Dirk Nowitzki scored 33 of his playoff career-high 50 points in the second half. AP

Statistics alone cannot and should not define the superhuman postseason Dirk Nowitzki has enjoyed thus far, but they can offer us a bit of perspective as Dirk tries to lead his team to its first NBA Finals appearance. Though compatriots like Josh Howard, Jason Terry, DaSagana Diop and Devin Harris have all had their time in the sun, Dirk has absolutely carried his group from the get-go, with his play leaving teammates and opponents alike aware of the fact that Nowitzki considers this to be a pretty happenin' year.

Against Memphis, San Antonio and Phoenix, Nowitzki has looked to crush all comers -- demanding his team not be satisfied with a five or six-game win over the Grizzlies, nailing clutch shot after clutch shot against the defending champs, and taking the Suns for a 50-point, 12-rebound ride in Thursday's Game 5 win. We're watching a special player, one that won't even turn 28 until June 19th. I think it's only fitting that we pair Dirk up with the best and brightest (comparable) 28-year olds we've seen come down the pike over the last 30 years:

-- At age 28, Charles Barkley averaged about 23 and 11 in an off year, one that saw his Philadelphia 76ers miss the playoffs.

-- Boston's Larry Bird averaged nearly 29 points and a combined 17 rebounds/assists, as the Celtics lost in the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.

-- George McGinnis averaged 22.6 points and 11.4 rebounds, and the 1979 Denver Nuggets lost in the first round to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Los Angeles Lakers.

-- Joe Jackson released Night and Day, his perfect synthesis of Tin Pan Alley standards and post-Pub Rock rhapsodizing. The album produced two hit singles (Steppin' Out, and Breaking Us in Two) as well as a host of in-concert staples.

-- Julius Erving averaged 23 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and four turnovers a game for a Philadelphia 76er team that lost in the second round of the Eastern Conference semis to the San Antonio Spurs.

-- Elvin Hayes averaged 21 and 18 for a Bullets team that lost a close first-round matchup to the New York Knicks.

-- Karl Malone averaged 28 and 11 as his Jazz lost in the conference finals to the Portland Trail Blazers.

-- Pete Chilcutt averaged 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in 54 games for the fledgling Vancouver Grizzlies.

-- Chris Webber put up 24.5 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 assists, but he played in only 54 games and his Kings lost in the conference finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.

-- Tom Chambers put up 20 and 6 for a SuperSonics squad that lost in the first round.

This year, Dirk averaged 26.6 points, nine rebounds and three assists -- averages that have actually jumped to 28.7 points, 12.1 rebounds and three assists in the playoffs. Remember, just matching your regular season output during the playoffs (against improved competition, and turned-on defenses that get to play you every other day) is a remarkable achievement in and of itself.

Also, Dirk is shooting 45 percent from the 3-point arc (up from 41 percent in the regular season), and shooting just 2.4 treys a game. Compare that with the 3.4 he threw up during the first 82 games, or the 4.9 he was attempting in 2002-03 -- the last time the Mavericks made the conference finals. This is a player who is growing before our very eyes, forced into leading a team that features just one leftover (Adrian Griffin, who has played for Houston and Chicago since) from the '03 conference finalists. He's continually risen-to, accepted, and met every challenge that has been thrown his way this season, while exceeding expectations. This is the best player in the best postseason we've seen in years.

Dirk Nowitzki. Outre' Dirk. Steely Dirk. It's growing.

Trading Fours

-- The Mavs and Suns combined for about 187 possessions on Thursday night, and yet they only combined to turn the ball over 19 times. Weird, wild stuff. Phoenix actually turned the ball over eight times in the game's first 13 minutes, then didn't turn it over again for the next 14 minutes, and coughed it up just once in the final 21 minutes of their loss.

-- Dallas had made a point to deny that lob play that Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni loves to employ. You've seen it, like, 432 times so far this postseason; it features a screen and roll with Boris Diaw and Shawn Marion at the top of the key, with Marion cutting toward the front of the rim and Diaw delivering the pass. I counted three times in which the Mavs stuffed the play tonight, as Diaw couldn't even get off a pass.

-- The Mavs were incredibly active on defense to start Game 5, holding Phoenix to 23 points, with seven turnovers and three shot clock violations. It wasn't until Phoenix realized that Dallas was overplaying too much, and started to go for offensive rebounds (Diaw, especially), that the Suns started to come back.

-- The Phoenix Suns will play their 102nd game of the season on Saturday night, trying to stay alive at home in Game 6. Though their legs left them at times tonight, and Dirk is a man on a mission, I'd have a hard time counting on the Mavericks to close things out on the road. This isn't to say that Dallas won't come out with guns blazing, ready to play inspired, focused basketball. It's just hard to stay in front of a team like the Suns for 48 minutes, and though Phoenix has issues near the end of close games, I'm leaning towards a Game 7. Then again, would you bet against Dirk Nowitzki at this point?