NBA Playoffs 2011: Who Are the Dallas Mavericks and Who Is Dirk Nowitzki?
Who are these guys that call themselves "The Dallas Mavericks?" If you don't know the answer, then you haven't been paying attention all season.
Quietly, the Dallas Mavericks were one of the most impressive teams in the NBA regular season and did not gain much recognition for it.
People all over the country are starting to realize that this team is a legitimate threat to win the NBA championship and it all starts with one man: Dirk Nowitzki.
Nowitzki quietly had one of the best seasons of his career. His points per game were down to 23, but he did it in a career-low (other than his rookie season) 34.3 minutes per game on a career-high 51.7 percent shooting.
After watching Nowitzki's tear through the playoffs, it is almost laughable to realize that he was not even in the top five of MVP voting this year. The award was Derrick Rose's to lose, but can anyone say that they would want any other guy than Dirk leading their team after watching this year's playoffs? (Except for maybe that LeBron guy, he's supposed to be pretty good)
Nowitzki is in his 13th season and turns 33 in less than a month, but that hasn't stopped him at all. Getting better with age has actually been the theme and major strength of this team.
Led by a 38-year-old point guard, a 33-year-old small forward, a 32-year-old power forward and a plethora of 30-year-old bench players, the Dallas Mavericks' 57-25 record tied for the fourth-best record in basketball.
Jason Kidd has shown that he can still be an effective floor general of a team; Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic and Brendan Heywood are proving they can still be effective off the bench; and Shawn Marion is showing that he still is "The Matrix."
This team started the season 17-4. 17-4 is pretty good if you ask me. Most of the country didn't realize how well they were doing, because the major sports networks were too busy covering the Heat's slow start.
The team then continued to roll, but then hit a slow stretch where they lost six in a row (you may have missed this stretch as well because once again the Heat stole their thunder with their four-game January losing streak and crying in the locker room).
From this point on, however, the Dallas Mavericks were one of the best teams in the NBA and also underrated once again. There was no excuse for their lack of coverage here, however, with the Mavericks going on a 26-6 tear after this losing streak.
In the future, an NBA Finals matchup with the Miami Heat is most likely, but this will not intimidate this Dallas squad. The Mavericks swept the season series with the Heat.
The Mavericks are full of smart, gritty, experienced basketball players who know what it takes to win. This is all great, but if Dirk keeps shooting like he has been this postseason...they won't need anyone else.
