# Dirk ....



## Dynasty Raider (Nov 15, 2002)

Just curious --- why no discussion about whether or not Dirk should have at least suited up?

Magic, Jet and Barkley came close to calling him a "pop-tart". So did Van Exel and even Finley.

If he thought "attempting" to play on his leg would ruin his career --- just wait until he sees how the other ballers treat him from now own!!! 

I don't see HOW he could give up so easily at such an important time in the organizations history. Even Peja came back last year to play on his badly swollen ankle. It was swollen so badly that it looked like an elephant ankle --- but he TRIED. Dirk's injury didn't look that extensive; not even as bad as Kidd's.

I am disappointed in Dirk. Then again, maybe it's an international thing, who knows.


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## RangerC (Sep 25, 2002)

I don't have a source, but I remember reading that he was CLEARED to play by the team doctors and still sat out. It's kinda funny - Nowitzki had his tooth knocked out by Karl Malone and came back and played in the same game (so he's not necessarily a player who can't play with pain) but he wouldn't give it a go with a sprained knee?


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## compsciguy78 (Dec 16, 2002)

I agree with you. I think Dirk wimped out by not suiting up in the last game. His knee might have not had the same lift but he could have helped by playing post defense or playing in a limited role. Magic, Bird, or any of the greats would have never said that they are worried about their career, especially so early in their career.


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## Dynasty Raider (Nov 15, 2002)

Well ... maybe no discussion on this board, but on another board there was major discussion. Here's just a sample: 

Dirk actually said earlier in the week that he was experiencing no pain but his knee "didn't feel right". You are playing on a team that will have to face the Lakers (a team that beat them 25 straight games) every year and you don't want to play b/c it doesn't feel right. How many teams play with guys that are 100% at this time of the year. He has NO heart and if I was on his team I would be pi$$ed. Yesterday Cheryl Miller commented that he didn't even run or shoot yesterday...what kind of crap is that. I don't know if he heard AI say how hard it is to get to the FINALS. Remember we are talking about a knee sprain...he didn't have crap floating around in his knee like Webber (who was hoping he could heal enough to play on that bad knee). Look around you IRK you are in the NBA now. Irk showed the fans and his team how much heart & guts he really has NONE. So Mark Cuban keep kissing your heartless wonder's A$$. While he was calling Barkley a moron he should have been shooting around. I don't agree with Chuck but he is right Irk better be glad he didn't face him and other players of that time b/c they would simply out muscle him. He would get schooled on defense every night instead of every other night and if he was not 7' he would get 30 scored on him every night. 

Here's another: I couldn't find anything supporting him.
MJ played with the flu, Isaiah played with a sprained knee, Magic and Bird has played hurt, AI has played with all kinds of injuries, and even Shaq has played with his hurt toe. 

Isaiah played with an almost broken ankle not a sprained knee. You don't have to look that far for players playing hurt, Allen Iverson is a walking wound, Eric Snow severly sprained his ankle against Detroit and played his heart out, Chauncey Billups severly sprained his ankle during the philly series and played, Ben Wallace had the same sprained knee injury that Dirk had but wore and he played (granted he had 8 days rest), Devean George had a severe sprained ankle and he played, if Webber had the same injury that dirk had instead of tearing ligaments you better believe he would have played, Shaq has played with a bad toe and bad knees all year and in the playoffs, Baron Davis played with a tore up right knee in the playoffs this year, Jamal Mashburn played with a broken finger on his shooting hand, and the list goes on and on. Bottom line is Dirk is a big soft scared baby and he proved it to the world last night. He was cleared to play and it's like he said "go ahead SA you can go to the championship." Tell me that would not have siked up Dallas to see Dirk play?


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## compsciguy78 (Dec 16, 2002)

Yeah, if they want to win they should trade Nowitzki. I hate to say it but for his high stock they could get a top 10 player with some heart. I know that trading him is harsh but if he is going to be the team leader, the team is going nowhere with him. That kind of heart will never bring a championship and that is what Cuban wants more than anything. 

Who could you trade Nowitzki for? 

