mavs championship window: going, going, gone?

[CoachPop]

Ah, you guys will all eat your words once Dirk lifts the championship trophy on behalf of Dallas!

I hope you had as much fun typing that as I did reading it.

[ppp000]

I think it's been open just a bit since a year ago or so...

Dirk doesn't work as the #1 option. Not so much because of choking (which is way overblown), but because of how he's defended. That's been the main factor to Dallas' failures. Dirk's proven he's a clutch player over the years.

But when he does get contained by the defense (which has happened quite a bit), and isn't scoring well, his impact on the game drops off, and the drop off to the rest of the team is too much. As Dirk goes, Dallas goes.

They need another top-level scorer, that will close that gap. Specifically, lacking an impactful interior offensive presence has hurt them.

Regardless, Dallas is still a very good, deep team that will typically go deep in the playoffs.

I agree. Someone that actually watches the Mavs and doesn't use the same, tired media analysis.

[Showtime:Part2]

i think either kidd or carter will be in dallas by the trade deadline and dallas won't give up much in talent. nj needs to shed payroll and rebuild and dallas needs that extra piece.

[jourdy]

i think either kidd or carter will be in dallas by the trade deadline and dallas won't give up much in talent. nj needs to shed payroll and rebuild and dallas needs that extra piece.

You mean a Lakers-esque steal deal?
Woohoo! Jose Juan Barea and Stackhouse for Kidd and Carter!

[JordansBulls]

IF Phoenix trades for a 36 year old Shaq then Dallas should trade for a 34 year old Kidd.

[hermes]

this could be the last year the mavs could be contenders
with the lakers, hornets and blazers coming on

[I-AM-A-BEAST]

The Mavs would be better off trading for Carter than Kidd IMO.

[Mad Balla 15]

The Mavs would be better off trading for Carter than Kidd IMO.

I mentioned this a couple of days ago and Ballings7 also agreed. I think Dallas needs someone to take some scoring pressure off Dirk, other than Howard and Carter would be a good fit moreso than Kidd I think.

[Flash3]

2-0 up over Miami and 13 points up in Game 3 with about six minutes to go......

.....they collapsed and folded there after.

[Scalabrine]

LOLZ DALLAS SHOULD TRADE FOR EDDY CURRY

Stackhouse and Diop and Barea for Curry and Morris/Collins!!!

[DDansby123]

Even as a Mavs fan, I'm not sold on them as a championship-caliber team (I'm not sold on any of the others, either, but whatever).

But I fail to see how adding Shaq and taking away Marion does anything but improve the Mavs' chances against Phoenix. It just makes it easier for Dallas to play its preferred style with Dampier in the middle.

[Rasheeed!!!]

Dallas still has as good a chance as anybody. They just have to pull their **** together. Having said that, i don't think they'll make it out of the 2nd rnd, if they even get THAT far.

[Jordan45822]

Mavs, Suns, Lakers, & Spurs all have a good shot to win.

Personally, I think Cuban is going to do something before the deadline, but I don't know what exactly they will go after.

[Ballings7]

But I fail to see how adding Shaq and taking away Marion does anything but improve the Mavs' chances against Phoenix. It just makes it easier for Dallas to play its preferred style with Dampier in the middle.

Yep. They already had the edge on the Suns, anyway (playoffs), with the advantages Dallas has. They're 1-1 in series, but the Mavs have been a different team since that 2005 series. I don't think Amare's offense would give the Suns the edge, still. It'd help the Suns noticably, but not enough.

Marion was the only guy who could defend Dirk at all, which wasn't nearly enough anyway (since 2005, and Dirk changed as a player), because of the team defense and mind-set lacking.

[NetsForce]

I'm a little confused... The Suns get worse and now the Mavs' championship window is gone? Um... Logic check?

[Scrub Sura]

I'll take my chances with Dallas over Phoenix.

Even if this trade goes through, they haven't reached that level of desperation.

[D-Wags#13]

I'm a little confused... The Suns get worse and now the Mavs' championship window is gone? Um... Logic check?

Exactly what I am thinking. Shaq doesn't fit Phoenix style and is a liability defensivly. Anyone disagrees that a Hill/Amare/Shaq-Frontcourt is the worst defensive fc in the NBA? Do you think they could contain Howard and Dirk?
The Spurs in my eyes aren't the team they were last year. The Lakers seem impressive though.

[Magz50]

The Spurs in my eyes aren't the team they were last year.

Sure, they're not showing it right now with all the injuries they've been through so far. However TD is back to full strength, manu is on the brink of being 100% and when Parker and Barry are fully healed up in a couple of weeks we're gonna be very dangerous.

I know people don't think Stoudamire is any good anymore, but i'm sure alot of teams are alot more worried about playing their bench vs the spurs bench now that it'll be up against Manu and Stoudamire rather than Manu and Jacque Vaughn. Damon showed in his first game back last night (11 points) he can be effective for us hitting the three, his stroke is still very good and with guys like Duncan spreading the floor and having Manu take double teams Damon can settle in and just be a spot up shooter.

[Ballings7]

Can't take the Spurs by the regular season... it's just lacks credibility to do so. Considering the history of how things are done in SA, the make-up of the team, and the management of the team and season. Continuity.

It's about the playoffs and peaking there. Tony Parker and Barry being out hasn't helped regardless.

Tony will be back after the all-star break, Barry soon after. Maybe even a trade. 16 more games versus the east, and 6 straight coming up.

Spurs will be fine (relatively right health, of course, as for any team).

[PaKwAn]

As the years go by the mavs window gets smaller and smaller as teams in the west gets stonger and younger..The chances of them winning the championship just gets slimmer.