Name a legit good player Dirk has ever played with in Dallas.

[Kblaze8855]

Thats the one I meant. Last one vs the Bulls. But he was simply not Shaq when they won. Shaq...doesnt put up 17, 5, 16, 17,18, and 9 points in the finals.

[ginobli2311]

KBlaze

We just completely disagree and thats ok. However, I do think you are completely missing the point on how important defense is to win NBA titles. All the teams you referenced had great defenses. Wade could be Wade because he had shaq and zo protecting the rim in the 06 finals. You think he would have been able to score 40 a game if he had to anchor the defense and rebound as well?

Dirk didn't need a dream team. He needed a defensive minded team with another legit star. Nash/Finley/Dirk would have definitely won titles if they were surrounded by the right parts. Meaning a center that was tough, could rebound, block shots, and score a little and a few other hustle type players that could defend a bit. But all the mavs ever got was a bunch of all-star players that were very one dimensional and in my opinion that doesn't win...EVER. You have to play great defense to win in the playoffs.

That is just my opinion....although I can't think of an NBA champion that wasn't very very good defensively.

You keep referencing Duncan. Duncan is one of the 8 best players of all time. He's probably the best two way player other than jordan in the history of the league. His ability to dominate a game on both ends just does not come around very often. He is a far better player than Dirk.....so I don't get the point.

Duncan's flaw was that he wasn't great down the stretch of games (not really his fault but mainly due to his position) and he's a pretty bad free throw shooter in the 4th qtr. So the Spurs got players that could help out down the stretch of games and make big shots and big plays. This complemented Duncan's game and resulted in titles.

The Mavs did not surround Dirk with the type of talent he needed. Ben Wallace would have been better off playing with the Mavs than Dirk. Dirk did not need more high volume shooters or soft centers or soft small forwards. He needed players that could bring toughness and defense.

So that is where we really disagree. You could put Nash, Ray Allen, Bosh, Amare, Dampier, Deron Williams, and Carmelo all on a team this year and they would not win the title because they would not be able to defend. You have to build a team the right way. The Lakers, Magic, and Celtics have all been built the right way over the last 3 years.

Defense wins....not a bunch of "all-stars" that put up stats with very little value towards winning.

[D3vIrGiNiz3r]

Most of the board disagrees with that statement. In fact, most blame him for the losses moreso than anyone else on the Mavs... even when Dirk actually does quite well.

Yup. Makes me sick to my stomach. Dirk plays awesome and is the only good player on his team the last 10 years and gets blamed for everything.

Dirk scores 50pts a game in the playoffs and loses because his teammates suck and who gets the blame according to numbskulls like KBlaze? Dirk. Hilarious.

Spurs don't look too good when they have to play a team with more than one good player.