Wow, Dirk was really good in April.

by Wes Cox on Apr 17, 2009 10:20 PM CDT in News

Dirk won the Western Conference player of the month award today. Not a huge surprise with the Mavs having a great month, but somehow I didn't completely realize the numbers Dirk had consistently been putting up.

Nowitzki helped Dallas to a 6-2 month, including a perfect 6-0 mark at home, averaging 30.3 points and 8.8 rebounds. Nowitzki finished the season by scoring at least 20 points in each of Dallas' last 25 games, dating back to Feb. 27, the longest such streak in the NBA this season. He finished the season with a career-high-tying 26 30-point games, including five in April. With Dallas' 95-84 win over Houston on April 15, the Mavericks became the fourth team in NBA history to record nine-straight seasons with 50 wins or more.

After reading those numbers, I immediately thought of something John Hollinger said about Tim Duncan in a chat yesterday.

Duncan averaged 20.8 points before the All-Star game, 16.0 after. He had his two worst shooting months in March and April, and his two worst assist months, and his two worst for blocks.

Here's the Dirk and Duncan splits for comparison.

Dirk Nowitzki
Situation	G	Min	FGM	FGA	Pct	3PM	3PA	Pct	FTM	FTA	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Pre All-Star	51	37:30:00	9.5	20	47.5	0.9	2.3	37.9	6.1	6.7	90.9	1.1	7.2	8.3	2.3	2.1	0.7	0.8	2.1	25.9
Post All-Star	30	38:00:00	9.7	19.9	48.7	0.6	1.8	31.5	5.8	6.8	85.7	1.1	7.5	8.6	2.7	1.7	0.8	0.8	2.4	25.8

Tim Duncan
Situation	G	Min	FGM	FGA	Pct	3PM	3PA	Pct	FTM	FTA	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Pre All-Star	50	35:17:00	8.1	15.6	52.2	0	0	0	4.5	6.5	69.6	2.7	7.8	10.5	3.9	2.2	0.5	1.8	2.5	20.8
Post All-Star	25	30:23:00	6.1	13.2	46.2	0	0	0	4.3	6.3	68.2	2.7	8.3	11	2.8	2.2	0.6	1.4	1.8	16.4

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Comments

the dirk stat that scares me

(lifted from bill simmons)

http://www.82games.com/0809/CSORT11.HTM

Those numbers are not good. This isn’t like a huge blow if teams still think the ball is going to dirk but you would rather that terry or howard take those shots – although they can’t do as good a job creating their own shot in that situation

Ceterum censeo Cat esse delendam - Cahill the Elder

by ab03 on Apr 18, 2009 11:48 AM CDT reply actions