so when he does face up and put the ball on the floor, the smaller defender usually has the quickness advantage.

when Dirk does back down the smaller guy, the W's bring a help defender when he turns to face up... he'll usually spin and go up for the jumper... when he spins, a defender is often coming. Sometimes the W's bring the help defender before Dirk spins, so he's dealing with a lot of defenders coming from multiple angles.

it's obviously more complicated than that and Nelson knows Dirk's tendencies from various spots on the floor.

I'd expect Nowitkzi to make a conscious effort to get the ball closer to the hoop and to get to the line more. The Mavs might incorporate more movement off the entry pass to give Dirk more options. Denver does this well with Carmelo... they dive cut a lot.

Nowitzki will be a better player because of this series... if there's a hole in Dirk's game it's that he's not a very good passer for as skilled a big as he is. I'd expect him to improve in the off-season. W's fans hope the Mavs' off-season starts earlier than expected.