Sports Talk with MC

by MC

All’s done but the popping of the bubbly.

According to reports, Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player plum for 2006-2007.

As important as it is to note the Dirk is the first European-born cager to win the award, and the man who has managed to break Steve Nash’s two year reign as MVP, is the fact that Nowitzki’s triumph, in this case, will probably be a “tainted” one in the eyes of many a basketball fan.

He did melt under the pressure of the klieg lights in the Mavs’ first round loss to the overachieving Golden State Warriors after all.

He did pull a 2-13 shooting performance in Game 6 of the Warriors-Mavs tiff, after all.

He did lay down to Stephen Jackson, after all.

One must also recall, though, that no one series, or game, should, and can, fully, define a player.

Scottie Pippen was heavily criticized for refusing to enter a playoff in its dying moments. Moses Malone got flack for winning MVP, but not winning a playoff series 25 years ago. As much as these instances signified low points in their careers, it can be said that a player cannot be fully defined by his performance in one game, or one series, or one season. Moses retired an NBA champion. Pippen is, without a doubt, one of the most versatile players to ever lace up sneakers, and, by hook or by crook, a 6-time NBA champion. Dirk will get his chances in the future. Whether or not his destiny will take a turn for the better, is entirely up to the effort and belief he is able to muster amidst the most overwhelming of odds and harshest bits of criticism.

Before you all hate on number 41, remember that the MVP trophy does not count for nothing, and that a collapse such as the Mavericks had isn’t wholly telling of the character of a franchise, or a franchise’s star. These things happen. People outplay other people at certain junctures. It’s just that simple.

When he gets his trophy, people still ought to stand up and clap. Nowitzki has helped revolutionize the game at the 4 spot after all, and has paved the way for the European born players of the time to be. One other thing I do know about Dirk is that he’ll be back swinging come next season, and, if the 2006 finals and 2007 playoffs have served as any sort of painful lesson, then we should see a more poised German bomber in a couple of months’ time.

People forget that maybe, just maybe, there’s more of a sense of similarity between Bird and Dirk than the picture perfect jumper.

Who knows, maybe the intensity, the will to win, is there inside the Mavericks cager too.

Perhaps all it’s needed is a wake up call.

If such is the case, then we should be in for quite a “day” ahead.

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