| Unusual Occurrences Authored by Jeff Stotts - September 21, 2005 - 9:53 am
It’s been an odd year for the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki. It started last year several weeks after a first round exit from the 2004 playoffs. The Mavericks were a team of All-Stars that failed to play up to their potential and limped into the off-season with plenty of questions. Answers came quickly. Despite winning the Sixth Man of the Year Antawn Jamison was shipped out of town in a draft day trade for the rights to Devin Harris and Jerry Stackhouse. Then the hammer dropped. After accepting a six-year deal worth over $65 million from the Phoenix Suns, the Mavs’ on-court general and Nowitzki’s off court buddy left Dallas. Antoine Walker was next, followed closely by Eduardo Najera. The trades netted Jason Terry and Erick Dampier but even Dirk was skeptical admitting that he questioned the Mavericks off-season moves.
The 2005 season began and Nowitzki excelled throughout leading the Mavericks to a 58-24 record. The accolades added up too as Nowitzki was named to his fourth All-Star team, All-NBA First Team, and finished 3rd in the MVP voting. Despite his success, the season was anything but normal for Nowitzki and the Mavs. Longtime coach Don Nelson retired in the middle of the season and handed the reigns over to assistant coach Avery Johnson. Injuries to Marquis Daniels, Michael Finley, and Erick Dampier never let the team completely gel. Despite the confusion, the team ended the season winning 17 of their last 20 games including a nine game winning streak and was picked by many to be the sleeper team in the Western Conference playoffs.
Yet in a first round match up against Houston, Nowitzki was unable to maintain his normal All-Star form and often looked confused by the defensive schemes thrown at him by Jeff Van Gundy’s team. For the first time in his career Dirk saw his number drop in the playoffs yet the Mavericks eliminated the Rockets in seven games. Several people have attributed Nowitzki’s weak play to a case of bronchitis he was fighting but Nowitzki never used that as an excuse and instead chose to focus on the second round match up with the Suns.
It’s never easy to play your best friend in basketball, in any sport for that matter. Your competitive nature wants to win but it’s hard to do at the expense of your friend. Now just imagine if your friend has just been named MVP of the NBA and you are playing each other on national TV. Dirk’s was there as his weird year persisted. It was odd seeing Nash and Nowitzki, the former running mates, leading opposing teams against each other and unfortunately for Mavericks fans, the Suns prevailed. The series was especially hard on Nowitzki and it showed. He publicly called out Dampier after Game 1 and barked at Jason Terry after a mental lapse let Nash drain the OT-forcing and series-ending 3-pointer. Another frustrating trip through the playoffs for the Mavericks but for Nowitzki it was the calm before the storm.
Earlier this summer Dirk’s longtime mentor Holger Geschwindner was arrested for suspicion of tax evasion. German tax officials searched Nowitzki’s home in Wurzberg, Germany suspecting Geschwindner had financially profited from his relationship with Dirk. “I'm shocked about the accusations and hope that things will clear up soon. I support Holger 100%,” said Nowitzki as he remained at the side of his friend. However, instead of their yearly workouts Geschwindner ended up in jail and Nowitzki was left stunned saying, “It's difficult for me to concentrate on basketball". "I'm training every day as good as I can.”
Things back home in Dallas were headed south as well. The Big Three was suddenly the Big One as longtime Maverick fell victim to the amnesty clause in the new collective bargaining agreement and was waived. Finley wasn’t homeless long as he signed on with the division rival and world champion Spurs and like clockwork Nowitzki’s bizarre year continued.
Despite all the setbacks the past 12 months have brought Nowitzki he remains focused and determined and based on his recent performance in the European Championships he isn’t letting it affect his game. Nowitzki has carried the German National Team to the quarterfinals while averaging a tournament-high 27 points per game and 12 rebounds a game. His defensive game looks sharp as he has posted 2 blocks per game to go along with his 1.5 steals a game. What Nowitzki is doing with the German National Team is precisely what he will have to do for the Mavericks this year and that is shouldering the offensive load while contributing on the defensive end. He is also working on leading a team on his own and has become more verbal while asking for the ball in crunch time. Against Russia he hit two clutch 3’s to help Germany edge Andrei Kirilenko and the Russians. The Mavs will need Nowitzki step up and do these things that Dirk often deflected to Finley.
His off-season difficulties are also clearing up as Geschwindner was released from prison on August 24. Back in the States Mark Cuban and Coach Avery Johnson have done everything possible to bolster Nowitzki’s supporting cast. Finley’s void will potentially be filled by newly acquired Doug Christie with Stackhouse and Daniels on the bench to help. Swingman Josh Howard is becoming quite a sidekick for Nowitzki and looks to continue to improve. Hopefully the craziness has come to an end and Nowitzki can do what he loves to do and focus primarily on winning basketball games because if he can’t put this crazy year behind him then the Mavericks may be in for a long season. |
