Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 9:01 am  |  108 responses

Post Up: Dirk With the Dagger

And Jax has been freed!

by Holly MacKenzie/@stackmack

How many of you turned on the Bucks/Mavs game thinking it would be a bust?

I was hoping for a good one and I certainly got it. After seven seconds of anger over the Mavs knocking down Milwaukee, I was able to appreciate the ridiculousness of Dirk’s shot. How can a man who is that tall be that smooth? And how can a man that smooth be so horrifically awkward at doing everything else but dominating in basketball? While the shot was great –and I think we all kind of knew it was going in as soon as he got the ball– his celebration afterward was even better.

The whole game was awesome. Jennings finishing with 25/7/8, but having it in his head that he was shooting three-pointers down the stretch was a page straight out of a former ROY’s personal playbook, but eight games in, I’m still beyond impressed with his game. I also loved seeing Coach Skiles go over to console Jennings after a missed three late. It was an impressive game from Milwaukee who fell behind by as many as 18 in the third, then cut their deficit to three at the end of three thanks to a long ball from Jennings. The fourth and overtime periods were fun, with each team going back and forth and then Dirk saving the Mavericks as his shot bounced, up, up, up and then finally through the net.

Shoutout to J. Kidd for the wild line he threw up, finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds and 17 assists. The Mavs lost Shawn Marion to a sprained ankle in the second quarter. My favorite quote from the game was Jennings as he explained his missed shot in regulation that would have won it for the Bucks:

“I wanted the ball at the last second. I didn’t know Ersan’s man had doubled me. When I looked back at the tape I saw he was wide open for the jump shot. It’s something I’m going to learn from. It’s a long season.”

He will learn. As he learns, so will Ersan Ilyasova who was fantastic, finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds, hitting 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. He’s snuck up on me, but I like him.

Rashard Lewis was back for the Magic last night. Stephen Jackson was in uniform for the Bobcats as well. I tuned in just in time to catch his first three points as a Bobcat, then flipped over to NBATV to watch the Bucks/Mavericks. The Magic won that game, but I’ve got to say: I drafted Dwight Howard in my fantasy league and he’s not overwhelming me like he did last season. Due to a problem with my stupid firefox I also ended up picking Chris Bosh with my second pick when I was unable to “un-autodraft” and right now, Bosh is the fantasy stud. Funny how that works out sometimes.

Atlanta shawty, indeed. After finding themselves at the top of the power rankings this week, it appeared as though the Hawks didn’t know how to handle being number one, stumbling their way through their match up with the Trailblazers. The game went into overtime as Rudy Fernandez hit a three for the Blazers who outscored Atlanta 27-18 in the fourth. Atlanta woke up in the extra session and came back to take control of the game behind Joe Johnson’s 32 points, eight coming after regulation. Josh Smith pulled down 16 boards as the Hawks outrebounded Portland, 47-37, including a 15-8 advantage on the offensive glass.

As you know, Allen Iverson and the Grizzlies have mutually agreed to end their one-year contract. That’s all I can give you on that right now because I’m still feeling far too jumbled and I’m not quite prepared to work my way through my thoughts on that just yet. I will say, I do not believe Iverson is done.

Hearing Monta Ellis say he doesn’t know who will play defense in Golden State now that SJax is gone… That was funny. If you PLAY in the NBA but somehow have neglected to realize that Raja Bell has built a 10-year career on his reputation as a defender, I don’t even know what to tell you. Where have you been?! Have you read a scouting report? Do you watch your opponents play? I’m sure Monta wasn’t in a great mood after losing Jackson, but damn.

I’m really looking forward to the Denver/Toronto game this evening. Ty Lawson has been added to my must-see rookie list. Rookie point guards. They’re great, aren’t they.

ps… Rodrigue Beaubois….Rodrigue Beaubois…Rodrigue Beaubois….Rodrigue Beaubois.

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  • http://Www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    Hmm, Dirk’s been hitting the weights (or Holger is making him to 2hour handstands nowadays), looks ripped on the main pic. Oh yeah, To all the usual Slamonline Dirkbashers…. Suck it.

  • http://Www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    You know The middle part of Dirk’s surname translates into “joke” in english, right. No-joke-ski, how fitting, cause the guy’s game is no joke nowadays (anyone notice he’s averaging 1.7 blocks a game so far? More than DPOY’s like T-Dunc?)

  • tavoris

    Rodrigue Beaubois is really freaking good…He & Jennings were alot of fun to watch last night. @Darksaber…I’m firmly planted on the Dirk Bandwagon. I’ve been there since he went practically AN ENTIRE SEASON without scoring less than 20 points in a game. His fadeaway is one of the NBA’s unstoppable moves

  • http://fdjksl.com Jukai

    ReDIRKculous! When he hit that shot, I was all over the place hollering! Dirk is clutch, end of story.

