White House Trip Will Ignite Veteran Mavericks to Strong Season and Playoff Run
As the Dallas Mavericks waltzed into the White House today, President Barack Obama said it best when introducing the World Champions.
Here (ESPN Dallas), he said that "They know how good teams win. Not just by jumping higher or running faster, but by finding the open man, working together, staying mentally tough, being supportive of each other, playing smarter."
The team spirit Dallas displayed last year is what the current set of Mavericks is yearning for.
Vince dunking, Dirk shooting, Kidd defending, Lamar balling and Roddy running the point will not lead to victories in this lockout-shortened NBA season. This White House trip serves as a reminder to the core veterans and newcomers that a championship run requires a team effort, strong defense and the reliance on teammates even when times are tough. Although last year was the best year in team history, there was a lot of adversity, most notably losing Dirk for a brutal nine-game stretch in December and losing Caron Butler for the entire season during the same month.
The losses continued in the offseason with the departures of tenacious Tyson Chandler, the versatile JJ Barea and the crazy DeShawn Stevenson. Nonetheless, the current set of Mavs is capable of great things this season. They can still compete with the best teams, shoot lights out and once the team begins to gel, their defense will follow suit. The combination of Jet and Lamar off the bench, along with a surging Mahinmi and the always-reliable Dirk/Kidd/Matrix combination, makes this team one to be reckoned with.
Under the leadership of Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Rick Carlisle, it is easy to expect this Mavs team to be a top-four team in the Western Conference and compete in the playoffs and well into May. Although I would like to retract the bold statements I made here (Back to Back Champs!), I have no doubt in my mind that this team will at least advance to the second or third round of the playoffs, where they will get knocked out by the younger and quicker squad from Oklahoma City.
If nothing else pans out, always remember to trust Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson (Trust Cuban/Donnie) to field the best possible team each and every season.
Go Mavs!
