Since their humiliating loss to Golden State in the 2007 playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks have slowly slipped from the NBA’s elite. To see how they can return, we need to look at the last version of the team to experience playoff success—the 2006 Finals squad.
The one constant is Dirk Nowitzki, their seven-foot perennial All-Star, whose size and shooting ability has allowed him to maintain a remarkably high standard of play.
The biggest change since ’06 is the addition of Jason Kidd, the ageless point guard who has developed into a great spot-up three-point shooter to take advantage of the defensive attention Dirk commands.
With their two core players in their thirties, the Mavs start off dramatically less athletic than most of their rivals. So how can they build a roster to maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of Nowitzki and Kidd?
As a big man who can consistently create and hit outside jumpers, Dirk creates two huge opportunities for his teammates.
Since his defender, usually one of the opposing team’s bigger players accustomed to playing closer to the basket, can’t leav ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Jonathan Tjarks
How Starting Their Young Players Can Return The Dallas Mavericks To Contention
October 6th, 2010 by Jonathan Tjarks Leave a reply »
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