Kobe v Dirk
Motivation
The NBA is filled with stories, will Deron Williams stay in New Jersey/Brooklyn, the Dwight Howard saga continues, Bosh’s GQ blip about Wade needing to take the last shot and B.J. Mullens is an emerging star in the NBA. The NBA is a different animal in that most of the excitement happens away from the court instead of on it. At times on the court stories are buried, or not even thought of. However, there are two on the court stories going on right now one nationally known, and the other flying under the radar. The first story is about Kobe Bryant’s video game stats, and the other is Dirk Nowitzki becoming a role player. These stories are similar in one respect, motivation.
Kobe Bryant
During the off season, Phil Jackson came out and said that Kobe could not win without more help on his team. On ESPN, Kobe was rated the seventh best player in the NBA by the fans. We heard more and more about his failing knees, he had surgery to repair those issues, and how he was losing his athleticism. The criticism of the super-star was becoming endless and this after completing three finals runs in a row before being dispatched in embarrassing fashion by the champion Dallas Mavericks.
All of this criticism led Kobe to one motivation; to prove that he is still the best. In the past five games he is averaging 39ppg with 5.4 rpg and 4.6 apg. He is doing all of that on 50% shooting from the field and nearly 30 shot attempts per games as well. He is also playing 41 mpg during that stretch. Here are his season stats thus far this season
14 GP
14 GS
37.7 MPG
11.6-25.1 FGMA
.464 FG%
1.1-4.5 3MA
.254 3FG%
7.6-9.1 FTMA
.835 FT%
1.0 OR
4.9 DR
5.9 TR
5.4 APG
.4 BPG
1.2 SPG
2.3 PF
3.9 TO
32.0 PPG
His points per game totals are the second highest of his career, his shot attempts per game are also the second highest of his career. Usually when Kobe has this many shot attempts the Lakers tend to lose games. However, they are 3-1 in their last four games. He has scored 40 plus points in each of those contests. If Kobe continues on this tear he could wind up averaging over 40mpg for the season. His most since the 06-07 season. In a compressed 66 game schedule this will have a lingering effect, especially for a player that has played in over 1300 career regular and post season games for his career.
Dirk Nowitzki
Last year Dirk finally got his title after 13 years in the NBA. He exercised a lot of demons and answered criticisms of not being clutch enough, not being good enough to win a title. The pressure has been lifted so to say. For the first time in his career he did not spend his whole offseason getting criticized. He came into the season a little bit more out of shape than he normally does.
The lockout effected this a little bit, but there is a curiousness of his play and how he is being used, and how he is using himself. In about every statistical category Dirk is at almost career lows. Here are this season stats.
13 GP
30.1 MPG
6.5-13.8 FGMA
.469 FG%
0.4-1.9 3MA
.200 3FG%
4.4-4.8 FTMA
.905 FT%
5.2 RPG
2.50 APG
.50 BPG
.9 SPG
2.2 PF
1.6 TO
17.7 PPG
His points per game, minutes per game, field goals attempted are all the least since his sophomore season. There is no doubt he is not a declining player. He only made a game winner against the Celtics in which he drove the lane and came up with an and 1, he took a much younger and quicker Kevin Durant. Here are the videos to prove it
Boston Game Winner
Taking Kevin Durant (0:20)
So it appears like he still has moves so why are his stats so low? It is one thing motivation. Last year he proved he was among the best players in the world as he dispatched the best players in the world from the playoffs. This year his motivation is getting back to the playoffs and being fresh for another deep run.
The Mavs have put themselves in position to make it so Dirk does not have to carry the load as much this season. They added tons of PF depth in Lamar Odom and they still have Shawn Marion who can play the position as well. Dirk’s minutes per game are at 30.1, which is about 7 minutes per game less than Kobe. Over the course of the 66 game schedule that is like playing in 10 extra games for Kobe Bryant.
Dirk also recognizes that this team has a lot of turnover from the championship roster. He knows that it will be imperative especially in a condensed schedule to make sure his new teams are full acclimated to what the Mavs do. If this means he acts as a decoy for the regular season then he will do it. He will be there when they need him most, as evidence of the Celtics game.
These two superstars definitely have their motivations for this season. One is out to re-prove himself as the best in the world. The other on top of the NBA right now wants to ensure that he can get there again.
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