What can Dirk do for Dallas?How many times have you heard a ballplayer promise to “add to my game” in the offseason? And how many times does that actually happen? Ninety percent of the players we talk to — NBA, college, high school, every level — speak of becoming more diverse from year-to-year, but those who actually get it done are more the exception than the rule. Michael Jordan, for example, developed a three-point shot over the course of his career, and among active players, Josh Howard seems to add a new weapon every year. Here are a few NBA ballers who could have a big impact on their team’s fortunes if they added a specific element to their game — from the reigning MVP to one of this year’s most promising rookies …
Eddy Curry — Rebounding. With E-City’s size (6-11, 285) and agility, his rebounding numbers are inexcusable. This past season Curry notched a career-high 7.0 boards per game, pushing his career number to a measly 5.5 boards a night. Curry has become arguably the East’s best interior scorer (19.5 ppg), but if he’d attack the glass with the same intensity he tries to get buckets, maybe the Knicks could make the playoffs one of these years.
DeShawn Stevenson — A three-point shot. As embarrassing as it was, this has nothing to do with the infamous YouTube clip of DeShawn losing a shooting contest to a one-handed Gilbert Arenas. Despite career-highs in the regular season of 46 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent beyond the arc, DeShawn only made 74 treys in ‘06-07. By comparison, Brent Barry hit 128 treys in fewer minutes, and DeShawn was terrible in the playoffs: he shot 9-for-46 from the field (19 percent) and 3-for-19 (15 percent) while the Wizards got swept by the Cavs. If he regains his regular-season form, Stevenson needs to take more shots. Having him as a reliable threat would help space the floor for Washington’s top scorers: Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler.
Dirk Nowitzki — A post game. How different would the Mavs/Warriors series have been if Dirk muscled his way into the post and pulled the Keyshawn Johnson “Give me the damn ball!” routine? Golden State was using 6-7 guys to guard the 7-foot Nowitzki, and he still wouldn’t take his undersized opponents down low and compensate for some off shooting nights. If Dirk could operate in the post, it would add a non-existent dimension to the Dallas offense and create more open looks for guys like Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse.
Nene — A post game. Nene is a different animal than Dirk, but he too could put his team over the hump if he had some semblance of a go-to move on the block. He already has the power, size and quickness, and if he develops some moves with the ball, defenses will be forced to respect him and stop focusing solely on ‘Melo and Iverson. Some kind of post presence would also open driving lanes and create open shots for guys like J.R. Smith and Steve Blake.
Larry Hughes — A jump shot. LeBron will always be Cleveland’s primary ball-handler, but Hughes has the ball-handling ability and size to be an effective big point guard. And while this San Antonio series isn’t the best indicator, Larry is usually a solid defender when healthy. But it’s hard to justify keeping him on the court when he can’t make a jumper. If defenders weren’t playing three feet off of Hughes and daring him to shoot, he could make the Cavs offense a lot more dangerous and LeBron could average a few more assists per game.
Tyrus Thomas — Offense. No, put-backs don’t count. That being said, this was just Tyrus’ first year in the League and he wasn’t playing for your typical Lottery team, so not much was expected from him offensively. Still, the Bulls don’t get many easy baskets since their two best offensive players (Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon) are jump-shooting guards, so Tyrus being able to give them something on that end of the floor would be valuable. After last season’s postseason loss to Miami and this year’s loss to Detroit, it’s clear that Chicago is missing a low-post scorer, and Tyrus is young enough and talented enough to at least make strides in becoming that missing piece.
June 11th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Dank says:
what could dirk do for dallas? quit.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:02 am
J Crom says:
maybe not quit but he needs more than just a post game
June 12th, 2007 at 1:20 am
Terrell James says:
J Crom,
Dirk has other defencies in his game but the lack of a post game is the most costly to his team because no one on the team scores in the post.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:33 am
Lucky Lester says:
You guys can’t be serious. Dirk is one of the best players in the league. Sure, he had an unreal year and then looked pretty stiff in the teams’ first round loss to the Warriors, but this 7 footer is still an amazing talent. He didn’t get the MVP because he needs to quit his squad. Can he do some things better? Yeah. Does he do some thing better than any other 7 footer in the game? for sure. Toughness is an issue with this guy, but that doesn’t mean he’s not the best player on the floor any night the Mavs aren’t playing the Lakers, Cavs, Heat, and Spurs… A bad post season, I’ll give you, but live out of the NOW for a second.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:10 am
2015 says:
The greatest players in the league dont flunk out in the first round to an eighth seed.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:18 am
freddy says:
Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp did
June 12th, 2007 at 7:40 am
J Crom says:
okay terrell…..thanks for agreeing with me…. while I completely understand his biggest need is a post game, we both agree he has other needs
June 12th, 2007 at 7:56 am
RB says:
Dirk Nowitzki: HEART
June 12th, 2007 at 10:31 am
FlipStar says:
so many players have been left out…
kwame brown–> needs to develop more post moves, a short to mid range jumper (a la Kurt Thomas) would help, better ballhandling skills (enough with the butter fingers!!!), and smarter B-BALL I.Q.
dwyane wade–> a three point shot. if his long range game is on point, just imagine how deadly he would be. im not much of a FLASH fan BUT i do know he’s one hell of a player and should he have the 3pt-game on lock, he would be close to lethal
dwight howard–> follow in Amare’s footstep and develop a midrange (16-18 FOOT jumpers) game. Just think of the possibilities, dwight with crazy inside game (which he needs to polish as well) AND the ability to step out and knock that J when guys like Nelson or Hill drive in the lane for a kick-out? just sick!!!
