Dirk Nowitzki is the man now. He’s proven it beyond the glimmer of an iota of scintilla of a shadow of a doubt. He’s an absolute force of nature, grabbing this postseason and holding it in his monstrous, all-powerful hands. If the Mavericks go on to win their first-ever championship this spring, erasing the painful memories of 2006, it will be because Dirk enabled them. If they come up short, and either Oklahoma City, Chicago or Miami usurps the throne, it will be because Dirk let up and let someone else steal it. Either way, it’s all on Dirk.
If you missed Tuesday night’s Game 1 against the Thunder, you missed one of the great playoff performances of all time. Dirk finished with 48 points to fuel the Mavs in their decisive series-opening win over OKC, and he did it only 15 shot attempts, making 12 of them.
Points per shot is a good rough estimate of a scorer’s efficiency. The league average this season was just under 1.23. Dirk’s figure of 3.2 in Game 1 is out of this world.
He made every single one of his 24 free-throw attempts, breaking Paul Pierce‘s record of 21-of-21 for best free-throw shooting performance ever in the postseason. You could blame that on the home Mavericks getting all the calls — or you could look at the facts. The Mavs were actually whistled for more personal fouls than the Thunder, 28 to 27, and as a team they took fewer free throws, 36 to OKC’s 43.
There’s no other explanation — Dirk is a monster. He’s ripping these playoffs apart single-handedly.
In 11 games this postseason, Game 1 was his fourth scoring over 30. Dirk’s averaging 28.5 points per game this postseason — Jason Terry is second on the Mavs, and he’s far, far, far, far behind at 18.8. It’s a one-man offense, and statistically, it’s the best offense in the playoffs by far, averaging 115.9 points per 100 possessions.
Dirk is unique in these playoffs in that he’s the one guy who makes his team go, hands down, without any argument. Look at the other three clubs left standing. Kevin Durant is the best player in OKC, but he has nights where Russell Westbrook fails to get him involved, and the Thunder survive those nights because Westbrook can drop the occasional triple-double.
Look at Miami. Who’s the top dog there? You’ve got to say LeBron James, but seeing as Dwyane Wade can drop 38 on you in a heartbeat, it’s hard to consider LBJ’s performance to be a matter of life or death for the Heat. Then there’s Chicago — obviously Derrick Rose is their MVP, but there’s a lot more to that team than the Iso-Rose offense. The Bulls’ hallmark is actually their defense, which is led more by Joakim Noah and Keith Bogans than anyone else.
There are a lot of big names left in these playoffs, that’s for sure. But only one of them is his team’s lifeblood every single time they take the floor, and it’s now up to that one guy to determine who wins the NBA championship in 2011.
That guy is Dirk. There’s no longer any doubt.
What do you think of Dirk Nowitzki’s performance in the playoffs? Share your thoughts below.
