Dallas Mavericks: Should Nowitzki Become New Sixth Man?

Dirk Nowitzki has been the engine behind the Dallas Mavericks‘ offense ever since he came into the NBA.

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This season made 17 years in the league for Nowitzki, as he has been the most consistent piece of Dallas’ team for quite a long time.

With career averages of 22.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, he certainly hasn’t been an afterthought within the team’s scoring arsenal. Nowitzki has been the No. 1 option for Dallas because of his versatility on that end of the floor.

When Nowitzki came into the league, no one was expecting the kind of impact he would actually have not only for the Mavericks, but on the game of basketball itself. Having a mobile big man who stood more than 7 feet tall that could shoot the ball as well as he could was a huge advantage for Dallas, as the league had never seen anything like him.

The closest thing the NBA had seen to Nowitzki prior to his entry into the league was probably Larry Bird, as he combined athleticism with great size and shooting touch for his position, but even he was not as tall as Nowitzki is.

Nowadays, many offenses aren’t able to succeed without the spacing that a stretch forward like Nowitzki can create, meaning that he was a part of a revolution in basketball if you will. He was the first player to combine that kind of size with shooting ability.

However, Nowitzki’s best days may be behind him for a number of reasons, so the question heading into next season is going to be is he a valuable enough asset to remain in the starting lineup full-time?

Offensively, Nowitzki can still score at a high level, as he still averaged 17.3 points per game this season on 45.9 percent shooting.

Those are good numbers for a forward who’s currently 36 years old, but his scoring average is his lowest since his second season in the NBA, meaning that his decline isn’t exactly an aberration.

Nowitzki isn’t the same athlete that he once was, something that is evident on both offense and defense. He’s slower reacting when it comes to getting open or setting screens, and defensively his lateral quickness has seemed to evade him, as he now has trouble staying in front of players and playing solid on that end of the floor.

To put it in numbers, his defensive box plus/minus this past season was the lowest of his career at minus-1, a number that doesn’t indicate he will be more effective than that anytime soon.

Not only does Nowitzki have trouble playing defense because of his diminishing athleticism, but he hasn’t been the same rebounder either. Nowitzki averaged 5.9 rebounds per game this season, also his lowest total since his first two seasons in the league.

The decline is evident in his numbers, as he just isn’t the same player as he used to be athletically. So should he realistically be moved to the bench in favor of a younger, more agile forward in that spot?

The answer has to be yes. In fact, Nowitzki could be a great option off the bench for Dallas, as he still has enough skill to be a go-to option for the team’s second unit, something that the Mavericks have lacked for a while now.

Championship teams tend to have a bonafide scorer off the bench that can come in and be a spark plug while some of the key starters get some rest. Nowitzki could be that guy and have similar success to San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobli.

Ginobli hasn’t been a starter for a lot of his career, yet he has still been able to play big minutes off the bench and put up some nice scoring totals for the Spurs over the years. Nowitzki could easily have that same kind of impact for Dallas.

As the Mavericks look for the next player to take Nowitzki’s star mantle, rumored to be the Portland Trail Blazers‘ free agent forward LaMarcus Aldridge, this is Nowitzki’s time to take a step back and rethink the kind of role he should have within the team’s rotation.

He isn’t the same player he used to be, but he can still be effective in stretches for the Mavericks.

Don’t be surprised if Nowitzki has a new role come next season.

Next: What Went Wrong For Dallas?

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Should Dirk Nowitzki Become Dallas Mavericks New Sixth Man?

By Nathan Grubel | May 3, 2015

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