I completely agree. Not trying to say Dirk is better than Kobe over the course of the Career.
Now, Dirk did start 'closing' this season. And when not 'closing' he was still aiding the team by getting that Rebound, Steal, Block or Assist. He didn't always finish with a Shot, but he was a lot more involved in the Finish than before.
IF, and this is a big if, Kobe stays at Last Seasons level of play or degrades AND Dirk continues to perform AND Finish, then Dirk may catch him. But Kobe has such a huge lead overall that this would take alot of things happening (more Dirk over Kobe Heads Up, more Dirk Rings to narrow the gap there, and continued Production in the Statistics like Last Season over Kobe).
Do I think Dirk can continue to rise and Kobe will stay stagnant or decline more? No. It could happen, but I really doubt it.
Both teams are making moves trying to help these guys. Dallas took a step back losing Chandler, a pivotal piece, but have since brought in Odom and Carter. Odom is more 'finesse' than Chandler, but basicially they produce the same, they just get there differently. Carter can still score and rebound and will improve the Dallas Fast Break. For LA, we see what they are trying. Dwight Howard blocking shots, rebounding and running out on the Fast Break to finish. Thing is, these are all roles Odom filled, and while Howard will be better at each of these (like Odom will be better at stepping out and shooting over a defender than Howard) they simply upgraded instead of adding another weapon. Howard AND Odom would have been beasty with Kobe. Still, Howard will be an Upgrade.
So seeing how these moves affect Chemistry and how the Stars can get along with the new players to the team will mean a lot.
On the one hand Odom, like Chandler, means Dirk doesn't have to rebound as much. That's good, as he can focus more on Scoring, Stealing and Blocking. Problem is, Rebounding helps Dirk look like a better all around player... so losing those extra 1-2 boards a game hurts his stat line.
Same for Kobe... Howard is going to have the Mismatch some games and be capable of putting up 40 points. It's doubtful that Kobe puts up big scoring in those games (more like 15 than 25). So his Scoring Average may go down. The Average Fan will think he's declining. They may cite higher Assists (if it's Kobe giving up the ball to Howard) but still say 5 Points isn't worth 2 assists for Kobe. What they SHOULD be looking at is if having Howard (and using Howard) gets Kobe a better SHOT PERCENTAGE. If it does, then this is a huge win for the Team, and for Kobe.
Right now Dirk scores like 2-4 points less than Kobe, but shoots like .050-.125 better (depending on FG, 3PT, FT, etc.) so this makes Dirk look much more efficient. While Kobe scores MORE, Dirk scores BETTER. If Kobe gets that Shot Percentage up, then Dirk loses that Advantage and loses ground on the Dirk/Kobe Comparison.
I do think, year to year, Dirk will have some better seasons than Kobe moving forward, like last season. I don't think he'll do that every year.
Overall, Kobe is better. Won't deny it. When they retire, Kobe will PROBABLY be better. Last Season, Dirk was better.
The worst thing about Lebron wasn't pulling up short on Jumpers (a way of choking) it was stupid decision and not using his team mates. That's the worst kind of choking, in my opinion. Wade's only choke was allowing James to try to run the show late in the game, instead of saying "I've been here and won, let me guide us through. I need you, but this is MY Team." I doubt Wade makes that mistake again, and I have Wade rated higher than Lebron.