Quote:
Originally Posted by BGMaverick9
The thing that I would say to this is the big difference in the year: the defense. It's imperative that they defensive mentality sticks and they perform. For years, people have been saying they have had the talent and they were just missing defense...the problem was, people overreacted and we really didn't even have the right people. It looks like we do this year, now the defense needs to stick and it changes the ballgame because the talent is really there.
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I think it's definitely better, but I still don't think they have quite enough to beat a Spurs team 4/7, followed by a Lakers team 4/7, followed by a Celtics/Heat team 4/7 (or whatever the case may be). It's not totally impossible, but it would take some really fortuitous bounces over the course of those games to make it happen.
Everybody needs luck to win a championship, but I think the Mavs would need quite a bit more than some of those other teams. I'm not down on them, I just have a ton of respect for what those other teams have put together (except the Heat who are sorta just trying to out-talent you into submission).
Oh, and FWIW, a substantial part of me feeling this way is that Dirk simply does not get the same benefit of the doubt from the refs that some of those other guys get. He is absolutely penalized for being big and awkward. Wade/James/Kobe/Pierce shoot 15+ FT's if they are abused like Dirk was in Game 4 @ SA last spring. Wade probably shoots like 200 FT's. It's a god damn shame, really.