Mavericks-Suns: Both Alike in Dignity

Except, both players always wanted to be the No. 1 option in the high-octane offense.

So they got rid of Marion, and got Shaq; the anti-thesis of the running game. After the playoffs, Terry Porter got the job and he has slowed down the offense to the point that Nash, usually a great floor general, looks lost for the first time in his career.

Now let's look at the Mavs.

They were never an offensive powerhouse, but they were a complete team...almost too complete.

You've heard the saying, "A Jack of All Trades is a master of none." That describes the ‘05-07 Dallas Mavericks. They were good at everything, but not dominant in any aspect of the game.

Jump shots? They could hit them.

Getting to the basket? Jason “Jet” Terry and Jerry Stackhouse could do that.

Defense? Sure, Terry is quick, and DeSagana Diop was a good backup center when they needed stops.

However, their lack of dominance had a fatal flaw: they couldn't force teams to play their way.

When the Celtics beat the Lakers—the more talented team on paper, it was because they made the Lakers play their game. They forced the Lakers to get physical on the boards. The C’s devoted most of their energy on defense, and they knew the looks on the offensive end would come.

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