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Sports

Nowitzki, Duncan West's best

Sports Guy

Eli Jabbe

For almost a decade, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett have been two of the elite players in the NBA. They have their similarities: both big men wear number 21; both always end up with at least 20 and 10 (points and rebounds) every game; both are balanced players capable of changing a game at both ends of the court. 

However, some things set them apart -- uncan is quiet and reserved, while Garnett is fiery on the court. The main thing that they have in common is that their names are always mentioned when the league's best big men are being discussed.

In the last three or four years, another big man's name has been mentioned in the same breath as these two All-Stars: Dirk Nowitzki. The Dallas Mavericks' power forward had several great seasons and is often compared with those two forwards. But where do the three rank this season?

Tim Duncan. Duncan acquires extra points by default just because his team is the defending NBA champion. He's having his typical averages this season with 20 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Most importantly, the Spurs have the second best record in the NBA at 35-10. The difference this season is that Duncan has taken a backseat to point guard Tony Parker, who is averaging a career-high 19 points per game along with almost six assists. Duncan has two main flaws: his Shaq-like free-throw percentage (65.5 percent) and his sleeping-pill personality and game, but he has his team in contention for the best record in the West, along with another Texas team.

Dirk Nowitzki. The seven- foot power forward with the deadly three-point shot is having another high-scoring season with an average of 25.8 points per game. His rebounding average has dropped almost two clicks from last season to 8.4 rebounds per game. But Nowitkzi deserves a lot of credit for keeping his team afloat when they had so many injuries early on; they are actually tied with San Antonio for the best record in the West (35-10). But anybody who's been paying attention the last couple of years have noticed that Nowitzki is slowly becoming the Peyton Manning of the NBA -- plays great the whole season then looks like crap once the playoffs start. Last season, the Rockets' Tracy McGrady, at 6-8, was able to single-handedly contain the seven-foot Nowitzki for the entire series. That wasn't the first time Nowitzki followed up great regular-season numbers with a weak-playoff performance. And because they don't make their presence felt in the paint, Nowitzki and his teammates will probably never be able to shake the "soft" label any time soon -- unless the Mavs advance deep into the playoffs or win a championship.

Kevin Garnett. Similar to Allen Iverson's plight in Philly, Garnett is surrounded by average teammates. Garnett's game has to be super fly each night just to give the T-Wolves a chance to win. He is putting up his typical numbers this season: 22 points, 11 rebounds per game, almost five assists and almost two blocks per game. He's almost like the best of both worlds: he's a big man with a jumper (just like Nowitzki) but he's not "soft," and he has the rebounding of Duncan, but sports more versatility. Garnett got some help last week with a trade that brought high-flying Ricky Davis from Boston. Just like Nowitzki, Garnett has warranted criticism for his and his team's disappointing postseason performances, but the last couple of years (excluding last season), the Wolves and Garnett have stepped up their games in the playoffs.

In the end, Nowitzki and Duncan have been the two best power forwards in the West this season. Nowitzki still hasn't proven himself in the playoffs, but he is definitely having a great regular season. Unless the T-Wolves go on a roll in the second half -- which seems unlikely, thanks to their weak roster -- it doesn't look like Garnett will be doing any damage in the playoffs. So as of now, Duncan and Nowitzki are the two best big men in the West.
 

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