Gerald Wallace–> this dude can practically do it all. he’s got the defense on lock, does all the intangibles, hustles like there’s no food on the table at night and he need to eat, and can hit the occasional mid to long range J…basically, all he needs is to work on consistency as far as the jumper is concerned, and work on textbook post moves and he would be a new scottie pippen.
ronald flip murray–> defense. that’s it. he’s proven that he can take of his own when it comes to offense. but he’s weak on the defensive end. should he tone his D, it would be a major asset to Detroit (or where ever he’ll find himself next season)
ike diogu–> he has nice moves in the post. develop a jumper from 15-18 feet and you got a legit weapon.
Chris paul - all CP3 needs is a 3point game. the second coming of Nash (can distribute the ball with the best of them, has grat court vision). if the jumper from short, mid and long range is acute, then bam!
chris wilcox–> post game. and i mean coordinated ones. not just points off rebounds and alley-oops. i’ve seen flashes of a developping post game. he should use the summer to expand his repertoire of post moves. a mid range J wouldnt hurt…
andrea bargnani–> similar to dirk, a post game. he’s proven he can shoot LONG, LONG range.
gilbert arenas–>he said it himself, defense.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:37 am
bron42 says:
theres alot of “best players in the league” who don’t cut the mustartd. Gasol was at one point “a best player” and he still doesn’t rise above the rest in terms of talent. I’ve said time and time again, dirk is overrated. He is a high capacity scorer who chokes in the clutch and isn’t well rounded. Can’t stop his mom on defense, gets taken out his game quick and has yet to prove himself. He won mvp because his team did good and they give it to the “leader” of the team, but seriously, anyone who thinks dirk is a good leader or that he carried that team is crazy. He played a part, and is a high payed role player, not someone who will carry the team when its all on the line. When your 6th man (jerry stackhouse) outside of robert horry, is more reliable in the clutch then ur superstar, chances are he isn’t a superstar. Outside of dirk and lebron, how many teams seem better off with someone else takin the big shot. Would the lakers ever not want the ball in kobes hands with the clockin windin down. Would the rockets have shane battier takin a game winning 3? But if the mavs are losin and dirk has the ball, everyone knows its at MOST 50/50. Even melo had more game winners.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Austin says:
Wilcox also needs some fire and consistency. He never seems to have two good games in a row. If you put Paul Millsap’s heart into Wilcox, he’d be unstoppable.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Kudabeen says:
With most NBA players it’s not a matter of just working on a specific skill as much as it is working on their confidence in that skill in a 5 on 5 situation when it counts.
People tend to forget that Dwight Howard when being scouted and if you watched his early games showed good ball handling and actually had a decent jump shot. In the NBA, he has no confidence in shooting. People aren’t used to it and if he misses he has more to lose then not taking it at this point.
We routinely see guys explode on the court and become relevant Ballers and wonder, “where’d this guy come from”!?! These guys have the talent it’s opportunity and confidence. This is the job of the teams resident superstar and the coaching staff. Look at Daniel Gibson. He was the same talent he is now when he was drafted. He was quick, great ball handling, three-point shooting, could get in the lane at will, and stay in front of his man. Now people are shocked he can play this well. When you here him talk, it’s about time on the floor and having the confidence from LeBron and his coach giving him the green light to play his game.
When Dirk was dropping 50 in the playoffs last year and elminating the Suns and Spurs, no one was saying, “Dirk needs a post up game”. The difference between that Dirk and the Dirk that got mangled in the 1st round is confidence, being pushed and pumped up, rather than berated and put down and over-analyzed.
So are you telling me that these guys can’t rebound, hit open threes, post, and dribble and they are in the NBA? No, that would be foolish. They just don’t have the confidence to do it on the big stage. That takes solid coaching, team work, and will to suceed.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:38 am
bron42 says:
doesn’t take confidence to rebound or hustle..takes heart..big difference and the reason guys like dirk and curry are ok with bein above average but still mediocore
June 12th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Kudabeen says:
Number one: Dirk is not mediocore. Name me the 15 players that are better than him in the league? Since when has being in the top 5% made you mediocore
Two: that’s why I didn’t use Curry as an example. Curry is your typical guy who plays ball because he can, not because he has a desire to be great and loves it. The league is littered with these guys. Win or Lose they are going to the club or whatever and just go about life. Good for them, but I would never invest my time, money or attention in watching or analyzing their games.
