Buck Harvey: Someone won’t be Bird, MJ for long

In the span of a month, Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James have come a long way. One is Larry Bird, the other Michael Jordan.

That’s some rise for two guys who, over a combined 21 years in the league, have won two games in their NBA Finals history.

But that’s the way of the tweeting, blogging, 24/7, everybody-has-to-say-something world. Wait a few days, and Mark Cuban might even become likable.

Wait a few weeks, though, and something else will happen. Either Nowitzki or James will lose, and the reaction will be harsh as one of them returns to what he was before.

That’s the way this world works, too.

Today they are what they have been this postseason, which is spectacular. Each returns to their second Finals at the peak; if Nowitzki hasn’t been the best in the playoffs, then James has.

The Spurs have beaten both in the postseason, but they’ve lost to Nowitzki while appreciating how outrageous his ability is. Antonio McDyess said recently Nowitzki’s signature move, his step-back jumper, is “one of the toughest” shots he has ever faced.

The move is unblockable. Worse for a defender, the difference between the shot itself and the fake is a twitch.

But Nowitzki could always shoot, which is why Rick Pitino compared him to Bird as long ago as 2000. Now Nowitzki is playing with certainty that wasn’t always there.

Just as Pitino went for the easy association — skin color and height — others have, too. “Nowitzki may be as close to Larry Bird as the NBA has to offer,” wrote an Associated Press columnist this month.

And after Nowitzki scored 12 points in the final five minutes of regulation in Game 4 against Oklahoma City, Brendan Haywood followed along. “A lot of people compare him to Larry Bird, and this is why,” Haywood said.

James has heard the same, albeit with different historical references. An ESPN scouting analyst compared him this weekend to Jordan, Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen and, just for fun, Derek Fisher.

That’s more impressive than merely being another Bird. “He did not win the regular-season MVP,” the analyst wrote of James, “but anyone who does not see James as the WBP (World’s Best Player) after this postseason is simply not being objective.”

But it’s what someone else said last week that made news. “Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to play the game,” Pippen said on ESPN radio. “But I may go as far as to say LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game because he is so potent offensively that not only can he score at will but he keeps everybody involved.”

That’s one opinion, and here’s another: Had Pippen played without Jordan in, say, Atlanta, Pippen would never have been named one of the NBA’s 50 best.

And when they rename the top 50? James and Nowitzki will be there; Pippen won’t.

Still, the way James is playing draws these kinds of superlatives. As it is with Nowitzki, these are men dominating the game as only the best have.

That’s why what Jason Terry said about Nowitzki last week applies to both. “I don’t think anybody is questioning his greatness right now,” Terry said.

But that’s “right now.” Wait until one of them fails. Wait until everyone is reminded that Nowitzki went out in the first round in three of the previous four years. Wait until the clips are shown again from last season, when James appeared to quit against Boston.

Losing will crush one of them. There will be tweets and blogs, 24/7. Everybody will have something to say, and this much is guaranteed.

One of them won’t be Bird, or one of them won’t be Jordan.

bharvey@express-news.net

Rockets expect to announce new coach soon

Houston officials have concluded interviews with potential coaching candidates and expect to have a replacement for Rick Adelman by the end of the week.

The Houston Chronicle reported that Rockets owner Leslie Alexander on Wednesday.

Other finalists include Dallas Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey and Boston assistant Lawrence Frank.

The Chronicle reports that the Rockets have told each candidate that they do not have a frontrunner for the position, according to an individual familiar with the process.

Adelman directed the Rockets to winning records in each of his four seasons with the team, although they missed the playoffs for the second straight season in 2010-11. They were the only team in the league with a winning record that failed to make the playoffs this season.

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Maxwell has harsh assessment of Shaq’s eroding physical skills

Boston analyst Cedric Maxwell didn’t have much good to say about Shaquille O’Neal’s return to the lineup in Game 3 of the Celtics’ playoff series with Miami.

O’Neal has been hobbled with an injured calf since he was hurt in early April. And when he returned to action Saturday, the 39-year-old Neal hobbled like he was too heavy and too old, according to Maxwell. O’Neal produced two points, an assist and a steal in eight plodding minutes.

“He looks bad. If he was a horse, they would take him out right now and he’d be glue tomorrow,” Maxwell said on . “He can’t run and physically he’s limping on that leg. Here’s a tremendous athlete who’s played all his career and has not had these kind of problems. 

“At the end of the day if you have a bald spot on one of your tires your car isn’t going to run right. And that’s a bald spot on the tire for him. Essentially, he looks like he’s got one of those walking boots on when you break your toe.”  

Yes, that’s the same Cedric Maxwell who used to wave the towel for everything Boston back in the day.

Now, he’s too busy snapping it on O’Neal’s hobbling and heavy frame as the Celtics prepare for Monday’s game against the Heat.