I'm beginning to like the idea of Dirk being the starting small forward on most nights. He's a matchup nightmare at that spot, and from what I've seen in these playoffs, I'd rather have him guarding swingmen than power players in the post. Plug in Malone or another veteran power forward at the four and let Bradley/Raef block shots at the five. Nash/Nick/Finley/Dirk will remain terrible perimiter defenders and unless you want to overhaul the big four, we will still need shotblocking. Unless you can name me a better shotblocker than either Reaf or Bradley, I don't want to hear it. Without shotblocking, we'd be the most porous interior defense of all time... even with Malone. While you are at it, banish the undersized, poor-rebounding, poor-scoring Najera to the bench. If the Spurs series is teaching us that size matters, then lets get big. A low post rotation of Dirk, Raef, Malone, Bradley has size, shotblocking, athleticism, low post scoring, and depth.
In my opinion, Bradley and Raef get unduly critisized because people expect them to be something they aren't. With Malone in the rotation, you've got your low post scoring threat. Bradley can do what he does best, which is anchor zone defenses and protect the basket. Raef can do what he does best and block shots, run the floor and stretch the defense.
That's not to say that we should expect the same Raef as we've seen this year. He should work his butt off to improve his defensive rebounding. He's got the tools: stength, hands, leaping ability, quickness. There is no reason he can't be a better rebounder. I think eight boards a game is more than a reasonable number to ask of him. If we can get that many out of him, ten out of Dirk, seven out of Shawn and eight out of Malone, we'd be more than holding our own on the boards.
Finally, we need to improve our depth at the off-guard/small forward spot. We need to decide whether Griff, Bell, or Williams are worth holding on to. From what I've seen, the only guy that deserves to be back is Bell, but with his playoff performance, he may get a good offer somewhere else. Since we'll be spending our entire exception on a veteran power forward, free agency is not the answer. Maybe Mladen Sekularic decides to show up, maybe Rigaudeau decides to show up... But if I'm the Mavs, I'm looking to better my odds through the draft. It's a low draft pick and odds are that you won't find someone who can impact you right away, but swingmen are quicker to come along than big men or point guards. And if I'm the Mavs, I want as many chips on the table as possible. Hopefully one of the three - Sekularic, Rigo, or the draft pick, will come up a winner.
That's all. No need to totally rethink this team. I think that we're pretty equal with the Spurs barring injury. If we would have taken the two home games like we should have, we would have won this series. Add Malone and some depth at the two/three, and I like our chances even more.
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