Fade in…June 2011, the Dallas Mavericks have just defeated the Miami Heat in six games to win the NBA Finals. Mark Cuban was finally able to celebrate with…well…a cuban of his own. Fade out.
Fade in…December 2011, the NBA lockout has just ended, camps have opened up along with free agency, and the Dallas Mavericks are left with only five players who played a role in helping the team win the NBA Finals in June. Tyson Chandler is now house hunting in a New York ‘State of Mind’, Caron Butler is off to L.A., JJ Barea is most likely heading to New York or another team, and Deshawn Stevenson appears to be on his way out as well.
Without Chandler pummeling the Heat down low, Barea’s speed in the backcourt, and Stevenson wrecking havoc on LBJ, the Mavericks would have lost the series in four or five games. The Heat very easily could have made that series a clean sweep. Yes, yes, Dirk played like a mad man, but it was the contributions from players like these guys who helped shut down the Heat in their dismal fourth quarters. Without Barea, Chandler, and Stevenson, the Mavs would have been left with Peja Stojakovic and Brendan Haywood.
With the losses of Chandler and Butler and the seemingly imminent losses of Barea and Stevenson, Mark Cuban’s Mavericks have a lot of voids to fill. One void has been filled over the weekend with the trade for Lamar Odom. Odom provides Dallas with what could be the most versatile front court at times with Nowitzki. On the down side, Jason Kidd is only getting older and without Barea the Mavericks will have to hope Rodrigue Beaubois can help limit Kidd’s minutes to keep him fresh. At the center position, behind Haywood the Mavs are left with the undeveloped Ian Mahinmi. Reserve man Corey Brewer is also expected to be on the move in order to clear up cap space.
It is not yet known when the reigning champs will receive their rings, but one thing is for sure. Much of the team from a year ago will not be there to take part in the celebratory festivities. Many questions will arise. Will Dirk Nowtizki be able to keep up his magic touch with an aging JKidd and Jason Terry? Most importantly, can the gritty, veteran savvy team experience the success they did a year ago without many of its key parts? Both will remain to be seen.
Alex Rosencutter is a former NCAA basketball player at Clarke Univeristy and a kinesiology major at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, this hoops addict and die hard Miami Heat fan, who is obsessed with old school hoops, has a fever for basketball and the only prescription is more basketball.