  • jk_light

    Ha, great picture!
    and Darksaber, it seems as if more and more people learn to appreciate Dirk’s game on this site now with all the hating attention to Kobe and Bron.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    F dirk.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ TADOne

    Dirk got a lucky bounce…that was hardly a dagger.

  • http://Www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    2 things, 1st. Monta Ellis, get off your moped for a sec and RECOGNIZE. Dude actually questioned who would now play D besides him. Monta plays D? I think B-Jennings would like to share his thoughts on that. 2nd, why was Luc guarding Dirk on that inbounds play? They just tossed the ball in over him for Dirty to grab. Meanwhile, Bogut was guarding (ahem pushing) Undersized center Drew Gooden. Not clever, skiles. The whole “use big SF’s to harass The german” hardly works anymore.

  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    Did anybody else see Ilyasova’s crazy hands on Dirk?! Ahaha, that was the most hilarious thing I’ve seen on the court in a long time. Made me think of how Sean Avery was going xrazy with his stick in front of Brodeur in the playoffs.

  • jk_light

    And yes, another clutch shot and Game-Winner from Dirk. I’ve seen soooo many in his career already. Probably more than from any other player not named Kobe, MJ or Robert Horry. And like with every Superstar that has the ball in his hands at the end of the game, he also missed some shots.
    As I said before, if one or two possesions went different in the Finals in 06, we would be talking about an unstoppable 7-footer with a ring and one of the best 5 to 10 players in the last decade without people questioning that statement..

  • http://Www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    I love Bryan’s consistency, good one Shia. Hope knicks land the Canswer soon.

  • http://fdjksl.com Jukai

    You guys are right, Dirk’s last shot was a lucky bounce, as was every other shot he took on the way to 32 points. Totally lucky.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com DP

    Jennings is the f’n ill son. play wit it.

  • namik

    I agree about Dirk’s celebration. I thought he was going to sit on Barea’s head. Dirk is no joke this year though. Is this what Yao Ming would’ve been like if China let him rest for a summer or two??

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    I’m the driver of the allen iverson to new york bandwagon. Check my $tat$.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    @darksaber I was much worse on twitter.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com DP

    Dirk always gets it done in the regular season. No one can deny that. playoffs……..yeah he is a great regular season player. play wit it.

  • http://Www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    Yeah, i can imagine, Shia. Holly seems to like your tweets though, so that’s cool.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ TADOne

    Jukai, get the f’ outta here. No one said his other 30 points were lucky, but that last shot literally bounced 3 times before falling thru the hoop. F*ck a shooters roll too because it had bounced way high off the top of the backboard before falling thru. So yes, lucky bounce. I’m not hating just saying it wasn’t a dagger.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    Haha tad. If I was anybody else I would’ve thought that was me.

  • http://fdjksl.com Jukai

    Tad: Calling BS here. It should have gone in, rimmed out, and then bounced back in. It was a great freaking shot, pretty much on target. But because it UNLUCKILY bounced out and then back in, it wasn’t a dagger? Put down the haterade bro.

  • http://Www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    DP: i thought you knew ball, man. Please go check Dirk’s playoff stats or for a newer demonstation of a BALLER, check his performane in last season’s 2nd round against Denver. Guess everyone averages 33,11 & 5 against the K-Mart/Nene/Andersen trio.

  • tavoris

    Dirk’s been hitting those shots the same way since his third season. It’s about time we stop calling them “lucky” because they look awkward.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ TADOne

    Meh.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ TADOne

    I am mad that Brandon’s 3 didn’t fall though.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com Eboy

    Uhm…Dark, Dirk has looked like this world beater several other times in his career and you know…..he almost always, ALWAYS show’s up little in the biggest moments so this isn’t new business to the rest of the world. Has he looked fantastic so far this season….sure, no doubt, but so have the Hawks. End of story.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com DP

    yeah my bad, darksaber he put up crazy numbers. I thought I saw his team play LA in the western conference finals last year.

  • http://fdjksl.com Jukai

    I’d like to add, if Dirk’s shot HAD rimmed out and not bounced back in, I doubt anyone here would say Dirk was ‘unlucky’ his shot bounced out; but since it sank, Dirk’s lucky. Cool beans.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    They were doubling brandon at half court down the stretch that was intense.

