In Dallas, we’ve seen an NBA champion up close and personal in the not too distant past. The franchise’s first championship came 3 years ago against LeBron James’ “upstart” Miami Heat. I say upstart because, although they won the East and were in the finals, they were only a shadow of the basketball juggernaut they’ve become, winning back to back titles the last 2 seasons. That Mavs team was an unlikely champion, as they were not the most talented team in the finals. Miami’s Big 3 of James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, along with a solid backup cast, looked much better on paper than Dallas’ one superstar in Dirk Nowitzki, a side-kick in Jason Terry, and a team of has-beens who were making one last grab at an elusive ring. But what the Mavs lacked in talent, they made up for in chemistry and experience. They showed they were the better TEAM, and playing team ball, won the whole thing.
Today’s Mavericks look much different than they did in those days; but not everything has changed. Cuban still owns the team, Rick Carlisle is still the coach, and the Big German is still dropping bombs on people from all over the court. As long as Dirk Nowitzki continues the Mavs’ best player, the makeup of that 2010 team is the blueprint for getting back to contention. Let’s look at that championship roster and identify the key players and their roles:
Dirk Nowitzki PF
Jason Kidd PG
Jason Terry SG
Shawn Marion SF
Tyson Chandler C
JJ Barea PG
DeShawn Stevenson SG
Brendan Haywood C
Peja Stojakovic SF
Brian Cardinal PF
Corey Brewer SF
Ian Mahinmi C
There were 3 other players on the roster, but they were injured for the final series: Caron Butler, Dominique Jones, and Rodrigue Beaubois.
Dirk- The Star
Nowitzki was the unequivocal leader of this team. He was the team’s best player and deserves most of the credit for the Larry O’Brien trophy which sits in Mark Cuban’s office today. He was the go to man, the closer, and the workhorse.
Kidd- The General
Jason was the coach on the floor. He knew what everyone was supposed to do, where they were supposed to be, and how to get them the ball where they liked it. He also played excellent perimeter defense and helped spread the floor by shooting well from beyond the arc, opening things up for his teammates.
Terry- The Gunner
Jet was the second best offensive player on the team, and was often paired with Dirk in a two man game. That means they were on the same side of the floor and played off of each other, daring defenders to come off of one to help guard the other, leaving with just enough space to get off a good shot.
Marion- The Lock Down Defender
Defensively, Marion’s assignment was always guarding the best player on the other team, and in the finals, that meant guarding LeBron James. A task he did quite well. On offense, he was the slasher—the guy who moves towards to basket without the basketball and takes a short-range shot or, better yet, gets a bucket at the rim.
Chandler- The Defensive Anchor
Perimeter defenders know they can play tight against their assignment if they have a big man behind them to protect the rim in the case their guy gets past them, and that’s what Dallas had in Tyson Chandler. He was an above average shot blocker, rebounder, and would occasionally finish with authority around the basket.
Barea- The Spark Plug
Every successful team needs a change of pace guy, a player who comes in and alters the rhythm of the game, and that was JJ for the Mavs. Barea was not exceptional at any aspect of the game, and he was a liability on the defensive end, but his kamikaze approach to attacking the basket gave the team a completely different look and a spark that Miami had a hard time containing.
Stevenson- The Enforcer
This role was played by Brian Cardinal as well, to a lesser extent. Some believe that if he hadn’t twice stepped in front of Dwayne Wade to take a charge, the first resulting in a blocking foul and the second in a questionable charge call, injuring Wade and diminishing him for the rest of the series, the Mavs might not have won their title. But it was DeShawn who got in a shoving match with Mario Chalmers, and LeBron James, and anyone else willing to get within arm’s length of him. Every team needs a guy like Stevenson, who makes the other team think he’s crazy enough to hurt them physically, and not just on the box score.
The Rest of the Crew
The remainder of Dallas’ roster was made up of guys who played lesser roles, but played them well. Brendan Haywood was a skilled big man with a soft touch around the rim. Peja was another sharpshooter who could stretch the floor. Corey Brewer was a hustler who went all out for loose balls and rebounds. And Ian Mahinmi was a raw talent, who, when he was on, could be very disruptive on the court.
All of these pieces came together to form one of the best pure teams the NBA has seen since the days of the early 2000’s Pistons, who defeated a supremely more talented Lakers squad with smothering defense and crisp ball movement. If the Mavs hope to win another championship anytime soon, they will need to come together as a team like this again. But do they currently have the players to contend like they did in 2010? Let’s compare the rosters to see if they have the necessary pieces.
