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Originally Posted by endrity
....We are not sure whether Avery's success is just a product of a very talented roster.
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And I still think the very talented roster angle is over-rated.
Bass, for instance, couldn't get off the bench in New Orleans yet in Dallas he's looking like a key part of about an 8 man rotation. So if Byron Scott is a genious coach, and Avery only wins because of the greatness of talent in Dallas, why is it a guy that couldn't get on the floor in N.O. is getting so much run in Dallas?
And....let's not forget that Diop and...crud, I forgot the dude's name....what was it???
Anyhow, Diop and some dude that was playing XBox at the beginning of the '06 season (who was last seen occupying territory down at the end of the oh-so talented Bulls bench) were starters (
STARTERS) on the team that made the finals run.
Adrian Griffith -- that's the dude's name. He ain't exactly Mr. Supertalent, is he?
....anyhoo....the mavs have had some talent in recent years, but outside of Dirk it has hardly been mind-blowing talent (and it's not like dirk is heads and tales better than Duncan, KG, Nash, Kobe, D-Wade, etc.). Pre-kidd, Josh was arguably the 2nd best player (actually, it was Devin, but for the sake of argument) -- yet Josh would be at best the third option for any number of teams......
....Denver (w/ AI), Houston, Utah ('07), San Antonio, Phoenix, Miami ('06), Detroit, blah blah blah......
Who would you trade heads up for JET???? Ginobili? Marion? Marcus Camby? Kirilenko(well, he's playing a bit better this year)? Rip Hamilton? Rashweed Wallace? Chauncey Billups (if we're in the race)? That freaky looking dude that plays small forward for the Pistons? I'd seriously consider any of the above, so it's not like Terry is some unique and special talent.
Pt being, our 2nd and third best players over the last few years aren't any better than any other teams 2nd and 3rd's, and in a lot of cases I'd trade these guys straight up for guys on other teams. So as far as great talent advantage on the starting five, forget it.
And further down the bench--deep, schmeep. We've had stack, and he's had his moments, and we've had 12 fouls at the center. The rest of the deepness has been a mirage.
So, it ain't a talent advantage which we have not had over the past couple of years that explains the number of wins the mavs have had under Johnson....