Three: In my dicitionary having the will to succeed = heart
You don’t go in to the off season to soley work on your rebounding. Hustle is not a skill, it’s a trait. Rebounding, creating contact and ebracing it, getting loose balls, and the like are about hustle heart and determination. If Eddy Curry doesn’t know how to box out at this stage, then all of his coaches along the way should be thrown out of basketball.
The only ‘camps’ I’ve heard of where a guy could get anything close to a heart transplant is working with John Lucas or back when Jordan use to hold court in Chicago during the summers.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Terrell James says:
Lucky Lester
Dirk is a no doubt a top player in this league but if had the ability to operate in the post, he could’ve changed the outcome of the series.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
LV says:
Kobe: Give his teammates some motivation! He’s definitely a born leader! But he needs to pull people around him together. Dropping comments and a bit of tips here and there doesn’t help if they don’t have the heart to learn.
Except Lamar, Turiaf and Mo, it’s hard to see any consistency and desire to play from any other players. Kobe’s main goal: Learn to talk like a everage man and loosen up a bit.
I love to watch him play, but i feel like his intensity and energy kinda make guys intimidated.
Jordan sure was better at finding common ground with his teammates. But “shoot” Kobe may need someone with the same heart beat to even coexist, someone love basketball and winning championship for real! ( Someone like K.G!)
And pffffffff forget “that kid” (you know who i’m talking about! No heart mann!
June 12th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Terrell James says:
Kudabeen,
You raise a good argument about needing confidence and desire to succeed. However, the guys on this list defencies don’t stem from a lack of confidence. Some guys on the list need to put in hours in the gym and some need more determination.
For example, one thing you always hear about great shooters is they spend hours in the gym honing their craft. Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen all practiced countless hours to become great shooters. The hard work made them confident shooters because they know they’ve made shots countless times before.
You think DeShawn Stevenson wasn’t tryin to hit those open three’s against Washington? I don’t care how confident he is he will not consistently make shots like those without practice.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Amar says:
ronnie brewer –> playing time
June 12th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
y2j2000 says:
hughesless player
June 12th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
mavsgirl75 says:
bron42, you have no idea what the heck you’re talking about…
June 12th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
bron42 says:
says the lil girl to the guy who works for the nba and gets to see this all in person..
I said dirk is ABOVE average, but mediocore compared to the other “superstars”. Yes, hes a good tall shooter. thats about where his overall game ends. Hes not clutch, hes not lock down, he doesn’t lead his team. Hes the best SCORER on his team. But the mavs are a pretty well rounded team, so he can do just that. He doesn’t have to be well rounded ala kobe, and carry his team on offense and defense. Gasol, another above average but not SUperstar…Hes the best guy on his team but isn’t on kobe,tmac,wade,lebron,kg,duncan, status who can just will their teams to win..neither is dirk. probably not jermaine oneal, although a few years back he did carry the pacers against the nets. To be a super you have to take your game to another level when your on the bigger stage. Name one time dirk has done that? Even lebron has only done it once and look at the hype he gets. All the greats have done it, everyone from jordan, to pippen, to barkley, to the mail man, to the dream, when their teams were falling apart, they stepped it up..dirk is more likely to start fallin apart himself..not much of a leader. The guy is a 7′0 shooter, so everyone goes wow he can shoot 3’s and then completely overlooks the lacking parts of his game (until this post) To the point where he dunked it 1 handed on a break and bill walton goes “thats a mvp power dunk” 1 HANDED! at 7′0.
Someone asked for 15 people more likely to take over a game than dirk?15 is a oddly high number but here, enjoy the cake:
wade,melo,agent zero,kobe, A1,Duncan, KG, Parker,Mike Redd, paul pierce, lebron (and he only has 2 moves, a step back cross over and driving the lane), josh howard, nash, jamal crawford (when healthy), ben gordon, and i’ll throw in mr.big shot just for good measures…I’d want the ball in ANY of their hands with the game on the line than dirk.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Chief says:
RB I’m with you on this one but Terrell I can’t be mad at you either. This list was on point and sure you could’ve added more nmes to this list but then Teams would have to pay you for consulting fees. Still Dirk Nowitzki, who I have no beef with*, needs a heart transplant quick. And the league is so terrible when it comes to the art of shooting these days, tell me who can? I mean look at the final two teams left: Spurs/Cavs. Does any one of those teams say “lights out” or even “shooting threat”? We haven’t had a real one since Reggie, yeah I said it!
June 12th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
bron42 says:
ray allen isnt a shooting threat? mike redd? mike miller? kyle korver? etc…Down side is, most “shooters” aren’t athletic enough to play D..so they are only specialist ala damon jones, jj reddick, jason kapono, etc..
June 12th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Bron42 says:
10 seconds left, game tying drive and lebron passes the ball to vaerajeo….i rest my case…superstars step up and want the ball…