The Star– As it was in 2010, Dirk Nowitzki is still the star of this team. Unfortunately, Dirk is 3 years older now and has since undergone a significant knee surgery. In the year of the championship, he averaged 25 pts and 7 rebs a game, while this year those stats are down to 23 pts and 6 boards. Not a huge dropoff, but due to the dependence the Mavs have on Dirk night in and night out, that small drop could be the difference between a deep run in the playoffs and one and done. But that’s to be expected, and someone else has to pick up the slack. The championship squad definitely had the better Dirk, but the 2013 version can still put the team on his back if need be.
The General– Jason Kidd might be one of if not the greatest point guard to ever play in the league, so it is no small task replacing him. This role has fallen to Jose Calderon, who is a heady player with good court vision, a respectable 3 pt shot, and one who rarely turns the ball over; but Jose falls significantly short as a defender. He does not have the grit and savvy of a Jason Kidd, and bigger guards, of which there is abundance in the league, usually get the best of the Spaniard. This is probably the position with the biggest drop off, but you have to expect that when you’re replacing a Hall of Famer.
The Gunner– The second best offensive weapon on the team is Monte Ellis. Terry was a better spot up shooter and passer than Ellis, but Monte is definitely a more versatile player with an explosive first step and an impressive mid-range game. He is more capable of creating his own shot than Jet was, and if he can develop the same kind of chemistry with Nowitzki as Terry, this could be one of the best guard-forward combos in the league. I’ll give the advantage to Monte on this one.
The Lock Down Defender– This role still falls to Shawn Marion, although sometimes Vince Carter steps in if the circumstances dictate it. Marion is still a strong defender, and Carter is no slouch, but no area disintegrates more as a player ages than defense. This is because it is largely based on speed, reaction time, and energy—and those go little by little as you continue to add candles to what now has to be a lactose-free birthday cake. No doubt, Marion 3 years ago is a better defender than he and Carter now collectively.
The Defensive Anchor– If there is one free agent I believed Cuban needed to bring back from the title team, it was Tyson Chandler. Above average defensive centers are so hard to come by in the NBA that once you find one, you have to lock him down. Since the Mavs let Chandler walk, they haven’t come anywhere close to title contention, and it’s no coincidence. Mavs’ starting center Samuel Dalembert is a serviceable big man who can go for 20 and 10 on a given night; but he can also foul out midway through the 4th quarter after 3 pts and 4 boards. He’s highly inconsistent and not the kind of center players can count on to clean up their mistakes if they overplay a ball-handler on the perimeter. Definite advantage 2010.
The Spark Plug– Looking at this year’s roster, no one guy has really established himself in this role, although most fans hope that it will be Devin Harris who seizes it. Harris was drafted by Dallas as a rookie, and a lot of fans were sad to see him go as part of the trade that brought Jason Kidd to Dallas. We now all know that it was the right decision, but the young Harris had been a part of a Mavs finals team before and looked like he had his best years ahead of him. Now, Devin is a seasoned vet who, aside from an All Star selection in 2009, hasn’t had much success to speak of since he left Dallas. Fans are hoping that he can find some of that old magic and be a 6th man who throws defenses for a loop when he comes in the game. But hope doesn’t win championships, and until I see it consistently on the court, I’m going to have to give Barea the nod here.
The Enforcer– Former nemesis and San Antonio Spur DeJuan Blair embraced this role in Dallas. He is a hard-nosed, tough center, albeit undersized, who makes people think twice about strolling into the paint. He’s a good pick-setter, and is not afraid to throw a cheap shot or two. It’s hard to argue with the success of Stevenson, but I think Blair has the makings of a great tough guy. I’m going to call this a wash.
The Rest of the Crew– With Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright, and Shane Larkin leading the pack, this year’s squad has a promising group of young talent, not to mention Ricky Ledo, Gal Mekel, and journeyman Wayne Ellington. I revere the 2010 squad all the way down to the 15th man, but I’d have to say, based on potential alone, this year’s deep backups are a notch above the former ones.
In comparing 8 roles (technically, 7 roles and 1 group of players) from the 2010 title team and the 2013-14 Mavs, five of those roles favor the championship team, two favor this year’s squad, and one is a tie. Based on that, I’d have to say that our Mavs are a ways of from recreating the kind of chemistry and dynamic they had when they were at their best, and I don’t consider them contenders for this year’s crown. If they do make it into the playoffs and they’re playing near full capacity, they’ll be the team no one wants to play in the first round, cause you never know what a hot team can do. They have the talent to beat any team, anywhere from now until the post season, but they don’t have the pieces needed to win a best of 7 series. Sorry Mavs fans; I recommend you just sit back and enjoy some entertaining basketball, and temper your expectations about what this team can accomplish. And do like I do, go to You Tube and watch some of those old 2010-11 playoff games. It’ll make you proud to be a MFFL all over again!
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