Larry Bird has aged tremendously well. Growing an extra three inches and suiting up in No. 41 instead of his standard green and white 33 was enough to confuse the Oklahoma City Thunder.
For years I've considered Dirk Nowitzki the toughest player to guard in the NBA. Each year we fall in love with a new dominant point guard (see the evolution from Chris Paul to Deron Williams to Derrick Rose with John Wall on the horizon), but truly there is not a player in the NBA that can match up with Dirk. At 7' tall, Nowitzki is a matchup nightmare and that mismatch proved the reason why Dallas knocked off LA to the tune of a 4-0 sweep. Lamar Odom is one of the few players who athletically can match up with Nowitzki, and neither he nor Pau Gasol wanted anything to do with guarding him.
At 12/15 from the field and 24/24 from the free throw line for 48 points, Nowitzki's performance to open the Western Conference Finals is easily the best so far in these playoffs.
The series is still young and Kevin Durant will continue to get his (10/18 and 18/19 on free throws himself for 40 points), but as long as the German Larry Bird continues to find his shot and force his way to the line, OKC is in for an uphill battle.
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