While I am a Lakers fan through and through, I watch other teams and watch a lot of the playoffs, no matter who is playing.
Last night's Mavericks/Warriors game was an interesting one. I like watching Nowitzki play, so was excited about this game. Dallas came out fast and played hard, getting the early lead, and the arena was jumping. However, Golden State played tough, kept chipping away, and slowly caught up to them.
I had never bought into the "Nowitzki is a soft player" rumors and innuendo until this game. Yes, I had seen some soft play and, yes, he takes way too many fall away jump shots for a seven footer playing against guys 4-6 inches shorter and nowhere near as good with the ball as he is. I just chalked it up to the difference between the European players and how American players are taught the game.
Nowitzki, as the "best player" on the Mavericks and the likely season MVP, should have been leading his team, setting the tempo, and doing whatever he could to keep the Warriors from catching up. However, that didn't happen. For the third quarter, he was 1-2. But, worse than that, he played with no energy, no passion, and didn't seem to want the ball. Howard and Harris were left to carry the load because Nowitzki wasn't even trying to fight the double teams. He rarely stayed in the post, I almost never saw him call for the ball, and he wasn't crashing the boards at all. He would wander into the post for a moment, and then would fade to the outside and watch as the team played four on five.
The first 9 minutes of the fourth quarter was more of the same. I saw one stretch, from about 9:45 until about 5:15 where he didn't touch the ball at all. Not even as part of their passing scheme as they probed for a good shot. Of course, this was the very stretch where the Warriors came from an impossibly deep deficit to tie the game. Then they started to pull away. An MVP-caliber player doesn't go nearly 5 minutes of a quarter when the other team has the momentum and is making the game close without touching the ball. 'Melo, Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, KG, Kidd, Nash, Wade... they demand the ball and take over the game and keep the boot on the throat of the other team when they are down. They don't stand behind the 3-point line and watch their teammates failing.
Everyone is talking about Nowitzki's two 3-pointers when the Mavs were down 12 with about 3 minutes to go and how he scored nearly all of the points for the team in the final minutes. Why isn't anyone talking about the 21 minutes prior to that where, if he had played with the same passion and ability, Golden State wouldn't have caught up, wouldn't have taken the lead, and wouldn't have had any hope at all? Why isn't anyone mentioning that, if Nowitzki had played like an MVP for the entire game, the Warriors never would have threatened or taken the lead?
The best player on the Mavericks has been Josh Howard. He's been pretty consistent, has brought the needed energy, and has battled whenever the team was down. He's the one I see fighting through double teams, calling for the ball, and driving through the lane and getting to the foul line. I haven't seen the same effort or play from Nowitzki, even in the wins.
Makes me wonder-- Nowitzki may not even be the best player on his own team let alone in the league. How can he be such a "lock" for league MVP?
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