While most blogs are highlighting the strengths of the Eastern and Western Conference champs in their Finals preview, Lone Opinion decides to take a step back (pun intended) and focuses on the concerned teams' weaknesses and problems. In this post, the Dallas Mavericks.
They got height, tested veterans, a filthy rich, competitive and supportive team owner, a coach more experienced than his counterpart, and a 7-foot scoring machine -- did the Mavs come all this way to lose to the Miami Heat in the Finals again? Let us count the ways on how this epic run can instantly turn into an EPIC FAIL.
They're in love with their Js
Let's see. What do Jasons Terry and Kidd, DeShawn Stevenson, Peja Stojakovic and Dirk Nowitzki have in common? They're all perimeter lovers.
If your team happens to be a really good jump shooting team, it has a chance to win it all (see '03-'04 and '04-'05 Detroit Pistons). The Mavs are probably one, if not, the best jump shooting team in the NBA right now. But at the end of the day, a jump shot, no matter how open you could get, doesn't have the conversion rate of a lay-up or dunk.
When they were put to the test against the mighty San Antonio Spurs, the Pistons lost the first two games of the 2005 NBA Finals. The best they could do was to take the Spurs to seven games, but they eventually fell to Tim Duncan and friends.
That said, the Mavs will suffer the same fate if they don't change their ways. Whenever we see the Mavericks running a 2-on-1 break, time and again, the guy with the ball ends up settling for a three or a deep two. During half-court sets where Nowitzki will give up the ball, guys like Terry, Stevenson or Stojakovic dribble-penetrate, only to end their possession with a jumper. It's time for the Mavs, outside of Nowitzki, to take it strong to the hole and fish for fouls. As they say, if you live by the three, you die by the three. And jump shots are shorter versions of three-pointers. So if the Js won't click, the Mavs suck dicks.
After Nowitzki, who's next?
I've been asking this question to myself throughout the playoffs and I can't find any answers. Terry is probably the closest thing the Mavs have for a second option on offense, but it's not like he'll play every game with a hot hand. Besides, he comes off the bench, mostly during times that Dirk has to sit down. In those cases, JET is the first option, not second.
Outside of Dirk and JET, I can't really think of any other Maverick that regularly takes shots. With Kidd manning the point, the Mavs rely on ball movement to get their shooters open. It's nice to have an unpredictable offense that will keep the opposition guessing. But for the Mavs, this also works against them. Whenever time is winding down and they can't get the ball to either Dirk or JET, a possession ends with a forced jump shot or a shot clock violation. And this can be attributed to the lack of second/third option on offense.
During their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, I've seen, on so many occasions, Kidd and J.J. Barea breakdown the Thunder's defense. And when the D collapses on them, they issue kick out passes to open teammates. That's actually good. However, there are instances when these point guards are simply a jump away from a lay-up, with Thunder bigs a few steps away from the shaded lane, conscious about leaving their man open, and they still opt to give up the ball. These point guards better start taking advantage of these open lanes. After all, they're going to need every point they could get to beat the Heat.
Mark Cuban's mouth
The Mavericks team owner has managed to shut his trap during the course of the playoffs, but you know a storm's brewing up in this guy's head, and he's got loads of expletives and comments waiting to break free from that mouth of his. The man is dying to speak his mind. How long can he keep this up? He, or his people, better keep him silent throughout the Finals. One word against the refs and they can make a call that could cost the Mavs a game, and ultimately, the title.
The Big Three
It's pretty obvious that the main problem the Mavs have to deal with is the troika of Dwayne Wade, Lebron James and Chris Bosh. When these three guys are playing well, the Heat are almost unbeatable. Wade and Lebron are as fast as the Thunder finishers who kept on punishing the aging Mavs by way of fastbreaks and semi-fastbreaks. And Bosh, who seems to be getting his groove back, is as dangerous as ever. And if these guys get going, rest assured the energy will rub off on the rest of the Heat.
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