Dirk Goes Bonkers!!!

Blog by Haz Bey

MAVS GO UP 1-0 IN WCF

Dirk goes 24-24 from the line (NBA record)

For Oklahoma City, Dirk is a huge problem.  Dropping 48 in game 1 while hitting 24 of 24 free throws is a huge indicator that OKC has to stop everyone else.  Dirk will get his, so instead of focusing their defense on containing Dirk, the Thunder must lock-down on the shooters.  I mean it's easy for me to say, but if they can pull that off, then it would put more pressure on Dirk to score on every possession.  Yeah Dirk would have 1 on 1 situations, but if you play the law of averages then Dirk can't score on every possession, right? 

Should KD take Dirk head on?

On the other side of the ball, Russell Wesbrook was held on check, forcing Kevin Durant to drop 40 just to keep his team in the game.  Wesbrook was 3-15 from the field against a Dallas "D" that was focused to make every shot attempt difficult for the young point guard.  Instead of trying to stop the leagues leading scorer, Kevin Durant, Dallas allowed Durant to try to beat them by himself.  KD can drop 40 anytime he wants, but if he can't get efficient performances from Wesbrook & 6th man James Harden, the Western Conference Finals will end very quickly.