How to stop Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant?
The kind of scoring power that the elite players like Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki have displayed in this year’s Western Conference Finals has left everyone stunned. It is true that a feat of individual brilliance will get the
franchise a win every now and then, but basketball is team game and no one franchise can excel on a consistent basis if the whole team doesn’t contribute. This fact becomes specifically pronounced when a team reaches this deep into the post season as the Dallas
Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder have done.
To make their way into the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, both Dallas and Oklahoma City will have to work on some new strategies that could help them in slowing or restricting down the other team’s star player in
this seven game series.
Whoever, figures out the way first, will definitely have a huge opportunity to seal the series in their favour. This is the point, where the whole team effort steps in.
Up till now Durant and Nowitzki have contributed massively for their teams. Nowitzki tallied 48 points in game-1, setting the NBA record of 24 straight shots from the charity stripe and led the Mavs to a 121-112 win. Durant thumped
40 in that game and then guided the Thunder in game-2 as they bounced back and tied the series 1-1. Durant scored 24 points whereas Nowitzki had 29 points.
Dallas then managed to squeak past the Thunder in game-3, Nowitzki looked bit out of touch, but still managed to score 18 points. Durant on the other hand hit 24 points for Oklahoma City.
The most appropriate way to limit these sharp-shooters is to get more physical with them; otherwise they can shred the opposition into pieces.
For Oklahoma City, it is paramount that they don‘t allow Nowitzki to get his face up even from 18 feet out. If he does, the battle is already lost because it doesn’t matter to him if the defender is in his face or not, he can hit
eight shots out of 10 from there blindfolded. To curtail Dirk the Thunder shouldn’t let him reach his spots on floor. That can only be done if the likes of Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka set up tighter screen on him and contest his every jumper and every
thrust down the lane, much like they did in the first three quarters of the game-3.
Durant should also be treated in the similar fashion as he often struggles against the defenders who play great ball denial. The Mavs have to keep him out of his comfort zone because if he succeeds to get away then he mostly scores.
One option to keep him quiet that the Mavs have used successfully to some extent is to use the double team. However, they will stop Durant by doing this but will create more opportunity for the likes of Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Westbrook is a constant
30 point threat and Harden has proved in the Finals that he is no mug either.
Till now though, the strategy is working for the Mavs and it’s the team that has to be credited. OKC is not far off and they might get more physical to stop Nowitzki.
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