Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Norwitzki Has Seen It All
Dirk Nowitzki has seen it all. Winning the first two games in the 2006 NBA finals and faltering all the way down against the then champion Miami Heat. Then the Mavs lost to an eight seeded Golden State Warriors team in the following year after 67 wins in the regular season.
As far as Dirk knows, anything can still happen in the playoffs. Each frustration, each loss, he knows he was always part to blame.
It was always his added inspiration, added motivation not to let those things happen again, putting every heart ache and every setback into a growing experience.
Dirk vowed that the next time he got another opportunity to be back in the finals he would be ready; there’s no substitute for preparedness. For years, he had been denied that chance of holding that Larry O’Brien cup.
When he was criticized about his defense, he worked on his footwork during the offseason by trying fencing, honing his defense with quick reflexes. When he was donned as a soft player, Dirk frequented the gym more by working on his strength and conditioning. Every failure comes with a chance to improve himself to become a more complete player.
With the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dirk knows anything can still happen, especially with Kevin Durant’s scoring prowess. However, he is very confident that his team will find a way to get a win and get back to the NBA finals.
Anchoring their team’s offense on a 38-year-old point guard in Jason Kidd and nine players age 30 and above, it’s really hard to fathom how long their tired legs would go. However, they have something not every team has: the experience and maturity to get the job done. Just like when Oklahoma made their run in the fourth quarter in Game 3, when there were four possessions without their superstar Kevin Durant touching the ball. In contrast, Dallas starts their offense with Dirk holding the ball and facilitating their offense.
Dirk has seen it all. Even with a 2-1 lead, it’s not something to get excited. Anything can still happen.
Oklahoma will try to come back and win this series, but Dirk knows it won’t happen. He has been in that road before, and this time he would be ready.
“When using experience as a guide, the final exam often comes first and then the lesson”…it pays to learn that lesson the hard way.
