The Wall Street Journal weighs in on the Dirkness

I saw an article from D Magazine and just had to sort of re-post, or do something to get this story out cause it’s too good to just keep it to myself.

It’s a great article and cements the question of just how good Dirk Nowitzki is and what his place in history will be. Here is a sample from author Jason Gay:

Nowitzki will never be rhapsodized as a silky NBA superstar—his game is too deliberate, methodical, result-driven. When he dribbles, you can practically hear him counting the bounces—1, 2, 3. He doesn’t so much drive the lane as lunge through it, and when he jerks backward for his patented fade-away one-leg jumper, he resembles a camp counselor teetering off a canoe. Though the Dirk shot itself is a beautiful thing—a high, slow crescent that appears to pause and admire itself before plunging through the net—it will never be celebrated like the game’s highflying. Nobody runs a highlight reel of “Tonight’s Most Exciting 16-foot Jumpers.”

I’m sorry D Magazine, I quoted the same text you did, but that was such an awesome quote.

An NBA Voyage to the Heart of Dirk-Ness (WSJ)

Kenyon Martin gets fined for being a thug

It appears the NBA is trying to teach Kenyon Martin to stop being a thug, fining the Denver Nugget’s star $35,000 for his game ejection against the Charlotte on Tuesday night. He already had two technicals in the game.

After receiving the technicals and being ejected by official Ken Mauer with 2:27 left in the first half, Martin slowly walked off the court with a big smile on his face. He mockingly clapped in an attempt to urge on the fans. And he stopped to adjust his uniform.

Martin received his technicals for arguing a foul call on teammate J.R. Smith and then clapping after Stephen Jackson had missed the first of two free throws. But the Nuggets were able to come to win 104-93.

“I didn’t see the second one,” Nuggets coach George Karl said after the game about Martin’s ejection. “I turned around. I was walking the other way. I never saw it. Kenyon said he didn’t use profanity, and I know that you can be thrown out for doing things. But I don’t know. … Sometimes the referees get dealt very difficult situations. It didn’t seem like this was one of them but maybe he felt it was.”

Maybe the NBA can pay the refs more to babysit  Martin in the future and ensure his temper tantrums and immaturity and lack of professionalism and class, don’t hinder the game any further than it already has.

NBA Fines Kenyon Martin $35,000 (NBA Fanhouse)