CHICAGO – If you are looking for grace and beauty, you won't find it in Dirk Nowitzki's step-back jump shot, which is often one-footed and haphazardly executed. But if you're looking for lethal, deadly force that is consistently dependable, there is no better weapon.
Nowitzki's awkward jumper doesn't bear the qualities of form and flow that coaches and basketball academies preach. What it has, though, is an incredible success rate that approaches perfection. The only way to stop Nowitzki from scoring is to make the sign of the cross and pray that he misses.
Throughout his illustrious NBA tenure, Nowitzki has ruthlessly terrorized opponents with his firepower. An 11-time All-Star, the gentle German has made 8,431 field goals, 1,275 threes and 5,997 free throws. To the math impaired, that's a staggering grand total of 21,134 points.
There is nothing fancy or mysterious about the way Nowitzki goes about his shot. No frills, no thrills. Just unstoppable. And here's why.
Each time Dirk gets the ball looking to score, he uses the might of his 245 pounds to legally bump his defender and create distance. Once the separation is established, he protects his space by raising one knee while the other foot braces for elevation. And the moment his slender 7-foot frame is airborne, Nowitzki then fades away beyond reach. You'd have to be either the mythical Big Foot or the biblical Goliath to come to within a whiff of blocking Nowitzki's shot.
"You can't guard air space," Hall-of-Fame coach Pat Riley once famously said of Micheal Jordan's fall away jumper.
The same can be said of Nowitzki's pet move. His high-arching jump shot is impossible to defend because his release point is higher than Mt. Everest. And his trigger is quicker than e-mail.
The ninth pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, Nowitzki was originally selected by the Milwaukee Bucks, who immediately traded him to Dallas for the late Robert "Tractor" Traylor. The deal turned out to be manna from heaven for the Mavericks as Nowitzki continues to brilliantly chart a Hall-of-Fame career highlighted by an average of 22.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game.
Labeled soft early in his career, Nowitzki has proven to be tough as yesterday's bread. In his 14 years in the league, the phenom also known as The Germanator has played in 1,050 out of a possible 1,100 regular season games. He has survived two lockouts – 1999 and 2011 – and has missed no more than nine games in a single season.
But after having logged 38,314 punishing minutes since his rookie season, Nowitzki's 34-year-old body is beginning to slowly manifest the inevitable wear and tear. Early last Friday (Saturday in Manila), he underwent arthroscopic surgery "to remove a constant buildup of fluid on the right knee," the Dallas Morning News reported.
This medical event comes as no surprise. Dirk sat out four games last season due to swelling on his knee and he had that same nagging knee drained twice in the past couple of weeks.
The good news is that Dr. T.O. Souyal, the Mavericks' orthopedist, did not find any structural damage. The bad news is that Nowitzki will be sidelined for at least six weeks and could miss approximately 13 regular season games.
Losing Nowitzki, albeit temporarily, is simply devastating. Dallas must feel like it just lost the roof in its house, or the air in its tires. Nowitzki isn't just the face of the franchise, he is the heartbeat of the Mavericks, the rock of their Gibraltar.
After winning it all in 2011, the Mavericks have since lost key talents such Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea. They also lost two Jasons, Kidd and Terry. With only four players left from that championship season, the team had hoped to make a splash this past summer and lure free agents Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to Dallas.
Unfortunately, that grand design didn't turn out so well. But the Mavs recovered nicely by snaring usable assets in O.J. Mayo, Darren Collison, Chris Kaman and Elton Brand. Oh yeah, they still have Vince Carter in the lineup. But at age 35, the once high-flying ace is now just a middling reserve with achy knees and an inferior lift.
So where does Dallas go from here?
Down. Way down.
A team simply cannot lose its only treasure without sinking into the depths of mediocrity. For the ill-fated Mavericks, one game without Dirk Nowitzki is one game too many. Thirteen games is a death sentence.
Homer Sayson, NBA.com
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