Dirk Nowitzki and his Finals
Dirk Nowitzki is a basketball player who has an incredibly layered game, his one-legged fadeaway is a thing of legend but he has other under-appreciated aspects of his game. He could score easily inside, create chances for others while also playing serviceable defense. However, he was always saddled with stereotypes, ‘he’s a choker’, ‘he’s soft’, ‘he can only dominate in the regular season’. However in 2011, he achieved something amazing and possibly had the greatest post-season of any player in NBA history.
In 2011, the NBA was in a strange space. Derrick Rose was an ascending force but had not managed to topple the Miami ‘Heatles’ in the playoffs. Kobe Bryant was still playing hard but his team had been affected by aging players and the failure by the Lakers’ front office to obtain Chris Paul from the Hornets. On the other hand, Dirk Nowitzki had not changed all that much. He was still a Dallas Maverick with a graceful style of play and incredible scoring ability. The Mavericks had changed over the off-season by adding players such as Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic but many critics could not see this veteran team as potential NBA contenders. Players such as Dirk and Jason Terry had already failed in the promised land against the Wade-Shaq combo in 2006. Tyson Chandler could not parlay the success New Orleans had in Chris Paul era into a ring. Peja was a similar sort of player who had missed glory on a number of occasions.
In contrast, the Miami Heat was hungry and young. They had three of the best players at their position in the form of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. This triumvirate was supplemented with talented role players such as Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller. It was expected to dominate and kill everybody in the play-offs, especially when the chemistry of D-Wade and LBJ was considered.
The Dallas Mavericks were sharpened and defined by their tough post-season. In the first round they played a tough Portland team and eventually managed to put to bed the idea that they also flamed out in the first round. They then played and swept Kobe’s Lakers, a very rare occasion for the generational talent that is KB8. Many expected them to be annihilated by the younger, supremely talented Thunder core of Durant/Westbrook/Harden/Ibaka. Dallas again got the upset by running the Thunder off the court through fastbreak points and key contributions from contributors such as Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd who recognised that this was their last chance to achieve greatness in the NBA, to achieve the dream that many players think of but only a few achieve.
The Finals seemed to go against Dallas before it had already begun. Dirk had an injured finger and the Mavericks were playing a rival who had beaten them five years prior. The 2006 Finals were also contested between the Mavs and Miami. Dallas was in a good position to win during the first two games before bad play and Dwayne Wade’s supernatural talents managed to drag Miami to a championship. The two remnants of that Mavericks team, Dirk and Jason Terry were determined to beat this team and avenge this loss. On the paper, the Mavericks were weaker that Miami, they did not have three outright stars who could all take over games and finish the opposition, they had one player who could be guaranteed to get a bucket. The Mavericks had a marksman off the bench in the form of Peja but Miami had a younger, more athletic shooter in the form of Mike Miller.
In many ways, the Finals took on the tone of a Western. Dirk Nowitzki was the gunslinger with a rag-tag group of comrades whereas the Miami Heat were a well-oiled corporate machine that had come together to monopolise NBA success. Furthermore, it could be argued that this was Dirk’s last stand, his body would not be able to play at an elite level for much longer, people seem to forget that Dirk was 32 and the large majority of his supporting cast was also old. Jason Kidd was in the twilight of his career as was Caron Butler.
Dallas lost the first game and managed to steal a game from Miami which was largely expected by all commentators and fans but it was the play from two of the key elements of the Finals which was suprising. Dirk Nowitzki was expected to choke as he had previously done. But Dirk tapped into every single game of his NBA experience. He became simply unguardable with his one-legged fadeaway and a good variety of shot selection. He scored over a combination of Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony with seeming ease. Dirk averaged 26/10 which was more than his regular season averages however it did not come with the expected fall in efficiency. His true shooting stayed at .537% which was very similar to his regular season numbers. Nowitzki simply took on a bigger role and brought Dallas to winning a ring.
LeBron on the other hand seemed to wilt as a player. LeBron James had a difficult season in the fact he had been demonised by the media for taking a decision that was solely his own and for his own benefit. He was ignored for an MVP that he largely deserved due to the fact he had a great season. However in the Finals, he had a terrible series. He was incredibly passive and seemed to cede the status as the top boy to Dwyane Wade. LeBron James averaged 18/7/7 which are good numbers for any player who is not LeBron but for the King it was below standard.
Miami needed all of their big guns to be firing in order to sustain their offense. Despite the contributions from players such as Udonis and Mike Miller, Miami was still a top-heavy team and did not have a team who could produce points outside of their main guys. LeBron’s passiveness had ramifications for Miami, it meant that there was greater strain on the other elements of the ‘Big Three’ and players like D-Wade could not carry the load.
Dallas took advantage of this and took two of their games at home. Players like Jason Terry and JJ Barea stepped up and made huge plays that secured the wins in Game 4 and Game 5. These two players were on another level during this series which allowed Dirk Nowitzki to play his own game and go to work. This put Dallas up 3–2 in a series in which they were huge underdogs. The play of Dirk was huge in the fact he continued to put up points consistently and keep Dallas in the hunt especially when they fell behind during the series. Over the entire series, Dallas kept on falling behind by 10 to 15 points at a time but key baskets by Dirk and Jason Terry managed to drag the Mavs back and defeat an incredibly dynamic Miami team.
Game 6 was the final game in the series and the reason why Dallas won the game was due to Rick Carlisle’s genius as a defensive minded coach. Carlisle switched to a zone defense which confused Miami and allowed Dallas to build a huge lead off Dirk’s scoring and they never looked back. With this, Dirk managed to kill the doubts about his legacy. He took the hard road to win the championship and by winning it, he achieved post-season success and the sweet nectar of victory.
