Dirk's been likened to Charles Barkley and Karl Malone as a veteran superstar desperate not to be remembered as a "never-won."
He's been compared to Larry Bird, as a large white man who happens to be good at basketball.
In light of his performance in Game 4, in which Dirk and the Mavericks overcame the Heat despite their star's overwhelming fever and sinus infection, Dirk was even compared to Michael Jordan, who famously beat the Jazz in the NBA Finals while battling the flu.
Dirk's far too modest to answer those comparisons, especially the last one. But a teammate of his was happy to speak up Tuesday night after the Game 4 win.
"Wow," remarked Jason Terry. "A Jordanism? Really?
"I wouldn't quite call it that. But hitting that shot down the stretch was key."
He had a few key shots down the stretch, in fact, but most notable among them was a driving layup off the backboard with 14 seconds left to pave the way for an 86-83 Dallas win in Game 4. Dirk finished with 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, more of the usual for a guy who's carried his team in crunch time for over a decade.
Dirk's battled through a lot this season — elbow and knee injuries earlier this season, criticism for being soft, speculation he and his Mavs were over the hill and, most recently, a torn tendon in his finger earlier in this season — and it's only made him stronger. But when his fever spiked Tuesday, things got scary for the Mavs.
"I had big concerns," Tyson Chandler said. "They said he was under the weather, but when I saw him, I really knew he was under the weather. You guys don't all know his personality, but Dirk is a playful guy, and he's really outgoing and outspoken in the locker room. So seeing him not being playful, not really saying much, just sitting at his locker, I knew it was going to be a tough night for him."
Nowitzki had a team-high 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Not exactly Flu Game material — MJ had 38 in the Bulls' Game 5 win over the Jazz in 1997 — but it was enough.
"I felt like I had an off night, really," he said. "I couldn't get anything going. Made my first three shots, but after that really had nothing going all night. I was able to attack a little bit in the fourth quarter, got to the free-throw line. But really, I think our defense was what won us the game. We gave up 14 points in the fourth against an explosive team. That was the key."
If 21 and 11 is an off night, the Mavs have to like their chances of going up 3-2 in this series, at home no less, if Nowitzki is back on come Thursday night. All indications are that he will be.
"I think he's feeling better," coach Rick Carlisle said at Wednesday's practice. "He went through the stuff we were doing. We didn't do any contact things today, so there wasn't any real running or banging. But hopefully by tomorrow, he'll be feeling even better."
