NBA: 4 Reasons Why the Mavericks Will Repeat as NBA Champions

In sports, repeating is always the hardest thing to do. It is hard to beat someone with the same move twice, throw a second touchdown, throw a second no-hitter, score a second goal and it is hard to win a second MVP.

For many years, though, the hardest thing for professional sports teams to do is repeat as champions.

Besides the Lakers and Patriots dynasties, it is rare that we have seen another team repeat as champions.

This is because of the parity caused by free agency, and a salary cap makes it nearly impossible to even have a thought of repeating.

For some reason, this Mavericks team just seems different, though.

It just seems like the Mavericks have what all of the other contenders lack: They have the experience that the youthful Bulls and Thunder don’t have, the chemistry that the Heat and Lakers don’t have, the versatility that the Clippers don’t have and the energy that the old Celtics don’t seem to have.

Here are four reasons why the Mavericks will repeat as NBA champions.

Frontcourt Versatility

The trade for Lamar Odom was one of the biggest acquisitions of the offseason.

The Mavericks now have two frontcourt starters (Odom and Nowitzki) who can play three positions, guard almost four positions, shoot from almost anywhere and are almost unstoppable on the low block. They are also quick enough to make a huge impact on defense and are great passers.

The Mavericks now have a talented frontcourt that can shoot, defend, handle the ball, run the floor, run the pick and roll to perfection and post up on just about every possession.

The Mavericks also have a ton of backups that can serve as “bangers” that can pick up key rebounds (think Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi) and give stars like Odom and Nowitzki a rest.

Defense

The signing of Odom was also huge because it makes a great defensive team even better.

Odom and Nowitzki can guard three positions and shut down most of the league’s best big men. Jason Kidd can also guard just about any position because of his foot speed and his toughness. Jason Terry has active hands that can lead to many fast break opportunities, Mahinmi and Wright are guys that can block shots off the bench, and Brendan Haywood and Shawn Marion are still two of the more energetic defenders in the league.

Along with having one of the more individually talented defensive teams in the league,the Mavericks are still one of the best team defenses in the league.

They still are one of the better teams in the league at “talking,” switching and rotating, which will make them an even better team defensively.

Three-Point Shooting

One of the more exciting things about this Mavericks team is almost 75 percent of the team can knock down three-point shooting consistently. 

Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom, Dirk Nowitzki, Dominique Jones, Rodrigue Beaubois, Jerome Randle, Drew Nietzel and Delonte West are all players who can knock down open three-point shots. 

Nowitzki, Marion, Odom and Carter are also players who can score from the post.

So these post players will have the option to kick out to an open three-point shot on just about every possession.

The plethora of three-point shooters on the Mavericks team means they can beat opponents in just every way possible.

Coaching

Rick Carlisle continues to be the most underrated coach in the NBA. 

He only has one losing season in his NBA career (the putrid 2007 Pacers) and has won 50 games in five of his eight seasons. He has also been to the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons and won five playoff games, and he won an NBA title last season. 

No one gets more out of less talent or gets his teams to commit to defense more, and one in the league is better with the X’s and O’s. 

You can argue that this is Carlisle’s best team yet, and he is already one of the best coaches in the NBA.