fishmike wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Depends on the era. Back then Ewing would have been a better choice because you could play more physical and Dirk would of had a harder time getting his shot off. Dirk didn't do much driving until late in his career so I would factor that in as well, not just the tail end of his career. It took a while for him to toughen up and pick up his defense as well. Ewing could play both ways pretty much from the start.

Today I'd rather have Dirk because its a less physical game, more finesse, and Dirk's style is a better fit. The one thing I didn't like about Ewing back then was his predictions that never came true while Dirk let his game speak for himself. Got tired of that.

Dirk is an athletic 7 footer who runs like a SG. Did you watch the playoffs? Did you watch teams defend him? He gets his shot off on anyone. This is a guy who hit like 25 FTs in one game without a miss. You want to be physical with him? He's just as happy to take a breather at the FT while knocking a pair down. Cmon

Every game and it wasn't played in the 90s last time I checked. Hand checking wasn't banned and the overall physical quality of the game would have worn him down. Taking a breather at the free throw line? Lots of stuff didn't get called back then so he wouldn't have been on the free throw line as much. Ewing's turn around jumper/runner from the wing to mid court was also very difficult to defend.

Its also a question of how many points Dirk gives up, he could go on a tear even with some of the better defenses back in the day but how many points would he had he given up? I'm going on his entire career not just the last few years. Dirk has game, no doubt, but he didn't become a complete player until very late in his career. Ewing had an arsenal of moves on offense and he was one of the best defensive players of all time. I'm looking at the big picture here.

Ewing was all things good but an SOB who kept his injuries to himself and wanted to be the man over his ability or physical ability at that time.

If we hold him up to a Lebron standard, he failed.

Dude got so much out of his body and career. Its too bad he could not cement his place in history and perhaps if his contract status was different we could have built instead of trying too hard to satisfy his demands to have help, or he'd leave!

I wonder if he has any regrets or if the team is a bit sore about how things were handled on both sides.