The 2009-2010 Season Is Do-Or-Die For The Dallas Mavericks

When the Dallas Mavericks lost in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat in the 2005-2006 playoffs, the title "one-hit-wonders" seemed to blanket the organization.

The Dallas Mavericks have not reached that championship plateau since their trip to the Finals, and many are wondering if they will ever reach the top again.

After falling face first to the Golden State Warriors in the 2006-2007 playoffs, and losing to the New Orleans Hornets the season after that, the Mavericks did not seem to be playoff contenders. But this past season the Mavericks showed promise.

During the 2008-2009 playoffs, they embarrassed the San Antonio Spurs, a highly-regarded team, in five games of the first round. Players such as Jose Barea and Brandon Bass gave the Mavericks a boost and presented the Spurs with obstacles. Barea and Bass was an effective bench tandem that logged heavy minutes for Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd.

The Denver Nuggets' series proved to be a challenge, but was also success. The offensive power of the Nuggets was too much for the Mavericks to handle. The Nuggets averaged over 114.6 points per game against the Mavericks in the Western Conference Semi-finals.

But as I stated above, the series loss to the Denver Nuggets proved to be a success as well.

Why?

With that loss, the Dallas Mavericks were able to straighten out their roster. They found the necessary kinks that needed to be fixed.

Participating in a four-team trade with the Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, and Orlando Magic, the Dallas Mavericks received forwards Shawn Marion, Kris Humphries, Nathan Jawai, and Greg Buckner. Along with these four players, the Mavericks received cash considerations.

After receiving a bundle of forwards, the Mavericks went on to sign power forward Drew Gooden, guard Quinton Ross, and small forward Tim Thomas. In addition, the Mavericks resigned Kidd.

It is clear that the Mavericks are preparing for the future. They want that championship chance, and remodeled the roster to do so.

They brought in talented forwards to back up Erick Dampier; a center who seems to be running out of years.

They reunited guard/forward combo Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion, which could prove to be a smart move on the part of Mark Cuban. When playing together, both averaged solid numbers.

During the 1999-2000 season, Kidd averaged 10.1 assists per game, while Marion averaged a solid 10.2 points per game as a rookie.

The fast paced game will no doubt appear during this upcoming season in Dallas.

But as much as this roster renovation can prove to be good, it can also prove to be dysfunctional.

The small forward situation seems to be corrected for now, but we will have to see if Josh Howard is comfortable as a shooting guard.

Injuries may present themselves, especially if you have such injury prone players like Shawn Marion, Kris Humphries, Josh Howard, and Nathan Jawai.

Bench rotation won't be difficult in the first few months due to Tim Thomas's injury, but when he gets back, battles for playing time will be interesting to watch in the forward slot.

Finally, packing on veteran players seems to be a bad idea. Experience is essential, but as the league changes every day, the Mavericks will be in for a challenge.

Everyone is talking about the Toronto Raptors and how their roster will function, but the Dallas Mavericks are in the same position as the boys up north.

Without question, this season is "do-or-die" for the Dallas Mavericks.