No matter how you choose to look at it, Dirk Nowitzki is one of the very best players of his generation.  He is one of only eight active players to have been voted MVP.  He has led his team to at least 50 wins and the playoffs for the last nine consecutive years, despite playing in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.  He has arguably been even better in the postseason than in the regular season, with averages of 25.1 points, 11 boards, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game over his playoffs career.  He is the best 7-foot long range shooter/scorer in NBA history, is a nightmare match-up for most big men, has gone head-to-head and won against Tim Duncan in the postseason, and consistently keeps his team in the mix at the top of the NBA.  Yet, when people speak of the All-Time greats that are playing today they very rarely mention Nowitzki.  Why is that?

Well, first of all, Nowitzki's game is not without warts.  While his offensive game can be spectacular, his defense is mediocre at best and below par at worst.  And as Golden State showed in 2007, Dirk's offense can be nullified by defending him with tall, athletic small forwards who can keep him from getting good looks on the perimeter without worrying about getting beat off the dribble.  But even if the lack of all-world versatility or pure dominance separates him from the ultra elite of the world, Nowitzki is still an outstanding player.  And in May of 2006, it seemed that he was on the verge of elbowing his way into the pantheon.  But then, the Mavs found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against the Heat in 2006.  And the next year, after an MVP season and 67 wins, Nowitzki's Mavs found a way to lose to the Warriors in one of the biggest first-round upsets in NBA history.  And in both epic losses, Nowitzki was perceived to have been ineffectual at best.  Not good for a would-be legend.

Then, over the past two years, it has gotten worse.  While the public will forgive a lot in their superstars, two things are really hard to overcome in the court of public opinion: a reputation for choking, and a reputation for being soft.  Whether deserved or not, those two playoff defeats have given saddled Dirk a bit with the former.  And his own comments and actions over the past two seasons are threatening to saddle him with the latter.  First, Nowitzki publically said that they hoped to avoid the Lakers in the playoffs last year...maybe an honest sentiment, but a definite PR no-no.  A few weeks later, many people questioned Nowtizki's lack of response when David West put his hand on Dirk's face during a confrontation.  Then, this week, the questions about "softness" arose again when Kenyon Martin shoved Nowitzki to the floor in game one of their series and and the murmurs got louder when the TNT crew called out Dirk for suggesting that the physical defense of his opponents could possibly hinder his ability to score.

So, what can Nowtizki do to repair his rep and reclaim his rightful place as a future legend?  Well, the simplest thing he can do is win.  He has the numbers, and if he wins a title then all of the muttering about choking and softness goes away.  The problem is that the Mavs, as constituted, do not look like contenders.  Nobody expects that they could beat the Lakers to get out of the West.  So, Dirk needs to do the next best thing: he needs to find a way to get the Mavs by the Nuggets and into the Western Conference Finals.  The Nuggets are becoming a trendy darkhorse contender, but on paper they are not that much more talented than the Mavs.  Nowitzki should be the best player in the series, and with lieutenants like Jason Kidd and Jason Terry (and Josh Howard, if his ankle holds up) the Mavs should be able to compete.  Nowitzki is coming up on the end of his absolute prime, but he still has the game and if he wants to quiet the whispers and get himself back into the mix as one of the best in the league this is a series that he NEEDS to win. 

So, we'll see.  Game three in the Mavs/Nuggets series is back in Dallas on Saturday.  The Nuggets have all of the momentum, but the Mavs have to find a way to defend their home turf.  If they sweep the two games back home, they have at least a reasonable chance to steal a win in Denver.  But if Denver wins even one game in Dallas, the Mavs (and any chance for a bit of Nowitzki redemption) are likely done until next year.