Privileged to watch

By Mo Diaby
Often, great players are not seen for their brilliance, until long after they have retired. With the rivalry that comes with each of us, having a bias towards our own teams, it's easy to forget that the other teams' superstar may just be as great as ours.

Through the foggy glasses of a fan, we tend to view opposing superstars through their weaknesses, rather than just appreciate that we are privileged to watch one of the greatest basketball specimen in history.

It's far too easy to say: Tim Duncan is a whiner, Manu Ginobli is a flopper, Paul Pierce fakes injuries, Kevin Garnett is (well not a nice guy) to put it mildly, Rajon Rondo can't shoot, D-wade flops (see 2006 finals), Kobe never won a ring with such and such, Dwight Howard has no post moves, Dirk Nowitzki doesn't play defense.

Is it possible that those things might be part of the characteristics of each of those players? Yes, but do they take away from the fact that these guys possess supreme talent and players like each of them might never be seen again in our lifetimes? Not one bit.

Tim Duncan is as technically sound as any power forward in NBA history, Manu Ginobli is one of the most competitive athletes ever, Paul Pierce never shies away from the big shot, KG is the guy to lead your defense because he is so intense on the court, Rajon Rondo is as if not more important as the Big 3, Dwayne Wade is athletically gifted as any 2 guard, Kobe is Kobe, Dwight Howard is so gifted, and Dirk Nowitzki is making history every time he steps on the court and plays as unorthodox as he does.

It's far too often that we hear the blame placed on Dirk for the Mavs misfortunes, or complains about him being soft, and the rest of the propaganda that is widely spread by people who may watch 6 Mavs games all year.

The Fact is, Dirk has seen every double team, played against every kind of defender there is in the NBA and thrives through them all at a superstar level every time.

Asked about Dirks' performance after a Celtics lost to Dallas recently, Kevin Garnett had this to say:
“The vet’s crafty, man,’’ KG said “He’s played against everything - short guys, quicker guys, thicker guys, stronger guys, longer guys. Good offensive players, they have an arsenal of moves.’’

This ability to amaze only continued wednesday night as Dirk continued his bid for MVP this season and put up another "We ain't losing this" performance during the 4th quarter of a tight home game against the visiting Blazers. With the game tied at 91 all, Dirk went to work. In the final 2:24, Nowitzki hit four consecutive shots scoring 8 of the Mavs last 10 points. He had a nice reverse layup. He scored inside on a step back jumper. He then scored over Brandon Roys' tight defense and then to cap it off, made another shot with Lamarcus aldridge draped all over him. And he did it all while shooting 50% percent from the field.


Performances like these aren't going to last forever so it would behoove us all, to just watch and enjoy the performances these guys put on rather than criticize them for their short-comings.