So, what does a Dirk Nowitzki bounce back year look like? Would we recognize one if it slapped us in the face? It really doesn’t look that much different than a down year. The shots still come in the same fashion (catch and shoot) and the splits between threes and twos are eerily similar. It’s cliche to assume a player will decline statistically with another year under their belt without looking into the factors that had actually deviated away from the mean. If they were things that went hand-in-hand with athleticism (like points of drives) then you could infer that this is the new normal but what kept Dirk from replicating his stellar 2013 season is as complex as it seems simple, substandard shooting.
Don’t Call It a Comeback
