As a Dallas Mavericks fan, it pains me to say this: the Mavs' status as an elite power are now long over along with their window of opportunity of winning the NBA title anytime soon. The same can be said for the Phoenix Suns who could never get past the state of Texas.
Let's begin with the Mavs. Whether Avery Johnson is fired between now and next season, he has done an amazing job transforming the Mavs from where they were before he was hired. Before Avery: Mavs=one dimensional run and gun no defense team that was fun to watch during the regular season and painful to watch during the playoffs. After Avery: Mavs=team that showed athleticism along with poise and discipline on defense that eventually (and unfortunately) peaked in 2005-2006 when they went all the way to the 2006 NBA Finals.
It's crazy how 2 years ago in the summer of 2006 after the Finals loss to the Heat, the general consensus around the Metroplex was that the Mavs were still in great shape and would be in the title mix for the next foreseeable 3-4 years. At the time, I thought "that's it?" now 2 years later looking back, I'd kill for a 3rd year of window opportunity.
Things just went horribly downhill from there. With the exception of a few tweaks to the roster, the Mavs kept virtually the same team for the 2006-2007 season and we got a 67-15 regular season that showed the Mavs display potential for greatness; it was agreed that the Mavs looked like a team of destiny ready to win that title they "gave away" "choked" to the Heat. I thought so too until we ran into the Warriors and we ALL know the rest of that story.
That series was so alarming in that the Mavs just seemed really soft and mentally weak. It still urks me to this day that we lost that series to Golden State. On paper, the Mavs should've destroyed the Warriors but in truth, that Mavs team of 2006-2007 had all the skill in the league but not the will of a champion. Which brings us to this current season of 2007-2008. Once again the Mavs did not make any substantial changes to the roster which the general public thought was not a bad idea since we all agreed that the Mavs didnt lose in the 1st round last year because of lack of talent rather just lack of passion. As the season went by and as we all became aware that the Western Conference wasnt just a race between the Spurs, Mavs, and Suns as it had been for the past 3 seasons, and that at least 4 other teams had legit cases to win it all (Lakers, Hornets, Jazz, Rockets) it was apparent the Mavs as currently constructed had no shot at winning the West.
So they make the trade for Kidd and we struggle and limp our way to the playoffs. April 30, 2008 and the Mavs' season ends before May for the 2nd straight year. This team isnt athletic and poised on defense anymore. It seems that Avery doesnt communicate with the players anymore. All of a sudden with the exception of Dirk, the team is very slow and stupid in all aspects of play. This team is very very old now. Kidd is 35. Jet is 31. Josh Howard is 28. Dirk is 30. Dampier is 33. Stack is 33. With the exception of 22 year old Brandon Bass and maybe JJ Barea, the rest of the roster doesnt exactly get me excited about the future.
In all honesty, this Mavs team from 2004-2008 reminds me a lot of the Sacramento Kings teams from 2001-2004. Both perennial favorites to win the title every year, favored to break through and knock off the current power (Lakers back from 2001-2004 and Spurs 2004-2008) Both teams got very close multiple times notably the 2006 Finals run for the Mavs and the 2002 West Finals loss to the Lakers for the Kings. Both teams were special enough to win an NBA title but in the end neither did and you've seen what happened to the Kings after that. C-Webb out. Doug Christie out. Bobby Jackson out. Peja out. This year they finally said goodbye to Mike Bibby. Will we gradually see the unraveling of the Mavs? Goodbye to Jet, Josh Howard, Dirk, Stack, Kidd in the next couple of seasons?
Speaking of teams that had multiple opportunities to win it all but never did. The Phoenix Suns 2004-2008. 3 years in a row they tried to run and gun their way to a title and failed each time. This year they actually had a crazy idea that turned out to be not so crazy when they got Shaq for Marion. Now this is coming from a Suns Hater, I actually thought the Suns were now better equipped to beat the Spurs as evidenced by their 2 wins vs Spurs this year with Shaq and even the one win they got before the Shaq trade. Hell even after the Suns went down 3-0 in the series, I boldly and now stupidly picked the Suns to be the 1st team ever to win a series after being down 3-0. I just thought there was no way the Spurs could have a cakewalk like that. I thought Shaq would be the difference. I obviously thought wrong. 2004-2005 they lost to spurs in West Finals, they ship off Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson b/c they realized they were just shooting way too many 3's. 2005-2006 they got #### over with Amare being sidelined all year. However the Mavs knocked the Spurs off in the 2nd round that year and the Suns were good enough to beat the Mavs in the West Finals but Dirk took over the playoffs that year. 2006-2007. They just got outplayed. Robert Horry cheapshot or not, Suspended Amare and Diaw for Game 5 or not, they STILL HAD AMARE for Game 6 but still lost and they wouldve had him for Game 7. So not to go off-topic but please stop calling that series "the real NBA Finals that year" b/c even if the Suns wouldve beaten the Spurs, they still wouldve had to play the Utah Jazz in the West Finals and the Jazz were 4-0 vs the Suns that season. This year, the Shaq experiment just blew up in their faces.
What now for the Mavs and Suns? Change in coaching? Change in direction and style of play? Blockbuster trades on the horizon (I.E. use Kidd's expiring contract as trade bait for a superstar to complement Dirk, I know I'm just dreaming but why not)? Or will they figure out that their window of opportunity has closed and decide to start all over. Now the Suns in my opinion arent in as big trouble as the Mavs since they still have a 25 year old Amare and 25 year old Barbosa. And while he may have looked very OLD and pedestrian against the Spurs, they still got Steve Nash who's still effective compared to Jason Kidd who seems like he's 50 years old. They still got some pieces to build so while their window is closing, its not locked. However I can't say the same for my Mavs whose windows seem not only closed but nailed shut by a former Wake Forest point guard. Whatever the case, hard times are coming for Dallas and Phoenix. Anyways I gotta get back to my 3 papers. You know college is rough when it's almost midnight and youre writing a blog about sports instead of writing your papers.
