Dallas Mavericks: Too Little and (Maybe) Too Much

The Mavs can put this year's season on the shelf and be grateful for what they  accomplished in spite of what the early season would have projected for them.

Dallas should be proud of Dirk Nowitzki's playoff effort and his being named to the All-NBA first team. Denver got two (Carmelo Anthony and Chauncy Billups, both only made the third team).

But, in watching this series, it seemed clear to me that the days of one player and four supporters are over in the NBA, especially in the playoffs.

Dallas is lacking in two areas and is too full in another.

Outside of Nowitzki, the Mavs are lacking an athletic big. Eric Dampier has the foot speed of a turtle. He can't score, he can't consistently rebound, and he has no concept of aggressive defense.

That opens Dallas up to mayhem when a more athletic, more skilled player like Nene Hilario or Kenyon Martin owns him in the paint.

The Mavs also lack a stong leader on the floor. Jason Kidd was very inconsistent and nobody else took over the on-the-court coach role.

On the other bench, Denver had that in abundance with Billups, and it showed in the stats as well as on the scoreboard.

The one thing Dallas had too much of was tentativeness. The Mavs played like they were afraid to be on the same floor with Denver. They weren't outmatched from a purely physical standpoint, they just didn't look like they were having fun, like the Nuggets were.

After all, it still is a game, and if you can't have fun playing it, you should do something else with your life.