# Mavs set to bounce back?



## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...mavs/stories/093007dnspomavslede.3497381.html

The answers, at this point, are vague.

But the questions are plentiful regarding the Western Conference, which still rates as the NBA's better half despite a mild exodus of talent to the Eastern Conference this summer.

What caused the three annual contenders for the West crown to stand pat this off-season?

How do the Mavericks respond to heart-ripping endings the last two seasons, and what do they use as their rallying cry?

When do the Suns finally break through, if ever?

Will the Spurs ever repeat as NBA champions?

Those are some of the mysteries. There are plenty of others. But we will start at the top.

Why did the Mavericks stay so quiet this off-season? And why did Phoenix do the same? For San Antonio, the lack of movement is understandable. The Spurs are, after all, champions.

For the fairest answer, always look for an outside opinion.

"If you want to evaluate a 10-day period, Dallas had a hiccup," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. "But if you want to evaluate a whole season, they were 10-games better than the field. So I think it shows great maturity not to overreact to a small window.

"I think the level of competition between the top teams in the West obviously was very close last year, and they played at a very high level. It would appear that teams felt good about the chemistry of their group and were reluctant to take on the risk of major changes." 

So the Mavs, Suns and Spurs, all of whom believe their rosters are title-worthy, stood pat. They clearly are the top three teams in the West going into the season, although that could change as the schedule weaves through an 82-game grind.

What we know for sure is that the Mavericks will gather Monday for media day and Tuesday for the first of a week's worth of twice-daily practices with the same core of players they had last season.

Throughout that bittersweet run, the Mavericks had a calling card. It was "Finish," and we know how that turned out. They should have shortened the rally cry to "Fini," because that's all the further they got. The end came prematurely with a first-round knockout against Golden State, unheard of in NBA history for a 67-win team.

Now, after a too-long summer, a new season is finally upon them. And though the Mavs bear a strong resemblance to the last two squads, which ended with heartache, there are lots of reasons for optimism.

But what do they need to do differently? Coach Avery Johnson said the idea of finishing quarters, games and the season still will be a foundation. But there will be other areas of focus, too, which he declined to make public.

The players, most assuredly, know what is at stake.

"I think we have to take that term 'finish' literally," Josh Howard said. "We didn't play great in April. As a team, we didn't strap it on like we were supposed to going into the third season, which is what Coach always calls the playoffs.

"If anything, we need to take that last part of the season seriously and don't let up, don't think somebody's going to hand something to us."

That lesson should be well-learned. All the Mavericks have to do is look at their primary competition.

While the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston, Utah, Golden State, New Orleans and Denver all figure to be playoff worthy, it's the Suns and Spurs who eventually will consume the Mavericks' thoughts.

And it's not as if those teams don't have something to prove. The Suns are witnessing the final productive years of Steve Nash, and with Shawn Marion apparently upset because he hasn't been awarded a three-year Dirk Nowitzki-style contract extension ($60 million), their situation is a bit murky. But their talent remains top-shelf.

The Spurs have won three of the last five championships and four of nine but have never repeated. Does that make them any less deserving of a dynasty tag? Probably not.

Buford said the organization is aware of the knock. At the end of the NBA Finals against Cleveland in June, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he couldn't care less about that.But now?

"I don't know that we feel a whole lot different this year than we did in '04 or '06," Buford said. "History has shown we didn't repeat in those years. But I don't think it's because we didn't put ourselves in position. In '04, it was Derek Fisher's shot. In '06, it was an overtime loss in Game 7 [to the Mavericks]. If either of those single plays had gone differently, maybe we're not answering that question.

"But I don't think we'd have done a lot differently with those teams. It was just time for the fortune to go a different direction."

And luck has something to do with it. The Mavericks know that their reward for having the best record in the NBA last season was very unlucky – meeting the athletic, tough-nosed Warriors in the first round.

Whether or not the basketball gods smile favorably on them this year, nobody will know for about eight months.

That's when most of the questions will get answered.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

The article still failed to mention Houston, who'll probably surprise the "top 3" teams mentioned.


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

hopefully not bounced out of the playoffs again.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

All Texas WCF this season.


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## veve130 (Aug 29, 2007)

the mavs arent wining the league or the west this season maybe 3rd or 4th


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

veve130 said:


> the mavs arent wining the league or the west this season maybe 3rd or 4th


That sentence wasn't constructed properly, therefore it has no merit. :biggrin:


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## veve130 (Aug 29, 2007)

xray said:


> That sentence wasn't constructed properly, therefore it has no merit. :biggrin:


lol maybe so but that doesn't take away from the fact that its going to play out that way


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

veve130 said:


> lol maybe so but that doesn't take away from the fact that its going to play out that way


youre right!!! thank you for saving us 10 months of torture!!! All right fellow Mav fans, we can stop posting, rooting and watching Mav games for the 07-08 season...


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> youre right!!! thank you for saving us 10 months of torture!!! All right fellow Mav fans, we can stop posting, rooting and watching Mav games for the 07-08 season...


Well, we can certainly turn our attention to a certain 4-0 team. 

(Remember who started 0-4?) :biggrin:


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

We have won 2 of the last 10 playoff games


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

I think I've said it before, but there's a part of me that hopes the Mavs miss the playoffs - I love drama. :yay:


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Well.... if we repeat last year, Cubes will be losing at least one season ticket holder.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> Well.... if we repeat last year, Cubes will be losing at least one season ticket holder.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> youre right!!! thank you for saving us 10 months of torture!!! All right fellow Mav fans, we can stop posting, rooting and watching Mav games for the 07-08 season...


Let me explain...This is the Mavs forum. We hear one lined arguments about our team as every other fan base does in the main forum. We welcome opinions about our team but if your gonna post them in the Mavs forum wouldn't it make sense to articulate your thoughts into more then a basic "Mavs suck" post? Give us something to constructively discuss...


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## veve130 (Aug 29, 2007)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> Let me explain...This is the Mavs forum. We hear one lined arguments about our team as every other fan base does in the main forum. We welcome opinions about our team but if your gonna post them in the Mavs forum wouldn't it make sense to articulate your thoughts into more then a basic "Mavs suck" post? Give us something to constructively discuss...


yea i get it fierce patriotism most true fans have it. im just saying the mavs were embarassed no 1 arguing that and they have done nothing of significance to rectify it :clap2:


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

We got rid of Buckner, the weakest link!

LOL....


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

edwardcyh said:


> We got rid of Buckner, the weakest link!
> 
> LOL....



did he even step on the court against GS?


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> did he even step on the court against GS?


Raises a good point.

If a team isn't deep - assuming that they're healthy - you play against the best talent on that team (Kobe, Arenas, TMac, etc.) for longer stretches. If a team has the luxury of decent backups, those aforementioned play against lesser - albeit fresher - talent. 

Seems that the Mavs may have too many bodies, which can remove the best from the floor.


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