  • http://Www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    Yeah, DP, i thought i saw that same team beat Orlando in June and throw a parade in Disneyland… Oh, why do i even bother…. Non believers

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com Eboy

    With that being said….it’s sad that Dirk will languish away the rest of his career in Dallas because he deserves to play with another really good player to have a chance to win a title and play in a huge market.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    Jukai , nah we just say dirk sucks and move on.

  • http://Www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    Hey, E’s talking to me again. Thought you hate me cause i praised Kob’s this summer? Nice to see your Dirk dislike is still going strong.

  • http://fdjksl.com Jukai

    Bryan: I know, status quo as usual. Well, in other events, what do you think the odds are that Walsh’ll correct his past mistakes and actually freakin’ sign Ivy to a contract?

  • http://Www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    I like the team so far whitehot, great rookie PG, veteran PG to learn from, good size and athleticism at the 2 & 3, Dirk at the 4/5 with a more dedicated approach to D, and Damp even showed signs of being alive. Too bad they all seem to languish on the IL at some pount of the season.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ TADOne

    Jukai, i’m not a Dirk basher on the regular so don’t lump me in with those martians. However, I will definitely bash his taste in women.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com Eboy

    No Dark, I still love you….like I still love Shia….I can’t help both of your stupidity for falling for the Mamba’s charm.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    Jukai : there’s no way to predict what the knicks will do. Smart move? Pick him up sell jerseys and tickets and fill the main weakness on the squad which is lack of a scorer. But the knicks run a franchise like they live in the bizarro world so if they don’t sign him ill be less than shocked and really pissed off.

  • http://Www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    Hehe, TAD called em martians. Funny. Eboy: soon as the season started, and he started SCREAMING/WOOING for the ball in the post on every posession, my hate resurfaced. Kob’s on a 2 game losing “streak”? Lovely.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Darksaber should savor this moment, although it’s obviously not the first time Dirk has played clutch. Now that Dirk is no longer being compared to Larry Bird, I can fully enjoy his game.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    And the Hawks got the win, but I was unsatisfied with their play.
    Z might have been right about their offense.

  • jk_light

    “he almost always, ALWAYS show’s up little in the biggest moments so this isn’t new business to the rest of the world.”
    What are the biggest moments? Besides the Finals in 06, is it the first round in 07 against Golden State or the first round in 08 against NO because he didn’t retaliate against West (and yes, at least he shpuld have shoed him away)? Or are big moments the EPIC secound reound against San Antonio where he scored like 37 in Game 7 with the points to force OT. Or the Western Finals against Phoenix where he put up 50 points. Or the second round against Denver where he had the averages Darksaber already mentioned. Or the Semi-Final of the European Championship where he beat Spain in the last seconds???

  • http://www.boogiewilliams.com Boing Dynasty

    Has Brandon Jennings been hanging out with Chris Childs? The master of the rushed 3, when you only need a 2.
    @Jukai…”It should have gone in, rimmed out, and then bounced back in. It was a great freaking shot, pretty much on target.” …C’mon player, that was the exact definition of a lucky bounce.

  • http://fdjklf.com Jukai

    … no, a lucky bounce would be a shot you aim to swoosh but gets overshot and hits the backboard and banks in. The shot Dirk got was on the money, but tweaked the side of the basket at the EXACT angle where instead of falling down, it bounced to the side, rimmed up in the air, then fell back it.
    Lucky it fell back in? Yeah. Unlucky it didn’t swoosh? Very. Not a dagger? That’s baloney.

  • http://www.sixers.com 360vue

    Another dagger in the mouths of all those dirkbashers! Barring injury, the ROY is on lockdown by the new #3

  • http://www.sixers.com 360vue

    @Darksaber, props to the ‘canswer’, never heard that before

  • http://www.boogiewilliams.com Boing Dynasty

    Word? I didnt know u had broke down the EXACT angles.
    Allow me to Quote you, if i may: “Lucky it fell back in? Yeah.” Theeeeeeeeerefore…….Lucky shot. and it didnt just bounce up and come back down, it rimmed out bounced high OFF THE GLASS and went it. Its still a dagger, because it won the game. Lukcy bounce none the less.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com Eboy

    jk light, your idea of big moments and mine differ slightly.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    I like how he jk light said “aside from” and named off some of the worst choking in nba history. Yeah aside from there he almost always plays well on the big stage haha.

  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    I have to disagree here, Jukai. When your shot gets that much rim before going down, it’s a lucky bounce because you weren’t dead eye by any means. Dirk is cold though. I’m starting to forgive him for letting Miami and GState take his manhood. No matter how many buzzer beaters he hit during the reg. season, those two series will always be part of his legacy. Unless he wins a ‘ship, of course.

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