Nowitzki against Portland in Game 7

2003 Playoffs First Round Game 7

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Dirk
• Nowitzki
• Dallas
• Mavericks
• Chris
• Kaman
• Mavs
• Blazers
• Portland
• NBA
• Playoffs
• Jason
• Kidd

[MEMTigers08]

D-Now got injured in the WCFS bcuz Stern paid pay him

[christianwussow]

no offense, but that's the kind of crap I expect from a Spurs fan.

[MEMTigers08]

What did i say to u ?

[christianwussow]

You implied that Dirk got bribed by Stern. That is crap.

[bubibobo]

damn, look at how fast dirk was back then

[sabonisrules]

As a Blazer fan, I remember this series very well. It was the final hoorah! of my beloved Jail Blazers, and the last game of Arvydas Sabonis. During that series, EVERYTIME Dirk shot I just cringed, because the dude NEVER missed. Anyhow, that was a great series. I think of Dirk had not gotten hurt that year, the Mavs would have won it all.

[joekiddlouischama]

@joekiddlouischama ... pick-and-pop or pick-and-roll defense.

[joekiddlouischama]

Then on the last play in the video, Finley's defender (Ruben Patterson) leaves him yet fails to fully plug the lane, forcing Wallace to come over, thus forcing Pippen to briefly switch onto Najera, thus leaving Nowitzki open on the perimeter. Give Nowitzki credit for capitalizing, but the Blazers' defense committed too many mistakes; it wasn't a championship-caliber defense, and that's what you need to beat a 61-win team that led the NBA in Offensive Rating (points scored per 100 possessions).

[joekiddlouischama]

Nowitzki's performance in the clutch in this game has always stuck with me, but analyzing the film now, Portland's pick-and-pop defense proved pretty poor on virtually every one of these plays; you can hear Bill Walton alluding to the bad defense. On multiple possessions, Rasheed Wallace was over-helping on the perimeter rather than getting back to Nowitzki. You might play that way if you're paired with an athletic, mobile defensive center, but not with a thirty-eight year old Arvydas Sabonis.

[AAmast3r]

@leadoffeohippus You didn't see Dirk say a profound word and spit on the Blazers court last week? I think he's cockier now, but also much much better. Best player in the NBA cuz he can't be stopped.

[leadoffeohippus]

Wow is it just me or did Dirk seem......cockier back then? You wouldn't see anything like 4:23 today.

[chrisuncleahmad]

The Jail Blazers get a lot of flak for their volatile attitudes, but I would have rather been a fan of them than, say, Isiah's Knicks.

At least they could actually play decent basketball on the court.