[TallmanNYCParticipant]

I saw this article about a guy playing against a 17-year old Dirk.

http://www.slate.com/id/2296869

The basic takeaway is that at 17 at the second rung German division that the writer is struggling to play in, Dirk was so ridiculously large and fast that he didn’t even need to have a jump shot. He could just run right by that level of talent and if he missed he could just out jump everyone and get the rebound for a tap in. Kind of makes you think about how good the NBA man to man defense is that Dirk generally has to fight to get off a fadeaway. Of course, we have seen that he can hit that fadeaway. But interesting to see read about someone describing the huge gulf of talent between semi-pro ball and the NBA.

[aamir543Participant]

Dirk is now a slow unathletic shooter, but it seem like he used to be a Blake griffin, with a little bit of wilt, and Reggie Miller. Where does the time go

[apb540Participant]

aamir what are you even trying to say in your Dirk comparison?  Are you like 12 years old and never watched Dirk until this year??  In no way shape or form was he ever a Wilt or Blake Griffin.  Not a single similarity to either.  And Reggie was a SG who came off screens so not close on that one either.  Good effort though.

[aamir543Participant]

I was making that comparision to the Dirk the guy described in the article, and I have been watching Basketball for 10 years!

[aamir543Participant]

Sorry, now that I think of it, it is kind of stupid, this is why we need the point system.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Very fun perspective on a young Dirk Nowitzki. People from pro-basketball come from all different walks of life, and this was really cool to hear. I can just imagine him talking to their star player and the guy ice grilling Nowitzki, probably being right that he had a lot to learn, but jealous of the fact that he still had a lot of time to learn it. Dirk may be slow by NBA standards, but none of these are TOO slow. They run all of the time, and Dirk is not exactly a slouch in that department. Their is a reason after all that he manages to get as many good lucks as he does. He uses his footwork is amazing, and something that is incredibly unconventional, but exceptional to providing space for him, not to mention he uses his body incredibly well to create space. But, while Dirk may not be incredibly quick, he is definitely a solid athlete, much in the vein of Tim Duncan and Chris Bosh. These are all guys who are not really known for their athleticism, but are all high caliber in those terms.

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