2011 NBA Playoffs: Dirk Shrugs About Stats but Relishes Every Win

The Dirk Effect

I wanted Dirk to shrug more than I have wanted any athlete to do anything Tuesday night. Dirk had just hit an improbable bank shot over the outreached arms of James Harden and it seemed like at this moment he could do anything.

But Dirk's body language was saying "I am just doing what I have to do to help my team win". He should have shrugged like Jordan as if to say "this is normal for me" or "who is soft now?" or even "there's is nothing stopping me tonight".

Dirk's performance, not only on Tuesday night but this whole season, has been nothing to shrug at though. He has carried a team with a nucleus that has been playing since Watergate; he has hit more clutch shots than Kobe can even dream of; he has got his teammates involved better than a Gilbert Arenas card game; and he is acting so cool on the court that he may be making the Dos Equis "Most Interesting Man in the World" envious.

Dirk's detractors said he could not carry this mediocre nucleus of Jason "I lost my first step when Clinton became President" Kidd,  Jason "One Day This Jet Thing Will Result In A Groin Injury" Terry, JJ "I was once an extra for TLC's 'Little People Big World'" Barea, Tyson "Why did I ever play in Charlotte?" Chandler,  and Shawn "Why Do I look like an anteater?" Marion past the first round of the playoffs.

In fact everyone was picking the fighting Brandon Roy's of Portland. It din't matter to Dirk. He just carried the Mavericks past the Blazers in six games.

But everyone said the Lakers would destroy the Mavericks. LA had too much size, too much Kobe, too much Phil, too much "winning". While Kobe and the Lakers fell apart mentally, the Mavericks and Dirk thrived in the clutch. While the Lakers lost all of their chemistry worrying over who was sleeping with who's girlfriend the Mavericks were more concerned about hanging out together and winning every single game.

Where other teams pretended to care about winning just to appease their fans, the once "soft" Dirk made sure he did everything he could to help the Mavericks win.  In these playoffs winning mattered to no one more than it mattered to Dirk.

Gone is the Dirk who "lost his cool" after Dwayne Wade brought the Heat back to win game three of the 2006 NBA Finals; gone is the Dirk who disappeared when Tim Duncan challenged him; gone is the Dirk who watched hopelessly after skinny Baron Davis led the 2007 Warriors to an eight versus one upset over the Mavericks.

Dirk used to shrug about the losses. The shrug that said "I got my 25 and 10, what more do you want?" That shrug is gone and replaced with the shrug that says "Who cares about my forty-eight points? Its more important we won!" This is how Dirk has carried the ancient Mavericks to the West Finals. This is how Dirk has transformed everything about his individual game. And this is the Dirk we will always remember.

That's what separates Dirk from any player out there right now and that's why he is the playoff MVP so far. In a selfish world if you mentioned Dirk's amazing playoff stats to him he would probably just shrug.  But if you mentioned winning he would admit to you that it is the most important thing in his life right now. There is nothing that is soft about sacrifice.