If someone had told you that Dirk Nowitzki Kobe Bryant about a month ago, you probably would’ve thought they were either ignorant, crazy or some deficient combination of both.
Then again, what would you have thought had that person in the first round?
Probably the same.
As you can tell by now, the NBA regular season is full of mirages. But, what’s even more important to realize is that the people that feed you information are just as susceptible as you are to confuse these illusions with reality.
Moral: Question everything you hear and read. Even this article.
On the matter of Kobe vs. Dirk, I think the case is open and shut. If you’ve watched the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers play this season and looked at the metrics concerning player value, the bottom line is that Dirk Nowitzki is simply better than Kobe Bryant at this point.
Here’s why:
5. Defense
According to advanced regular season statistics, Dirk is as good as Kobe at keeping his opponent from scoring per minute and while Kobe has an edge in steals and reading the passing lanes, Dirk has an advantage on the boards.
So, based on the regular season numbers, they are about even defensively, but Dirk gets the nod on defense for the spectacular job he did on Pau Gasol recently and the atrocious job Kobe did running around screens all series and playing one on one defense.
When it mattered the most, Dirk increased his defensive intensity and Kobe got worse.
Note: I am aware that Kobe was selected to the all-defensive first team for a ninth time this year, but to me that says a lot more about what a farce that award is than Kobe’s defensive talents anymore. is younger, stronger and faster than Kobe. He gets a lot more steals, rebounds and blocks. Somehow, Wade didn’t even make the all-defensive second team.
It’s balone! y.
4. Clutch
Yet another facet of the game ! where one would expect Kobe to dominate everyone in the NBA, but he actually falls well short of Dirk’s most recent clutch numbers.
In the 2011 NBA Playoffs, Kobe averaged his usual 45 percent from the field and actually shot a little worse from the three point line at about 29 percent. But, with less than five minutes left in close games, Kobe shot 25 percent from the field and 0 percent from three. That’s right, ZERO. Kobe was one of the worst and a burden for the Lakers if you consider that his clutch plus or minus is -56.
Dirk, however, has had one of the greatest postseasons in NBA history in the clutch. As if his unbelievable shooting percentages of 50 percent from the field and 60 percent from long distance were not enough, he has during crunch time, shooting over 56 percent and making 100 percent of his clutch threes.
3. Scoring Ability
Dirk’s size and accuracy make him a more versatile and dangerous offensive weapon ! than Kobe. He can fade-away over anyone in the NBA from anywhere on the floor at a much higher clip than Kobe. He’s also an infinitely better wide open shooter than Kobe. And, even though Kobe is still one of the best post players in the NBA and is more agile than Dirk, his size and tendency to miss a high volume of shots make him someone you’d much rather face than Dirk.
Because of his offensive uniqueness, you wouldn’t just rather Dirk had the ball at the end of games, you’d want him with the ball over Kobe just about every single time.
2. Rebounding
One of the most important reasons great frontline players tend to be more valuable than perimeter players is rebounding. Historically, only teams with strong rebounders win titles. Recently, the San Antonio Spurs had David Robinson and Chicago Bulls had Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman, the Miami Heat had Shaquille O’Neal Alonzo Mourning Andrew Bynum Lamar Odom .
Dirk! averaged 7.0 rebounds compared to Kobe’s 5.1 this season. In the! playoffs, Dirk has raised his total to 8.4 per game, while Kobe still averaged exactly 5.1 boards.
Notice the past tense on Kobe’s stats.
1. Efficiency
The most glaring discrepancy between both future Hall of Famers, however, is in efficiency. If you study a shooting analysis of both players, you might be surprised to observe that Dirk is more efficient from every single spot on the floor.
Nowitzki shoots better around the basket, anywhere in the restricted area, in the paint, from the mid-range, corner threes and threes above the break.
Compare Dirk’s percentages from the charity stripe, behind the arc and the field and you’ll see Dirk dominates Kobe Bryant historically and recently.
And you know what? If both had played the exact same way, but the Dallas Mavericks had lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, we would still be perpetuating the Mamaba Myth and Dirk would continue to be one of the most underrated all time ! greats to ever play the game.
For once, I’m fine with joining the results-based parade.
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Hot! Top Five Reasons Dirk Nowitzki Is Better Than Kobe Bryant Right Now
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