Quit your whining

By John Gottlieb
The Phanatic Magazine

The Mavericks are on the verge of playoff elimination, and with that, one of the most stunning upsets in NBA history. This was the type of series that everyone expected, but thought the Mavs, who won 67 regular-season contests and tied for the fourth-most in NBA history, would find a way to pull it out.

The Warriors have outclassed the Mavericks in every way. Dallas can’t slow down the up-and-down game of former head coach Don Nelson; the Mavericks can’t slow down the force known as Baron Davis; and Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t dominated like he did last season.

But instead of buckling down and imposing his will on the game, Nowitzki is complaining that he will take what the officials and/or Golden State will give him. Well, Nowitzki is an All Star and one of the five best players in the NBA. What did he think the Warriors were going to give him? Were they going to take it easy on the Mavericks’ best player?

He sounds like a baby. Great players take over a game; they don’t wait for opportunities presented to them. Granted you couldn’t touch Michael Jordan without a whistle, but he never complained about the opposing defense. Neither did Kobe, Tim Duncan or the Los Angeles Shaq (now all he does is complain).

Never let the competition know they’re getting to you. Dirk played right into the hands of the Warriors by commenting on his play. Golden State is already riding a high of possibly pulling off the biggest upset ever in a seven-game series in any sport all time, but this just adds fuel to the fire. Don Nelson will drill that into the heads of his players when they get ready to take the court tonight.

"I got to take what they give me and they don't really give me a lot," said Nowitzki. "So I've got to make other stuff happen -- help out on defense more; hit the glass harder, as hard as I can, get some extra possessions; if I have a shot, try to knock it down and if I don't, move the ball and let someone else make a shot."

This type of comment on the eve of what may be the final game of the season plays right into the hands of the Warriors. Nowitzki is a fantastic player that needs to take over the game tonight or Golden State will be celebrating an upset of David-like proportions.

Good for Avery Johnson, owner of an NBA championship ring, to tear into his premiere player. Johnson was never blessed with the best talent but never made excuses.

"I wasn't the best of players and didn't have the best of skills, but you were not going to shake my confidence,” said Johnson. “We need all of our players to be confident, to be resilient, to be persistent and that's what I want to see tomorrow. If I don't see it at shootaround, I'm going to be highly upset...because I need to have it going into that game tomorrow night. We've got to be confident and really sure about what we're doing."

Nowitzki has had the confidence to fight through any struggle during the regular season. There’s no reason that the superstar should be looking to shy away from the spotlight now that the game means more.

When Vince Carter couldn’t get his game going in the first two games of the series with Toronto, the Nets still ran their offense through the All Star in hopes that he could catch some rhythm and start draining some shots.
Without a Nowitzki that is ready to keep firing away jumpers from all over the Mavs have no chance to overcome a 3-1 deficit, which has only been done eight times in NBA history. Nowitzki should be running rampant over Stephen Jackson, but he can’t shake free to start raining shots.

All it takes is for Dirk to start playing the like the dominant player he is and for Davis to have an offnight and that could change the complexion of the whole series. Complaining won’t do a thing and neither will taking a back seat because the Warriors aren’t giving him much.

This series isn’t over despite the daunting numbers that say otherwise, but it starts with the play of the 6-11 import. Dirk’s a great player but he needs to move past this verbal gaffe and start acting like one. Greats don’t wait for the game to come to them (especially in the playoffs); they go out and take over. Just ask Duncan, Jordan, Dwayne Wade, Shaq, Kobe, Isiah, Magic or Hakeem.