The problem is that he is now considered a top 10 player in the league by many so if you trade him you want to get some equal players. You would have to trade for a couple lesser players, but that won't work good. Maybe trade him for some future draft picks? That probably wont work either. With a guy as good as Nowitzki I guess you have to stick with him and hope he toughens up, because he is almost too good trade unless you are getting something equal in return. Trade his sorry butt for Yao Ming!!!!!! 

The problem with having a soft 7 footer is that he is a liability on defense. I guess if they get another bruiser down low to complement his outside game it might work. I thought Raef played his heart out yesterday but I dont know if he is the answer for the Mavs. 

Just brainstorming on Nowitzki. That would be a hard decision to let him go, but I would if I had the right deal.


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## Petey (Aug 23, 2002)

Well how about you think about it this way...

The Spurs know he is hurt, and he gets his knees knocked, or he gets hit hard on a pick or 2, and he is really hurt badly... Yes it's the time to press on, but perhaps things like that is going through his head.

*Oh watch out, diving Manu, bam, oh my darn knee, heck I can just keep collecting those Cuban checks.

Hey anyone related to the Mavs organization... want to get rid of Dirk? Please... please make sure to atleast call Rod Thorn. 99.999999% chance there won't be a match, but just please tease us.

-Petey


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## TyGuy (Apr 19, 2003)

I knew that was all bs when right after he got hurt Nelly made that announcement that he wouldnt jeopardise his career. I think that was Nelly trying to protect his job knowing they couldnt win with dirk and not having Dirk was a good excuse. Dirk must have bought some stock on nelly crap


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## digital jello (Jan 10, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>TyGuy</b>!
> I knew that was all bs when right after he got hurt Nelly made that announcement that he wouldnt jeopardise his career. I think that was Nelly trying to protect his job knowing they couldnt win with dirk and not having Dirk was a good excuse. Dirk must have bought some stock on nelly crap


That's not true, I think the Mavs could have beaten the Spurs without Dirk. They did actually. Check game 5.

Dirk didn't want to risk ending his career. Smart move.


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## TyGuy (Apr 19, 2003)

I'm sorry but Dirk would not have been risking his career playing. All the legends played through huge pain, I just watched an old clip of Isaiah Thomas playing through a huge knee injury limping the hole way leading his team to victory. Some times you just have to bite the bullet and if you think the mavs could have beat the spurs even with Dirk you're crazy.


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## rainman (Jul 15, 2002)

these are some of the most rediculous comments i've ever read,the guy gets steamrolled at the knee and he's supposed to go out and play that week?this kid has never backed off from playing a game and now he's a wimp?you guys have been listening to charles barkely too much.there have been numerous times where guys have missed playoff games.why didnt webber play against the spurs,is he a wimp too?.how about pippen,how about mashburn?billups sat out and when he tried to play he was totally ineffective.give the kid a break.


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## TyGuy (Apr 19, 2003)

He was apparently cleared to play and supposely his knee wasnt bothering him with pain, he just couldnt flex it all the way. This man is a professional and his team needed him to have any chance.


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## Dynasty Raider (Nov 15, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>rainman</b>!
> these are some of the most rediculous comments i've ever read,the guy gets steamrolled at the knee and he's supposed to go out and play that week?this kid has never backed off from playing a game and now he's a wimp?you guys have been listening to charles barkely too much.there have been numerous times where guys have missed playoff games.why didnt webber play against the spurs,is he a wimp too?.how about pippen,how about mashburn?billups sat out and when he tried to play he was totally ineffective.give the kid a break.



Hmmmm ... you must be a Laker fan. OR, do I detect some underlying double standards going on.

I don't remember hearing this kind of support for Samaki Walker, when Kobe went public and almost demanded Samaki risk paralysis to play so that he could continue his drive for the scoring championship. Didn't hear not one word that he shouldn't play. Never heard that Iverson shouldn't play, not Snow who played with pins in his ankle.

Dirk had a BRUISED knee and had been cleared to play. Double standards?


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## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>rainman</b>!
> why didnt webber play against the spurs,is he a wimp too?.how about pippen,how about mashburn?billups sat out and when he tried to play he was totally ineffective.give the kid a break.


Webber had a torn meniscus. Mashburn had a broken finger on his shooting hand, and he did come back and play, Billups had a badly turned ankle, and he came up huge in game six against the Sixers.

