06 Dirk vs 11 Dirk

[sp6r=underrated]

I know the Mavs won in 11 and lost in 06 but I see Dirk's performance in 06 to be superior. I'm not trying to take away from 2011 Dirk. He was great that as year as well.

His RS play was far better than in 2011. He was in the running for the most destructive offensive force in the league in 06. 06 Dirk was younger and was able log a lot more minutes than 11 Dirk. I don't think Dirk was being rested because his coach is overly minutes conscious. Rather I don't think he could log as much time on the court as 06 Dirk. I would discard the MP if I felt 11 Dirk had the same stamina as 06 Dirk.

In the 06 WCP was just ridiculous. He was basically an unstoppable force offensively against two excellent defensive teams. Memphis and SAS were the two best defensive clubs in the league and Dirk more or less sodomized them over 11 games. Furthermore he was a truly dominating force on the defensive glass.

His play in the 06 Finals did go down but the drop-off is overstated and his play in the 11 finals went down as well.

Overall, I think there is an excellent case that 06 Dirk is the most underrated individual season by an ATG in the post-Jordan era. Lord knows, I am guilty of overlooking it at times.

Is that the only reason 11 is held up as Dirk's best season that he won a title?

[ThatsWhatIShved]

I agree. 06 Dirk is basically hurt because of the refs actions in game 5, and Terry/Howard and co. playing awful in game 6. Had game 5 not been rigged and Terry/Howard make two more basket in game 6, all of a sudden Dirk has 3 game winning Finals shots, 2 FMVPs, and a 29/15 closeout Finals game in his resume..

[Texas Chuck]

I think a lot of people automatically downgrade 06 Dirk based on what happened in 07 vs GSW. They then believe that Dirk had a kryptonite of being guarded by athletic wings prior to 09. If it was really that simple better defensive coaches than Don Nelson would have figured it out. That GSW series was a diaster for Dirk but I think because of the 67 wins and the MVP it gets weighed too heavily when people look at Dirk especially prior to the epic 2011 run.

Plus people look at his post game now and so they believe his arsenal to be more complete. Which while certainly true overlooks the loss of athleticism since 06. If people really go back and look especially at the Spurs series, he was doing a lot of work taking guys off the dribble which is pretty insane for a guy of his size and even then relatively limited athleticism. He has always had underrated handles except for that painfully obvious spin move he used to overuse at the foul line leading to 1-2 turnovers seemingly every game.

[sp6r=underrated]

Texas,

I think you are right that the 06 Dirk gets treated with undeserved criticism is 07. I have been guilty of that in the past.

[ronnymac2]

Is that the only reason 11 is held up as Dirk's best season that he won a title?

No.

I'd take the Dirk from 2008-2012 over the Dirk from 2003-2007 because in the former (or, his later years), he truly became the playoff matchup nightmare that his body/skillset allowed. This had to do with his maturation as a player as well as with his superior team construction and utilization.

When you think of Dirk, you think "Wow, he can (1.) take defenders off the dribble and draw fouls, (2.) score in the mid-post and post areas, and (3.) shake free and shoot 3's off the dribble or off catch-and-shoots."

Except from 2003-2007, (1.) and (2.) were aspects of Dirk's game that could be neutralized depending on matchups. You get a wing defender with some strength, and that defender could stop Dirk from taking that defender off the dribble. Now, this is reasonable. Like a point guard should have the quicks to stay with Shaq on the perimeter. The fact that a little man can neutralize this aspect of Dirk's offense is understandable.

Dirk did not have an effective counter, however. Not yet.

From 2003-2007, he was not dominant enough in (2.). He couldn't consistently abuse those smaller defenders who were able to stymie his drives to the hoop.

The obvious example is in 2007, but something like this happened in 2006 and 2005 as well. Dirk's offense took a nosedive in the 2005 first round against Houston. He also struggled at times against James Posey and a young, quick Udonis Haslem in the 2006 finals.

Of course, these three series do get overblown. Dirk was not a choker. Dirk was also a physical player, getting to the free throw line a ton. The labels he received of being soft or a choker were disgusting and idiotic.

The reason he was able to be slowed in these series is because his skillset hadn't fully formed, and also because his team's offense relied on him to score from everywhere. He needed to exert pressure FROM every area of the floor for Dallas' flawed offense to work. He had to do it all. This is a tough burden.

Now, go to 2008-2012. The man was literally unstoppable. No matchup could slow him down. No defender. He slowly but surely phased out being a volume 3-point shooter (because offensive superstars exert pressure on defenses and cause open 3-point shots...they don't shoot a ton of off the dribble 3's themselves).

(1.) remained true. Despite the decrease in athletic ability, he continued to be too quick for big men. Too much guile. Like a taller Paul Pierce.

(2.) became his bread and butter. He could score against anybody in the mid-post and the top of the key. Ultra-productive and efficient against any defender. Best mid-range game ever perhaps.

(3.) became altered for the better. He continued being a superior threat as a catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter, retaining his spacing effect.

One thing that helped him in 2011 was the team around him. Rather than being depended on to be a creative scoring threat from everywhere, Dirk consistently softened the defense from the mid-range, creating 3's for the bevy of shooters Dallas had and simultaneously providing open lanes for the unique Tyson Chandler to dive in for interior shots. Shooters on the outside, Chandler inside, and Dirk taking the brunt of the "inefficient" mid-rangr shots...except those shots aren't inefficient for Dirk, no matter the defense or defender.

I'll take 2008-2012 Dirk over 2003-2007 Dirk.

[Dupp]

I think its similar to lebron 2009 vs lebron 2012. Sure his numbers are seemingly superior in 09 but hes was a much better player in 2012.
Same goes for Dirk. He improved most of the weak points in his game and was just a better all around player. Which showed in the post season. There was nothing a defense could throw at him that would make him uncomfortable out there, which wasn't the case in 06.

[Texas Chuck]

pretty solid post ronnymac. The 3 point shooting actually left with Nash tho. Nash needed the lane open to do his thing and with Nash there every play didnt have to run through Dirk the way it did from 05 on. He wasnt shooting many 3s in 06 either.

For a long time now almost all of Dirk's 3 come on secondary breaks where he trails. Because he is almost never set up out there in the half court at all. If you look at his 3 pt shot chart you would see the majority of his are top of the key rather than wing or corner 3s.