Hanging from the Rafters - Dallas Mavericks

On to the reigning champs. Not exactly a rich history here. But we've got a definite top 20/top 25 all time player here and probably three fan favorites. (Not that Dirk's not a fan fave, but you know what I mean.) It's a good balance of players, I think.

2011 NBA Finals Preview/Analysis/Predictions

The most entertaining NBA postseason that I can remember is coming to a close within the next two weeks, and we're closing it out with one of the most exciting potential Finals matchups: Dallas's "Dirk Nowitzki and the Virile Veterans" Experience vs. Miami's "Why, Yes, We Are Bigger/More Important Than Jesus" Ego All-Stars. (I loved that Joseph Kimberly Noah just referred to Miami as being "Hollywood as Hell." It was fairly apt, and I'm going to steal it when referring to egotistical jerks from now on, but c'mon Joseph Kimberly, give Hollywood some credit...) And while I did rate this particular matchup as the most potentially exciting and enthralling, I still would've rather seen Chicago here. I just can't stomach the thought of Miami hoisting the trophy.


Anyway, I'm going to do the "Which team has the edge?" concept with this, but instead of comparing each team's specific position players and bench against each other, I'm going to try to look at which team has the better "best player," the better "second best player," the better "third best player," and so on. How am I going to decide the difference between 2nd and 3rd best on each team (or 3rd and 4th, or 4th and 5th, etc.)? With my old standby: win shares. Specifically playoff win shares. Keep in mind, the win share totals aren't going to necessarily decide which team's player is better, they're just used to sort out the rankings on each side. (And I'll try not to let my blatantly obvious anti-Miami sentiments color this too much.)

Dirk Nowitzki's Legacy

I know I promised a List of Greatness post by tonight, and I'm still going to try to get it up, but there was a recent comment that I can't let slide by without making my own comments on it, because it's exactly the kind of statement this blog is dedicated to analyzing. After the Mavericks just absolutely demolished the no-longer-defending-champion Lakers, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said "In my opinion, he's one of the top 10 players in NBA history because of the uniqueness of his game and how he's carried this franchise on his back for over a decade." Alright, Rick, let's not get carried away here. What's wrong with this statement? Um, several things.

Tonight's Games (4/19)

I thought it might be interesting to get some other perspectives and thoughts on the playoffs here, so I wanted to try this. Here's a couple quick thoughts on the playoff games that are happening tonight, and if anyone has any thoughts or insights on them, please feel free to post them and we'll see if we can get a discussion going. Probably not, but I thought it might be interesting to try to get an "open thread" started on this years playoffs.

(#10) Mavericks - (#2) Spurs Series

I don't know if I made enough of a ruckus about how stunned I was that the Mavericks upset the Rockets. I mean, I know it was just a 10-seed beating a 7-seed, but really... just look at the size of that Rockets team. Hakeem Olajuwon. Moses Malone. Yao Ming. All starting. And Ralph Sampson coming off the bench. All at their peaks. I don't know how the Mavericks pulled it off. Is Dirk Nowitzki that good? Is Steve Francis that poisonous to a team? Even a fictional superteam that doesn't hang out or (probably) doesn't smoke weed in between tip-offs? Or were the Rockets just too big and slow for the Mavericks quickness and sharp shooting? I don't know. These are the quandaries that keep me up at night. Looking at this matchup, however, the Spurs still have the size advantage on the Mavs (Duncan & Robinson, naturally) but also the speed and shooting to balance it out (Gervin, Parker, Ginobili.) I just think Duncan and Robinson will be opening up a nightly carpentry/construction business with the number of boards they'll be tearing down. Of course, that's what I thought about the Rockets, too, so who knows. Still, I'm taking the Spurs in 5 here.

(#10) Mavericks - (#7) Rockets Series

I said before this was one of my top three first round match-ups I wanted to see, not because I think these games will be close, but because I really want to see how a lineup featuring Olajuwon, Moses Malone, Yao, and Ralph Sampson plays out. This should be interesting, so here we go:

Dallas Mavericks Ultimate Roster

Dallas Mavericks, 798.0 rating, 19th overall (10th seed in the West)


1. Dirk Nowitzki (371.4 rating)
2. Rolando Blackman (93.6)
3. Mark Aguirre (68.2)
*4. Steve Nash (57.1) (on Suns roster)
5. Michael Finley (54.9)
6. Josh Howard (35.2)
7. Derek Harper (34.3)
*8. Jason Kidd (29.8) (Nets)
9. James Donaldson (29.2)
10. Jason Terry (28.0)
11. Brad Davis (26.6)
12. Sam Perkins (22.0)
13. Erick Dampier (17.8)
14. Shawn Bradley (16.8)