Game 10 November 16, 2008 Mavs @ Knicks

[ppp000]

JHoward is the soul of this team, and disappears less then Dirk.

Please, go back and check "JHustle's" 4th quarter stats. He had a great game today, but you can stop with the revisionist history when it is widely known that JHo disappears after halftime. I really hope that changes.

[durka]

After looking at the box score, i just wanted to say that its pretty crazy that a team could win with 2 starters not scoring and one scoring three points... even if it was against the knicks.

[Shammgod_]

JHoward is the soul of this team, and disappears less then Dirk.

Please, go back and check "JHustle's" 4th quarter stats. He had a great game today, but you can stop with the revisionist history when it is widely known that JHo disappears after halftime. I really hope that changes.

i was only refering to todays game. Pretty sure the loss by Dallas the other night was in part by Howard not showing on in the boxscores in the 2nd half. by jest, i'm saying, for someone who is usually knocked for not showing up, the team has an even bigger star who is just as good if not better with the disappearing act in Dirk Nowinski.

[ppp000]

JHoward is the soul of this team, and disappears less then Dirk.

Please, go back and check "JHustle's" 4th quarter stats. He had a great game today, but you can stop with the revisionist history when it is widely known that JHo disappears after halftime. I really hope that changes.

i was only refering to todays game. Pretty sure the loss by Dallas the other night was in part by Howard not showing on in the boxscores in the 2nd half. by jest, i'm saying, for someone who is usually knocked for not showing up, the team has an even bigger star who is just as good if not better with the disappearing act in Dirk Nowinski.

Actually Dirk is very good in the 4th quarter, he has bad series no doubt (and chokes), but also carried the team more times than not. Check his playoff career stats, his 4th quarter stats (which are night and day compared to JHos). And the criticism on JHo is well founded for a "second best player" who doesnt' even want to touch the ball in the 4th usually.
But I don't really expect the typical "soft" "choker" "nowinski" ignorance to let way for actual facts.

[italy_23]

finally they came through. maybe this win puts them back on track

[Teffer10]

Not to take anything away from Dirk but the Knicks had no defensive matchup for him.
Many other teams don"t have that problem.

I wouldn"t get too exited about this win because we did it primarily with jump shooting against a team that had absolutely no shot-blockers.

[SpeedyG]

Not to take anything away from Dirk but the Knicks had no defensive matchup for him.
Many other teams don"t have that problem.

I wouldn"t get too exited about this win because we did it primarily with jump shooting against a team that had absolutely no shot-blockers.

There's really not a lot of teams who should have a good matchup on Dirk if he plays up to the level he's capable of.

[GREEN8]

green 6:32. thats atrocious. gerald deserves more pt.

sounds like your more of a green fan then a mavs fan

well, Gerald's my favorite player. if I told you i was a mavs fan before he was on the team that would be a lie. i like the mavs because of gerald green.

[JES12]

You must be related by blood.

[crucifixx]

Not to take anything away from Dirk but the Knicks had no defensive matchup for him.
Many other teams don"t have that problem.

I wouldn"t get too exited about this win because we did it primarily with jump shooting against a team that had absolutely no shot-blockers.

From what I've heard, Dirk is one of the hardest if not the hardest matchup in the league

[Teffer10]

Not to take anything away from Dirk but the Knicks had no defensive matchup for him.
Many other teams don"t have that problem.

I wouldn"t get too exited about this win because we did it primarily with jump shooting against a team that had absolutely no shot-blockers.

There's really not a lot of teams who should have a good matchup on Dirk if he plays up to the level he's capable of.

You can look at that in two different ways. Dirk can punish the hell out of teams that don't have long/quick defenders. Dirk does create a lot of matchup problems but there are several teams that seem to defend him well by either double teaming or putting a quicker long defender on him. He seems to get rattled by a certain type of defender or defensive strategy. Therefore, he isn't able to play to his potential because of the defensive matchups.

I just hate seeing us barely beat teams with jump shots...especially when those teams have no inside defensive presence whatsoever or no matchup for Dirk.

Although we got the win, it troubles me that we still have to adjust our lineups to match other teams. I thought this new Carlisle/Kidd led team would establish a new identity for the club.

[SpeedyG]

Not to take anything away from Dirk but the Knicks had no defensive matchup for him.
Many other teams don"t have that problem.

I wouldn"t get too exited about this win because we did it primarily with jump shooting against a team that had absolutely no shot-blockers.

There's really not a lot of teams who should have a good matchup on Dirk if he plays up to the level he's capable of.

You can look at that in two different ways. Dirk can punish the hell out of teams that don't have long/quick defenders. Dirk does create a lot of matchup problems but there are several teams that seem to defend him well by either double teaming or putting a quicker long defender on him. He seems to get rattled by a certain type of defender or defensive strategy. Therefore, he isn't able to play to his potential because of the defensive matchups.
I just hate seeing us barely beat teams with jump shots...especially when those teams have no inside defensive presence whatsoever or no matchup for Dirk.

Although we got the win, it troubles me that we still have to adjust our lineups to match other teams. I thought this new Carlisle/Kidd led team would establish a new identity for the club.

I guess my point was that quick, long defenders shouldn't bother him as much as they have historically. If he's backing down someone like Rashard Lewis, he SHOULD be able to use his size and strength advantage. That was what I was getting to.

If the defense puts a quicker guy on him, he should be able to use his size and strength advantage to back him down. If they put a stronger guy on him, he should be able to face up and get around him off the dribble. If they back off him, nail the open jumpshot. If they double, find the open guy.

For Dirk's combination of skillset and size, those are things he should be able to do.