NBA Playoffs 2012: Boston Celtics and Teams on Final Championship Run
The NBA Playoffs can be the start of something new and special with certain teams, while for others, it could be the end of an era.
This year's playoffs are no different, and there are a few teams that have one more run left in them before they are broken up next season.
Here are some of the playoff-bound teams that fit that description.
The original "Big Three" of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen did their job and finally brought a NBA title home to Boston. The way this franchise was going, one was all they needed and, in that case, it was a successful stint for these three players.
But age is beginning to get the best of them, and while the Celts' aging stars have seen a revival of sorts during the second half of this season, Boston will still look to get younger and rebuild towards their future.
Expect the Celtics to have a chip on their shoulder as a team the same way they have the entire season. Nobody has picked this team to make noise in the playoffs, leaving a highly-skilled team of veterans and a mix of young players with absolutely nothing to lose.
That will make them dangerous moving forward, and they'll need to be because this will be the last time you see this team in its current form.
The Magic are in a different scenario than their fellow Eastern Conference foes, the Celtics.
Orlando doesn't have their own "Big Three" and instead revolve their entire organization around Dwight Howard. With his absence from this year's playoffs as a result of back surgery, the Magic are doomed to a first-round exit and will have to battle until the last day of the season to avoid falling to a less-desirable playoff spot.
However, it has been a season of turmoil for D12 and his team with dissension in the ranks as multiple pieces of sensitive and secret information have been released to the public. Because of this, it has left both a coach and star player disgruntled, mostly at each other.
With all that being said, the problems appear to be too much to overcome and reports surfaced recently that Howard will demand a trade out of Orlando before next season.
It appears the end of the Howard era in Orlando will come to an end with D12 never playing another playoff game in a Magic uniform.
With the loss of Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea to free agency, the Dallas Mavericks look like a shell of the team that won the NBA Finals last season.
Instead, they look old and sluggish this season, sorely lacking a younger presence on their roster to add some energy to their game on the floor.
The Mavs are one of the oldest teams in the NBA and on the cusp of major changes. I don't expect to see anywhere near the same roster they currently have next year.
Dallas native Deron Williams will become a free-agent after this season and could return home to team up with Dirk Nowitzki to make an incredible pair of talented players on the Mavs' starting five.
With two stars in place, the Mavs will look to get younger while keeping a blend of veterans to help them get back to the Finals, which is a place they won't be as the seventh-seed in the playoffs this season.
No matter what, Williams or not, this team will be drastically different next season and for this core of players that were a part of the Mavericks' Finals win last season, this will certainly be their last chance to get it done.
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