey with Turkoglu as the main player and one against Yugoslavia with Stojakovic). Dirk has NOT been playing well, but I guess it says something about a player when he plays some of his worst basketball in a long time and is still averaging something like 23 points and 11 rebounds and almost gets a triple double tonight. Webber has been much better than I expected him to be. And Bibby, Jackson, Christie, Divac and even Pollard have just been rock-solid. It will be very tough for the Mavs. Finley has been good, Nash has been ok, but Van Exel, LaFrentz and the others just have to outplay Jackson, Christie, Divac if the Mavs want to have a chance to still pull this one out.
This series is over. It's been great, but I can't see anyone except maybe LA winning 2 games at Arco.
I must admit before the series began i thought Dirk would outplay Webber. However, Give credit where credit is due. So far Webber has completely outplayed Dirk. Before the series started there was a thread about what Webbers excuse would be when Dirk outplayed him. Well that has not happened yet and might not happen at all. Dirk is a great offensive player but thats it. If he's not hitting his shots he's not much good. Webber is the full package, he's got to be the best passing power forward in the NBA. Dallas has no low post D. They have three seven footers ( sometimes on the floor at the same time) but Lafrentz (sp?) is the only one with any semblance of a defensive game. Unless they start playing D this series is over. All this hating on Webber is pathetic, he's the best player on that team without a doubt.
-I'm no Webber fan but he's been killing Dallas all series by taking the ball to the rack and shooting a very good FG% which he should against that porous interior defense which gives up layups and dunks more than even the Rockets do. If you want to see Webber jack 18 footers, wait till they play LA or SA, I'm sure he'll oblige. I think the series is over. Dallas is just too defensively porous. They have to stay hot the entire 48 minutes to overcome their defense. I love Dirk but he may just be the worst defensive player in the NBA right now. He'll be unreal if he just improves his D and post game.
Webber's had a great statistical series, no doubt. That's never been my problem with him. My problem with him is identical to my problem with Shaq: where is he down the stretch of crucial games? He can have 50 points and 25 rebounds, but if I can't count on him in the final minutes, what's the point? Game 3 was the exception to the rule, when he had a good fourth quarter. But, the great players know how to play with fouls. The great players don't let it affect their game. In games 1 and 4, Webber fouled out very early in the quarter. That fake yesterday from Nowitzki wasn't anything special, but a great player with 5 fouls knows not to leave his feet. In game 2, the Kings lost, and there was Webber taking outside jumpers. In three out of four games, he hasn't been there to deliver in the final minutes for his team. Though two of those games were due to fouling out, playing with five fouls is something the best of the best know how to do. P.S. Everyone look for me today at the Alamodome... I'm leaving right now. If you hear some loud booing after every Spurs foul, it might be me.
