Is Dirk the same guy?

[littleteapot]

Did Dirk look really old to anyone else last night? It seemed no one on the Mavs had any respect for this Celtics team so maybe he was taking a night off, but it just seemed like he could really do anything.

I was very impressed that Marcus Smart was able to guard him, but come on. The guy is 6'3''. This is the Dirk who embarrassed Lebron, Bosh and Haslem repeatedly in the NBA finals a few years ago and used to take KG to the rim at will. All he looks like now is a stretch 4 (and he hasn't been shooting 3's as well either).

So my question is - is he actually over the hill, and how far can Dallas go if Dirk is just playing like Spencer Hawes?

[mgent]

Eh, I've always considered Dirk a reasonably streaky player (basically just like any pure shooter).  Unlike most players, he will go 1-15 one night and 14-15 the next night.  Those will tend to push your percentages around.  Last year might have been the exception, where he shot over 50-40-90 all season (though if I'm not mistaken he started the year off ~5 ppg less than where he finished).

Nothing from watching Dirk has led me to believe he's lost anything.  In fact, he's shooting 47-34-91 right now.  You also have to remember that Dirk just standing around the 3pt line is one of the reasons Dallas has had the top offense for over a decade.  Players have to guard him differently than anyone else in the league, comparing him to Spencer Hawes is completely ridiculous.  Especially considering how you can close out on Hawes without worrying about him putting it on the floor and going by you (at least anywhere near as well as Dirk can).

[Al91]

Dirk did look great in the Finals...about four years ago. KG has had an even worse drop....much worse. I expected this out of Dirk but I heard he had been playing well this year so I hadn't expected to see so many missed jumpers lately. I only started to watch the Mavs once Rondo was traded their and I saw Rondo making passes to Dirk that he wasn't use to, stuff Dirk couldn't finish.

I'll admit, Smart D'd him up decently a couple times but just as many times I saw Dirk abuse small defenders with his fadeaway.

[Celtics4ever]

He abused Sully the last few minutes of the first half.

[pearljammer10]

Dirk is still Dirk he is just a bit slower. Luckily with his skill set and the way he plays the game, slowing down won't really effect him negatively too too much.

[SHAQATTACK]

Dirk is LONG dude.

He isn't getting shorter anytime soon .  His advantage is pure height and shooting touch.

He can stretch above most defender on his toes arms out.

So he doesn't need a lot of lift or speed to get a shot off .

Key to containing him, run him to death , make him play defense all night .  Fast break him,  run at him ....he'll be leaning over hands on knees.

[Tr1boy]

Dirk wont run end to end nor drive in much for layups. But he can still shoot the lights out. He is 7'1 with  7'5 wingspan and has a near unblockable jump shot

[littleteapot]

A few years ago, and even last year, when teams either bodied him up or went little to try to take away the jump shots, he could spin, put his hip in a guy and get to the rim. It obviously wasn't his primary way to score, but he used it because teams invert their defenses to stop him.

I was kind of shocked he wasn't able to do that to Marcus Smart. He didn't look good giving him the bump and fade-away.