That was nice to see Dirk get some love from Magic on the radio, etc.. Lots of people respect Magic Johnson and most probably consider Magic in the top-5 players of all time. He's still in touch with the game.
And the way Dirk is playing, it is a bit Jordan-esque in clutch sense-the way Jordan would take over a game and find a way to win.
On ESPN radio, think it was Galloway that brought up some numbers, that in the past ten years -there was 4,970 games or something close to that where a team was losing by 15 pts in the 4th and didn't come back to win. Well, the Mavs are the ONLY team that came back to win. So about 5,000-1 odds. Pretty nifty eh? And Dirk was part of that.
So playoff's-wise, there hasn't been that many guys playing at the level Dirk is playing now, unless you pick a star from an NBA championship team lately-Kobe, maybe Kevin Garnett, etc.. But KG wasn't averaging around 30 pts a game or whatever rediculous number Dirk is averagine now in these playoffs.
Bird may've had a season or two in the playoffs with these Dirk-like playoff numbers, but I know he didn't do it every year though or his playoff scoring average would reflect that and again-Dirk's average for playoffs is higher in scoring than Bird's.
I know we can't really simulate how Bird would do these days, but no way would Bird get away with his standard jump shot in our times. Players ARE bigger, faster and stronger these days and more intelligent at the game. Look how Marion blocked Kevin Durrant at the end of regulation. He would do the same to Larry Bird(who is far less athletic than Durrant) OR Bird would've been smart enough to pass the ball off, etc..
Nowitzki makes the harder shots-the spins, double spins, fade backs, fakes, double fakes, that one shot off one-leg shooting sideways! Bird would have to change his game a lot to survive in these days of the NBA. And it's not that he couldn't, it's just different times.
Looks like the Mavs are gonna face the Heat. And if Dirk and the Mavs can beat the triumvirate of James, Wayde and Bosh-Dirk will definitely help solidify his place among the NBA greats. They can do it.
