NBA Playoff Schedule 2012: 3 Games in 5 Days Spells Doom for Aging Mavs
After one of the most grueling regular seasons in the history of the NBA, suddenly the players are receiving more rest between playoff games…well, at least most of them.
While every series experiences a three-day layoff at some point in the two week stretch, multiple series feature an uncharacteristic three games in five days, which is not a huge deal for young teams, but a big issue for the older ones.
The one series that epitomizes old vs. young is the No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 7 Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks had a shot to win both games in OKC, but they couldn’t get it done. Now the oldest team in the NBA has to win at the very least two of the next three games against the 24th-youngest team in the span of 120 hours.
While players like Jason Kidd (39), Vince Carter (35), Jason Terry (34), Dirk Nowitzki (33), Shawn Marion (33) and Brendan Haywood (32) have all proven to be warriors throughout their respective careers (well, maybe not Carter), father time eventually catches up to everybody.
All of the above-mentioned players are key cogs of this team, and there is no doubt this grueling stretch is going to be the ultimate test.
Playing three games in five days is not a huge deal during the regular season, when you play teams like the Washington Wizards and Sacramento Kings in games with little meaning. In the playoffs, it’s a whole different season, with more aggressive opponents that are squeezing every bit of energy out of you.
That’s a problem when your opponent features two superstars in Kevin Durant (23) and Russell Westbrook (23) that are the NBA’s version of the Energizer Bunny. They’ve been pushing the tempo and the Mavs have kept up thus far, but how much longer can they keep up this frantic pace?
With tired legs and a clear talent gap, things are not looking good for the Mavericks. Then there’s this stat: Teams that are behind 0-2 in the playoffs are 14-226 in best-of-seven series in NBA history.
Not good.
