They DO track it, at least for individual players. Numbers one and two aren't surprising, but number 3 kinda is: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.cbssports.com/nba/dunk-o-meter/yearly" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cbssports.com/nba/dunk-o-meter/yearly</a>
That was a great game tonight. Thought for sure Dirk was going to send it to OT. If the Mavs can stop spotting the Heat 15 point leads, they'd be doing a bit better.
That was a shitty, shitty inbounds play. They almost got caught with a 5 seconds and ended up with a forced shot by Dirk, who was covered like a glove. Peja was vaguely open at one point but...meh. I suppose I understand not being eager about going to a only kinda-open Peja.
JJ Barea and Jason Kidd remind me of generic suburban fathers. It's pretty funny seeing two guys on an NBA court at the same time that look like they could be my friends' dads. Lots of touch fouls called in favor of Dirk in the 4th quarter. Can't help but think if it were Lebron instead of Dirk people would be losing their shit and crying foul--err I mean conspiracy.
Agreed but Fucking dirk can shoot going forwards, backwards and blind folded and usually make it. Needless to say I was worried, even though I kinda wanted to see it go to OT.
That's the thing with Dirk. He makes bad shots look like good shots. Shots that, were he anyone else, he has no business taking? They fall effortlessly. He might be the hardest matchup in the league (although I think LeBron is better).
I think it's possible that Dirk is less affected by the quality of the defender than any other player in the league. He's not going to make every shot, obviously, but he has such a great feel for every spot inside of 20 feet that if he gets his shot off cleanly, it doesn't really matter whether the defender is doing a great job. Great scorers have to do (at least) one of two things: easily make difficult shots, or consistently get easy shots (which is difficult). First category includes Durant, Kobe, Dirk (who might be the best of all at it). Second category includes Wade, Rose, Duncan, Blake Griffin, etc.
Also, his height, length, and high release point make it nearly impossible to fully contest his shots. I don't know if anyone tracks this stat, but I would guess that he is blocked exceedingly rarely.
There were a couple unusual/missed calls. The Wade foul on Kidd near the 3 point line...Kid was hopping around all over the place before Wade got anywhere near him. And the same play for LeBron with Marion on him. Why wasn't that a foul. Dirk is an amazing shooter, but the rest of the Mavs remind me of guys you can find at the park on Sunday morning playing pickup. Marion and Barea are "chuckers". Suckalotovich can't shoot OR play defense. Why they keep going to him and not Corey Brewer off the bench makes no sense. Just think about it, if Chalmers missed that shot at the end of the 1stQ, the Mavs woulda won!
After the length of the playoffs, Stern definitely gave the Game 7 Directive. There will be a Crawford reffing every game. The Mav's still have to manufacture offense though.
Damn, seeing players like Bibby and Stojakovic be so ineffective make me feel old. When I was kid, teams used to be terrified to give Bibby or Stojakovic an inch of breathing room in the playoffs. Actually, the rest of the Mavs are pretty damn good. Kidd is an all-time great, Marion used to be part of that 3-headed beast in Phoenix (and used to be called "The Matrix" and was a Fantasy monster), and Chandler provides excellent height inside. Kidd and Marion are off their peaks, but still pretty damn good. Marion's been suffocating Lebron with his length (heh!). Barea is vastly overrated, but Brewer should definitely replace Peja at this point as suggested on Truehoop (who also seconded my observation on the foul discrepancy today).
Kidd definitely is not the player that he was, but well, he was fantastic and he's now old. So of course not. But that being said...he has transformed himself into a very effective player of a different sort. Very few players can make the sort of change.
Anyone else watching the post-game press conference? Dirk looks and sounds like he's knocking on death's door. My respect for the guy keeps going up.
What he said. For Thursdays predictions lets go with winning team, points or less/more points and who has the final possession. That makes it fun. I really thought Dallas was going to end the game in the backcourt with some fancy passes.
During the National Anthem, Dirk Nowitzki had his hand over his heart. The guy is German, and has his hand over his heart. Bosh and James didn't. Reason enough to root against the Heat right there.
I never appreciated it before, but fuck Dirk can shoot. He seems to shoot better with a hand in his face than wide open, too.