Dirk Nowitzki = NVP

I know I've had a lot of sports-talk lately, but I feel I must address this issue.

DIRK "DIGGLER" NOWITZKI IS NOT THE 2007 NBA MVP!!!

Dirk is a very good player, but there's no way that he's the most valuable player in the NBA. If you need proof, look no further than last night's game against Golden State. Sure, Dirk made 2 huge 3's and a crucial block in the last few minutes, but that's exactly why he's not the MVP...it happened in the last few minutes.

Prior to the 3's and free throws that Dirk hit, he was a ghost. Sure, Dirk came on strong at the end of the game, but where was he for the other 46 minutes? Where was he when Golden State made their furious comeback at the end of the first half?

That's the biggest case against Nowitzki; there were large parts of yesterday's game where I didn't know where Dirk was or if he was even on the floor. I kept confusing him with Austin Croshere...I wouldn't notice him until he took a shot. A true MVP demands attention. Back in Jordan's heyday when I would watch Bulls playoff games, I knew where Jordan was at all times, and you can bet your ass that the other team and their fans knew where he was too. You have to know because they can change the game at any second. Hell, even Tim "Mr. Boring" Duncan commands that attention! But with Dirk...he kind of fades in and out of games. I was completely shocked at the end of the game where they showed that he had put up 30 points. I was thinking, "When did he get all those?" I seriously couldn't remember him taking more than 4-5 shots.

Just off the top of my head, here's some of the players I would say rate ahead of Dirk on the "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" scale- Kobe, Wade, Baron, Nash, Duncan, Arenas, Iverson, Shaq (yes, even still...you never know when he'll pop off one of those "vintage Shaq" games he seems to come up with 2-3 times a season), LeBron and Garnett. I'm sure there's a lot more out there, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind. Those are the guys that, when I'm watching from home, I know where they are at all times because they're that dangerous.

Nowitzki is nowhere on that list.

So if Dirk isn't the MVP, who is?

In my opinion, I wouldn't be able to decide between these three: Nash, Kobe, Arenas.

Steve Nash: The guy is the 2-time MVP and just put the wraps on a season that was even better than his other 2 MVP years. But he'll probably get stiffed because the voters won't want to give him 3 in a row, and because Dallas was a few games better in the regular season.

Kobe Bryant/Gilbert Arenas: These two fall into the category of "Most Valuable" in the exact meaning of the word. How valuable was Arenas to the Wizards? Did you see how fast they folded after he went down? THAT is valuable. The same thing would have happened to the Lakers if Kobe would have gone down.

(I would have added in Dwayne Wade to that list, but his team actually went on a pretty good run after he got hurt, so it kind of negates the argument. But Wade putting his career at risk just to make it back for the playoffs is MVP-worthy.)


Sigh...


Oh well...the Warriors have a chance to close out Dallas in Oakland tomorrow night. I'm a little worried. I fully expected Golden State to lose to Dallas yesterday, but being up by 10 late and then choking it away is a confidence killer. I hope that it doesn't linger into Game 6. Hell, I think the Warriors would be in better shape if they would have been blown out by Dallas...at least then they would have had some motivation to make up for the embarrassment.

I still think the Warriors will squeak out a close one at home. They get the advantage because of the crowd.

Either way, last night's game was everything you could ask for out of a playoff game. I give it a 3.5 out of 4 on the Baron Davis Beard-O-Meter.