Yea thats the one thing that will put Dirt over C-webb, because c-webb didnt do it long enough. The thing that drives me crazy about Dirt is that hes 7'ft and only average 10 rebs a game twice in his career. Thats why is so hard for me to put him over the other guys on the list.
I am not saying Dirk is better than mailman, whom I also hate. But to me, except for TD, there is no clear cut in the next group of great PFs. Karl Malone did need Stockton for any of his success.
the hype at the moment. it's ridiculous the hype dirk has NOW compared to say the past few years. so funny. he's an all-timer, but he's not #2-5 like some posters think on here. totally absurd. i also think what hurt cwebb was that he didn't play for winning teams (although the bullets made the playoffs a few years) until he reached sacramento. what he did statistically in sacto was AMAZING. he was on par with KG in his prime (w/o the defense) offensively. then you can also you that to argue vs magic (who had kareem and worthy), bird or jordan and so on. regardless, what malone accomplished was out of this world. there is NO WAY dirk can touch him, even if he wins a ring this year. if tim duncan didn't win more than a ring, i don't think he would topple malone as the best PF of all time. malone was THAT good statistically, and he did it for over 15+ seasons. i don't like the guy, but he was that good.
Yea I think the hate for Malone is so great people cant see how great of a player he was. I hate the guy, but if you go look at his stats and see what he did he was pretty damn good. I say if Malone would have won a few rings he would have been the greatest PF to ever play. I think people forget at the age of freaking 34 Malone put up 27 and 10 while shooting over 50%.
but guys would score on him back. it's not about just points. it's the all-around game and also the consistency. barkley's PEAK was arguably the greatest among all PFs (like hakeem was). but if we're talking abut peaks, hakeem just might be #2 to MJ as the best player of all time.
do people factor in dirk's brilliance in the playoffs ever? the rebounding and scoring improves dramatically every year when he hits the post season...despite playing more basketball than 99% of these other guys due to his loyalty to the german national team. the other guy said it, but dirk's durability over the last 13 years is impressive.
at his peak, i don't think anyone was the 2-way player than hakeem was outside of MJ (i'm talking about the peak of their primes). he was more skilled offensively than any center in the history of the game in my opinion. and he used it. i have never seen anybody abuses his peers (who were in their prime) at his peak like hakeem did. just my opinion though.
He would not only do just fine, he'd probably win a championship or multiple. Dirk would do the same. But, Kobe didn't need a Westbrook when he played with Shaq or Gasol. He only needs one or the other and he does just fine with a very mediocre PG in Fisher. And, I'm aware that Durant doesn't play with bigs as talented as Kobe. He won't win a championship unless Ibaka continues to improve and they get all-star level production from that combo of Serge and Perkins. It's nothing personal, you need good playmaking ability and low post play to win a championship. If your superstar doesn't have those qualities you must acquire players that do. This year might be Dirk's best chance. He's learned to take it inside more, Chandler is playing dominant interior defense, and they've had great guard play.
That's somewhat unfair, because Nowitzki's role on offense has been to generally play at the mid-post or perimeter because of his unique skill-set and the benefits his team gets from him pulling defenders away from the basket. And he's usually been paired with a C who's role was to gobble up offensive boards. If you compare his defensive rebounding to his peers, it is solid. We can't just look at rebounding numbers without considering them in the context of what the player brings his team.
I don't ever remember the jazz giving the ball to karl and said win us the game. I don't even remember him being a great 1 on 1 scorer. He scored off the break or on the pick and roll. What was his signature move? Getting to FT line on stockton pick and roll?
Yea hes a great player because of what he brings to his team no doubt. I just cant put him over the others on the list.
i don't remember dirk being a great rebounder. or i don't remember dirk being a decent defender. it's nice that you overlook those aspects of the game though. so are we going to criticize guys b/c they aren't great 1-on-1 scorers? KD is not even close to the 1-on-1 scorer that melo or kobe or lebron or wade is but he's the league leading scorer. kevin martin isn't either but he's one of the most efficient guys in the L. you don't care how a player score, as long as he scores. although i say that, but malone was a pretty good 1-on-1 scorer. watch the 96 finals vs rodman. he scored a lot of isos simply b/c of that damn unstoppable fallaway at the midpost. the guy averaged 25 and 10 on 52% shooting for his freakin' career. he also averaged 4 dimes and 1.5 steals a game. let's be real now. dirk is nowhere close to the mailman even if he wins a ring. not even close.
