Dirk Nowitzki dazzled us in all in the 2011 NBA playoffs. His Dallas Mavericks, knocked out the Portland Trailblazers, defending champ, Los Angeles Lakers, and the explosive Oklahoma City Thunder on their road to the finals, where they faced the star studded Miami Heat. The Mavericks obtained the 3rd seed but were not the favorites in any of their playoffs matches. However they had one player every other team did not, NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki. The 7 foot tall German who is rated as one of the NBA's top five players, he had to play against the four who everyone ranks above him to obtain his ring, Kobe Bryant (LAL), Kevin Durant (OKC), and Lebron James & Dwayne Wade (Miami). However, Dirk did not dazzle in Germany as much as he did in the NBA playoffs. His German team recently was eliminated in the Eurobasket tournament by Lithuania, eliminating all hopes of Nowitzki representing his home country in 2012 London Olympics. It is even said that it might have been the last anyone will see of Dirk in a German uniform. Nowitzki averaged 27 points & 8 rebounds in the NBA playoffs, but only mustered up 16 points in the loss to Lithuania. Is he not the same guy knocked off the NBA's best so he and his Dallas teammates could hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy. Now in the midst of the lockout and his supposed last game in a German uniform is he looked at as the old Dirk? The guy who was soft and couldn't win when it mattered most. The Olympics are big to a country and Dirk could not rally his team to a bid like he did to get Dallas its first NBA championship. It seems as if the heat is on once again for Dirk.
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/09/12/dirk-nowitzki-germany-eurobasket/index.html
http://www.clipsnation.com/2011/9/11/2419744/eurobasket-germany-loses-fails-to-advance
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