Nowitzki proving to be peerless
Without Nash, big man begins to widen gap as city's top pro
12:24 AM CST on Wednesday, January 19, 2005
For the best pro athlete in the area, Tuesday was an almost quiet night. And even with that being the case, Dirk Nowitzki raised his career-best totals once more.
The only player in the NBA averaging 25 points (27.2 actually) and 10 rebounds per night wasn't pushed to his ever-increasing limits by the wounded Washington Wizards. Nowitzki still finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds in a wild 137-120 Mavericks victory.
Nowitzki is the biggest reason the Mavericks have won twice as many games as they have lost and why a 55-win season is well within reach. He has stepped up after watching his best friend, Steve Nash, step out and move to Phoenix.
Most basketball people thought the Mavs were losing more than a point guard when Nash signed his five-year deal with the Suns. They figured they were losing a piece of their best player, too, since Nash had been so instrumental night after night at getting Nowitzki the ball where he could do the most damage.
"I was one of those people," coach Don Nelson said Tuesday. "I thought he would suffer more without Nash. The fact that he has established himself as clearly the best player on the team, any intelligent coach would do whatever he could to get him the ball more."
The Mavs didn't need to ride Nowitzki against Washington, but they have demanded greatness from him to get through a lot of opponents this season. He has consistently delivered.
Nowitzki already has more 30-point games (13) this year than he had all of last season (12). Although the Mavs imported Erick Dampier to crash the boards in the middle, it's Nowitzki who is second in the NBA in defensive rebounds.
Dirk is relying less on the pick-and-roll and playing with more aggression on the offensive end. The evidence: 9.8 free throw attempts per game (seventh in the NBA), up from 5.5 a year ago. Nowitzki was 12-for-12 from the line Tuesday night.
And Nelson and assistant Del Harris both have noted that Nowitzki is playing the best defense of his career, even if Tuesday's up-and-down affair provided no illustration of that. Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy, no stranger to hard-nosed defense, said recently that Nowitzki does so much at the offensive end, people aren't noticing how much better a defender he has become.
He held the quicker Antawn Jamison in check in the first half when the game quickly got away from the Wizards.
In going over the 10,000-point mark Tuesday, Nowitzki joined four other Mavericks – Rolando Blackman, Mark Aguirre, Derek Harper and Michael Finley.
But the list of all-time great Mavericks begins with Nowitzki, and no one can argue that any more. That's where the list of the area's top pros has to begin, too.
Certainly the Cowboys don't have a player who ranks as close to the very best in the NFL as Nowitzki does in his league. Safety Roy Williams is the closest thing the team has to a star, and maybe running back Julius Jones has a chance, but that's a long way off.
Without Alex Rodriguez, the Rangers lack a superstar. First baseman Mark Teixeira is the most talented player on the team. He lacks the experience to be ranked with Nowitzki.
And we don't really have to worry about where Mike Modano might rank since his team is on something like a two-year hiatus.
When you see what Nash has done for the Phoenix Suns – and that's really evident when you see the Suns now crashing without him – it's a tribute to Nowitzki that he has taken one step closer to reaching the Tim Duncan-Kevin Garnett level without the All-Star point guard.
"He has the ball more now, and the next step is to become a great passer," Nelson said. "He still throws too many soft balls that can be picked off. But he's got everything else except that."
Only 26, the German should only keep ascending. But for the area pro teams and for the all-time Mavericks, Nowitzki already has reached the top of the ladder.
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wtcowlishaw@dallasnews.com
Nowitzki proving to be peerless
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