All Roads Lead to Dallas…Again
The Los Angeles Lakers are the defending NBA Champions and 2 time defending Western conference champions. They are in first place in late March once again, and look well on their way to another #1 seed. The 52-18 Lakers are five games up on the next best team, Denver, and show no signs of letting up.
The only roadblock they just might run into on the way, is the red hot Dallas Mavericks. Dallas is currently in 3rd place in the West, and since acquiring two-time All Star Caron Butler and center Brendan Haywood in February, they are a league best 14-3. The Mavs have looked more in sync than anyone else, and have had recent wins in Atlanta, Orlando, and Charlotte, and have also beaten the Lakers and Suns at home.
The Mavs’ depth is unmatchable, with arguably the best bench in basketball. Jason Terry is leading the charge, and making his case for 6th man of the year. He is shooting lights out, and is 2nd on the team in scoring, at 17 points per game. Rodrigue Beabois has truly come into his own over the last couple months, and is scoring more than 14 a game in March as a rookie. Jason Kidd is laying the groundwork for backup point guard JJ Barea, and Haywood and Eric Dampier are working nicely together at Center. Don’t forget the scrappiness of Eduardo Najera as well. Put all this together with a former MVP like Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, and Caron Butler, and you have the framework for an NBA title team.
The question is, is this team for real, or are they just good on paper? In my opinion, what makes this team great is their ability to win with injuries. Jason Terry, Caron Butler, and Brendan Haywood have all been sidelined at various points over the past few weeks, and the team managed to rack up 13 straight wins in the midst of it all. Both Kidd and Barea can run the break almost to perfection, and when not in transition, they can pass the ball anywhere, and there will be a scoring option.
The Mavs have built themselves to win NOW, similarly to the Celtics a few years ago. After the most successful All-Star Weekend in NBA history in Dallas just a month ago, owner Mark Cuban expects nothing less than more festivities in the American Airlines Center in June. If the Mavs get back to the finals, it would be their first appearance there since losing to the Heat back in the 2005-2006 season.
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