The problem here is that Rockets fans only watched Dirk play in that one series two years ago where Dirk was reorganizing his game for his new coach. He doesn't play that poorly anymore. The Rockets tried to put Ryan on him last seaon and Dirk ate him alive.
No, Haslem punked Dirk in the finals last year. Dirk is soft and as long as you have a tall person up in his face, his game goes south. That is why he has to flop while taking jumpshots. Foul trouble is the only way he can overcome a zealous defender. Dirk is a tall ray allen without the quickness. He runs around screens and takes jumpshots. He has a post game but its not strong enough to command a double team.
All i know is that i don't want the Rockets playing Miami or Dallas in any kind of series because that's basically playing 5 on 8.
On the comments, they're both right. Dirk talked against the champions but Dirk himself contributed to that (though Dirk only ties the game if he hits the free throw in game 3 and Miami would still have a last second shot, plus overtime). And Wade hit all the clutch SHOTS (not free throws, actual shots from the field) when called upon. Advantage Wade. Still.......Wade utilizes those flops. Back in junior high there'd be these two guys when they drove to the rim in traffic, they do that backward slide thing - when they'd land, would push backward off both feet and slide backwards on their butts a few feet. Sometimes with their hands in the air while doing it. You know those guys, they'd do that slam against the padding on the wall behind the goal (or the goalpost padding itself) cuz it looked cool. Adding that dramatic finish to the play and getting attention and calls...maaaaan I HATED that crap. To his credit, that's what Dwyane Wade does but in the NBA
It's not just wade(and yes he got some ridiculous calls in the finals, which I said). Wade is just the one guy in the league willing to have that reckless abandon and bump his defender and go crashing to the floor constantly(whether via real contact or losing his balance or flopping, doesn't matter). I've seen manu ginobili and tony parker and a host of others drive at Yao, jump into him fall down, yao goes straight up, and he gets the foul. If you want to say NBA refs(and that goes college too) have no clue how to officiate the games, i'll support the concept 110%. That's the issue. Wade takes smart advantage of it. But the difference is wade's game is based on slashing/driving and he is willing to attack the rim and initiate the contact. And he does it frequently, unlike any other player in the league. Look at Kobe, Tracy, Lebron, Arenas, any other elite guards. They do not attack the basket and use the drive, bump into my defender then go crashing to the floor technique nearly as often as wade. They tend to take more jumpers. What bothers me is people acting like Wade is only good because he gets calls. It's not the case. I mean honestly, if you drive as the offensive player, twist your body to initiate contact then fall down, you get the call in the NBA almost every time, regardless of the name on the jersey. It's wrong and annoying but it's the way the refs officiate the games.
Why are we defending the Mavericks. Dirk is a tool who could have won it for his team. He got some ridiculous calls and still does. He didn't convert down the stretch for the Mavs and Wade did.
