Will the Dallas Mavericks Sink or Swim Under New Head Coach Rick Carlisle?
It has been two seasons since the Mavericks stellar run to the 2006 NBA Finals, and the past two seasons have spelt disaster for them since. Under Avery Johnson, the Mavericks put the D back in Dallas and looked to be stellar, then disaster struck.
Despite finishing No.1 in the Western Conference in the 2006-07 season, the Mavericks were ousted early by the No.8 seed Golden State Warriors, becoming the first No.1 seed to lose to an No.8 seed in a seven game series.
The playoff woes continued the next season when surprise No.2 seed New Orleans embarrassed them, winning 4-1 and ending another 50-win season for the Mavericks, their eighth consecutive. Following the playoff meltdowns, Avery Johnson was fired the day after their second 1st round exit, and thus the Rick Carlisle era began.
Now, I’m not a huge fan of Carlisle although success has been one of his strong points while in Detroit and Indiana. He has yet to coach in the Western Conference against powerhouses such as the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, and Phoenix Suns; however, I believe his up-tempo coaching style is something the Mavericks desperately need.
The Mavericks, in the 2007 and 2008 playoffs, looked dead on offense. When the ball was in the half court, the offense became something of a mystery for them. They would hold the ball and wait for Dirk to post up or get open and when that did not happen, the players just looked confused. Josh Howard stepped up, but that’s about it.
The Mavericks acquired Jason Kidd hoping to get an edge in the Western Conference late last season, but when a fast break doesn’t exist and Richard Jefferson or Vince Carter are not on the wing, he’s inanimate as a play maker.
Rick Carlisle’s system is a team-oriented system that uses every player on the floor to score, something the Mavericks can use to their advantage considering they have Dirk, J-Kidd, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and Jerry Stackhouse as threats to score or make plays, some as starters and some off the bench.
Another thing Carlisle brings to the mix is the ability to coach big men. I loved watching the play of Brandon Bass, although his consistency isn’t quite there yet. Bass averaged 8.3 ppg and 4.4 rpg in basically 20 minutes of play last season. He’s a athletic player that runs the floor, rebounds, and finishes at the rim. Something of a Jermaine O’Neal/Ben Wallace type player, two players Rick Carlisle has coached in his career.
Carlisle can hopefully wake up the hibernating bear named Erick Dampier too. Dampier has yet to live up to the double-double player he was believed to be since signing a lucrative deal in the 2004 offseason. I’ve read the articles about Dampier being ready to step up and play like a champion this season but, that’s what he’s being paid to do.
Actions speak louder than words. Dampier has been injury-prone and inconsistent on defense since arriving in Dallas. Let’s hope Rick Carlisle can jump start the beast within him.
Defensively, DeSagana Diop’s presence in the paint can help Rick Carlisle take this team to its highest level. Losing Diop in the Jason Kidd trade proved to hurt the Mavericks interior defense, don’t believe me? Ask David West and Tyson Chandler. Diop’s wiry frame can slow down the pick-and-roll that exposed Kidd’s defense in the playoff last season and strengthen the big man department for Dallas.
All in all, I feel like Carlisle can be the man that Mark Cuban needs to win an NBA Championship, if not this season, in the future. The Mavericks didn’t make a lot of noise in the offseason besides the signing of the high-flying but still unproven Gerald Green. So, only time will tell what this team is capable of, and until 82 games are played, the Mavericks still have some work to do if they want to be contenders in the West.