I started a thread about this elsewhere, and all I can say is.. the playoffs tell who a player really is. It doesn't say that they'll give this amount during the full regular season, but it shows how hard they play, what they're willing to go through to try and win an NBA championship.

Dirk being worried about his career might sound great to some, but guys like me don't buy it. Because look at it this way, you're on the last step before the finals, if you lose you have a few months of vacation ahead of you. But I guess he doesn't know how rare it is to get the the Conference Championship, it's even harder to get to the Finals. Many great players never made it there, and even more never won a championship.

And lets face it the Mavs aren't making it as far as they did this year, next year, because they'll still have the same weaknesses.

NBA careers on average are very short, and star players can have their careers ended at any time, so when you can sniff the ultimate prize, why not sacrifice the future for immortality?

-Tim


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## Ben1 (May 20, 2003)

I'm absolutely disappointed by Dirk's decision.. I always thought he was someone great to look up to, but I have 2nd thoughts now......


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## Ben1 (May 20, 2003)

Trade Dirk for someone with more heart..


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## rainman (Jul 15, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Dynasty Raider</b>!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



a laker fan?i guess you dont know me very well,two things,nelson is the one that said he wouldnt risk the kids playing future and second the spurs were the much better team,dallas actually played better because they were able to junk it up with the small lineup.for anyone that has played sports you know that you can play hurt but you cant play injured.i dont question nowitzki's guts one bit and if they would like to send him to my sonics i'll pay the plain fair to get him here.


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## Dynasty Raider (Nov 15, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>PhillyPhanatic</b>!
> 
> ... it shows how hard they play, what they're willing to go through to try and win an NBA championship.
> 
> ...


Very well said. :clap: 

Not to mention, tomorrow is not promised to anyone. God forbid, he could have a career ending injury next year during regular season. You just don't pass up opportunities on a "maybe" or "if" sometime in the future.


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## benfica (Jul 17, 2002)

*That replay if his knee looked nasty*

It looked pretty bad. You can play injured with most injuries, but a bad knee and your risking it.


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## DownUnderWonder (May 27, 2003)

Guys this isnt Keith Van Horn we're bagging okay, so this talk of heart is a little flawed. Its not whether your hurt or not, but whether you have the confidence in you body to perform the task at hand. Anybody reading this post right now.... whoever you are I ask you this; what did YOU do last time you hurt yourself (Reasonably, grimacing but no ambulance) what was Ur 1st instinct? I hope it was like mine..."F*ck it, Im OK, I can run it out". However when it flared up next time, thats what seperates us.

Nowizki has heart, and after reading a few interviews with him, you can tell he loves his team. He is close with Nash and Cuban, and you know those guys HATE to lose. So not only would he be letting his people in Mavtown down, he would be letting his friends down, and that hurts, especially when the stakes are this high.

I agree with you, In Australia we call actions like this "blousing out" refering to a femine trate within him, but I think trade talk is straight up crap. Charles (god love him) has a big mouth and I often agree with him... not this time. The dunkin' deutchman was only thinking of his team when he realised he couldnt get the job done.

This was a question that had to be raised so big up to everyone who "debated the toss" so to speak.


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## kcchiefs-fan (Oct 28, 2002)

Not to mention his free swing comment after they're loss in the Sacramento series. He's a good talent, but I either laugh my head off or sh*t myself whenever someone tries to compare him to Bird, depending on what kind of mood I'm in.


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## walkon4 (Mar 28, 2003)

*Yeah*

i had a HUGE post on this in the NBA Forum. Look for it, and bring it back alive.

it was something like "Dirk: Simply a Coward?"


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## Zach (May 11, 2003)

I'm about to try to defend him right now but I have mixed feelings on this topic. He WAS cleared to play. Why didn't he? I don't know. It is possible he didn't want to strain it running or he didn't want to hurt it doing something like going up for a board and the Ginobili situation could happen again. I don't know. But maybe if he had strained it again or seriously torn something that would take possibly 3 of the 5 month break to heal and leave him with 2 months to practice before team practices start again. But, down 3-2 in a win or go home situation, just dressing would have given the team more cofidence and gotten the crowd more into it. Overall, I'm dissapointed. We will find out why in 5 months. I think he will imprave drastically over the summer and be MVP (people may dissagree, but I am a Mavs fan) next year.


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