what do you want me to say? the guy had a reputation for being soft in the playoffs and everyone knows it. that's why people are praising how great he is on a consistent basis for the first time in the playoffs this year. the averages don't tell the story... in the big games he was flat and in crunch time he either blew it or didn't come through.

dirk has completely shattered my prejudice against european basketball players. amazing. he still needs to redeem that 2006 finals loss though, and he will.

He's the best non-American player in NBA history. I said it.

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Originally posted by OrangestO This isn't about physics, this is about waves.

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Originally posted by The17sss what do you want me to say?

Say you're upset that Trump is not running for president. Say it!

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Originally posted by OrangestO This isn't about physics, this is about waves.

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Originally posted by srussell0018 He's the best non-American player in NBA history. I said it.

sorry man. he's definitely in the top 5 but I have to go with hakeem olajuwon.

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Originally posted by Mattinsanity sorry man. he's definitely in the top 5 but I have to go with hakeem olajuwon.

oh damn. good call there. I concur.

I completely disagree, and would say that Dirk is a far more skilled player than Olajuwon. I guess I should rephrase though. Dirk is the best player to come from another country straight to the NBA. He is so talented that his game was able to translate perfectly from the European style of play. Olajuwon played college basketball in the US.

Dirk and Hakeem are very different types of players. It's really hard to compare the two. Olajuwon was great, but there's not a player in the NBA who can guard Dirk, and he showed that last night. What did he single handedly get like 3 of OKC's players in foul trouble? They even tried putting Durant on him until he got 2 quick fouls. If Dirk is on his game (which he almost always is) you literally can't defend against him. A big man isn't going to come out to the 3 point line to defend, and smaller guys can't do anything against his fadeaway. If they play up on him, he just shoots over them, and if they play off of him, he has the athleticism to drive on them.

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Originally posted by OrangestO This isn't about physics, this is about waves.

Last edited by srussell0018 on May-18-2011 at 17:02

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Originally posted by srussell0018 I completely disagree, and would say that Dirk is a far more skilled player than Olajuwon. I guess I should rephrase though. Dirk is the best player to come from another country straight to the NBA. He is so talented that his game was able to translate perfectly from the European style of play. Olajuwon played college basketball in the US. Dirk and Hakeem are very different types of players. It's really hard to compare the two.

2 TOTALLY different skill sets, yes. However, "far more skilled"? LOL! Hakeem's skills are so well respected to this day, that Dwight Howard goes to him for 1 on 1 training in the off season to enhance his game! I bet Hakeem's 2 rings would gladly debate Dirk's 0 on the topic at hand.

Oh god, rings? Really? I'm not even going to acknowledge that as an argument because it has absolutely nothing to do with a player's individual greatness. Take that argument to Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, or Karl Malone and tell them they weren't great. Derek Fisher has 5 rings. He must have be a better PG than John Stockton. The ring argument is the ultimate straw man.

Hakeem was a post player. That's what his game was. Dirk does it all. The only thing that Olajuwon has an edge on Dirk in is defense, and that's a big edge. I'll give him that, but that's all.

Dwight Howard goes to Olajuwon because they have a similar type of game. They're both post players who rarely take jump shots. Their game is defense and post playing. I don't even want to get into Dwight though, because I think he's one of the most overrated players in the NBA. Virtually ineffective outside of like 5 feet.

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Originally posted by OrangestO This isn't about physics, this is about waves.

Last edited by srussell0018 on May-18-2011 at 17:13

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Originally posted by srussell0018 Oh god, rings? Really? I'm not even going to acknowledge that as an argument because it has absolutely nothing to do with a player's individual greatness. Take that argument to Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, or Karl Malone and tell them they weren't great. Hakeem was a post player. That's what his game was. Dirk does it all. The only thing that Olajuwon has an edge on Dirk in is defense, and that's a big edge. I'll give him that, but that's all.

The Dream is an all time great at his position... more skilled than any big man in history except maybe 4 or 5 of them? This is not debatable. Because he was a post player doesn't take away from that. Dirk can do "most of it all", but not all. Trust me... do you think if Dirk played the true center position like Hakeem did that he would go down as an all time great?

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Originally posted by The17sss The Dream is an all time great at his position... more skilled than any big man in history except maybe 4 or 5 of them? This is not debatable. Because he was a post player doesn't take away from that. Dirk can do "most of it all", but not all. Trust me... do you think if Dirk played the true center position like Hakeem did that he would go down as an all time great?

That's an irrelevant question because Dirk isn't a center. You're just proving that it's silly to compare them because they play 2 different positions. Do you think if Hakeem played a 4 that he'd be equally as great. If he was shooting fadeaway 15 foot jump shots and 3s? Centers are big men who aren't skilled enough to actually take jump shots. Their game is drastically worse outside of the paint. It takes a lot of skill to knock down fadeaway jump shots with a hand in your face. It's a bit easier to use your size to bank 4 foot hook shots. Also, keep in mind it's not like there was a large number of 7 footers in the NBA at the time Olajuwon played. Almost every team in the NBA does now. Imagine Dirk's game in the NBA in the early 90s man. If Hakeem was so dominate down low, imagine someone who could do that and consistently knock down long-range jump shots, and shoot 80-90% from the line.

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Originally posted by OrangestO This isn't about physics, this is about waves.

Guys, this argument you guys have going is getting ridiculous. Hakeem was a magnificent player. Besides his post game, he was the single best 'big man' passer the league has ever seen. Dirk is tremendous. A matchup nightmare for anyone and carrying his team right now.

Let's leave the comparisons for 2am sports talk radio programs in Topeka, Kansas. Let's move on.