Dirk Nowitzki Needs His "Robert Horry"

Dirk does what Horry does so well, he can sometimes suffice with just a guard posting up. He pulls a man out of the paint, allowing even smaller Mavs to dominate inside.

Guards like Nick Van Exel, Steve Nash, Jerry Stackhouse, Devin Harris, and Jason Terry have been able to attack the rim while in Dallas because Dirk pulls the defense out to the three-point line even more than Horry.

Dirk needs his "Robert Horry" at the center positon: a role-playing post-up man who can block some shots and protect the paint.

Of course, it doesn't have to be a role player.  Dirk could do this with a star center, as well, as long as he is the type who keeps defenses honest on the block. If you had a center as dominant as O'Neal playing with Nowitzki, their team could be more dominant than probably any team ever.

Dirk has struggled his whole careeer because he's rarely had a center at all. And the ones he's had have been terrible: Shawn Bradley and Erick Dampier?  Neither of these guys has an offensive game, let alone a post game.

Think of Shaq playing with no jumpshooters: It would allow the defense to completely collapse on him. That is what defenses have done with Dirk: taken the ball out of his hands completely. He has no opening to even attack the basket. He is just taken out of the game completely.

Just like Duncan would be triple-teamed on every play if he didn't have Manu and Parker to spread the floor for him.

The saddest thing is that it should be very easy to build around Dirk. All Mark Cuban and the Mavericks have to get is a decent, well-rounded center.

But instead, Cuban has been wasting time. He has never gone to the draft for a big guy, and this is the only way you can get quality centers. They are too valuable to trade for and Dallas has yet to entice any through free agency.

Dirk is a unique and misunderstood talent. Robert Horry, even with less raw skill, has been so successful because he plays with the same style at the power forward position.

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