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Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Sayson: The Finals, featuring Dirk the No-show-zki
By Homer Sayson
Secondovertime
CHICAGO – If Dirk Nowtizki were a Brazilian dancer, he obviously didn’t find his samba in Miami. And as the 7-foot All-Star faltered in his steps, the Dallas Mavericks tripped, falling behind, 3-2, in these NBA Finals.
Before his team went to Florida for the middle three games of the NBA Finals, Nowitzki was having what seemed like a breakout season. He normed 31.3 points versus Memphis in Round 1 of the playoffs, 27.1 in Round 2 vs. the Spurs and 28 in Round 3 vs. the Suns.
But in five Finals games thus far, Dirk’s scoring has dipped to 21.6. He shoots a very poor 22.7 percent outside the arc and 37.3 percent inside it. And he looks frightened, so unlike the star who dazzled us with his confident strides in these playoffs.
Dirk had 42 points and 26 rebounds in Games 1 and 2, both Mavs wins. But he began to unravel in Game 3, missing a crucial free throw that would have forced overtime. He was handcuffed in Game 4, missing 12 of 14 shots. And in Game 5, Dirk made only 8-of-19 field goals.
Nowitzki used to exemplify beautiful shooting. But right now, he’s more like No-shoot-zki. And like his patented jumpshot, the German ace is fading. So what happened to him in Miami? Was it the weather, the humidity?
None of the above. The Heat is simply applying intense physical pressure on the Mavs, and sadly, Dirk is not coping well.
With James Posey and Udonis Haslem pounding him relentlessly, Dirk is going farther and farther from the basket. Naturally, his shooting percentage is plummeting.
In Game 3 of the Spurs series, Dirk shot 21-of-24 free throws. He also made 17-of-18 from the stripe and dropped 37 in Game 7 of that series. In Game 5 of the Suns-Mavs duel, Dirk had 50 points and sank 17-of-18 from the 15-foot line.
Where is that Dirk Nowitzki, that sweet-shooting marvel who was supposed to have revolutionized the game with his speed and quickness as a 7footer?
He is AWOL, MIA. Hopefully, not DOA when the best-of-seven Finals are over.
The Dirk Nowitzki playing in these Finals is bogus. When the original Nowitzki led the Mavs in dethroning the Spurs, he went to the line 80 times and made his shots 91.3 percent of the time. The alleged Nowitzki who is playing in the Finals has gone to the line just 47 times in five games. And he is shooting only 87 percent.
I’m not really the smartest NBA analyst out there; God knows how many predictions I’ve flubbed in this godforsaken column. But when Leo Lastimosa of dyAB asked me to preview Game 5 at Arangkada, I told him that if Dirk won’t score at least 25, the Mavs will lose Game 5.
Guess what, Dirk only had 20 in Game 5 and they lost in overtime, 101-100.
Game 6 of the Finals is today. And Dirk, the original Nowitzki of course, better make an appearance. The Mavs have good players, lots of them. Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, Marquis Daniels to name a few.
But Terry, et al, are just part of the show. For Dallas to win the NBA crown, Nowitzki has to be the show. Question is, will he show up today?
(homsay@hotmail.com)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 21, 2006 issue)
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