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<blockquote data-quote="eranda444" data-source="post: 11519517" data-attributes="member: 34580"><p><img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-southwest-preview/SW-preview-608.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Southwest Division: Mavs wear bullseye as reigning champs</strong></span></p><p></p><p>After all those years and all those attempts at climbing the mountain, it only makes sense that the Dallas Mavericks should have to wait a bit longer than normal to defend their first NBA championship in franchise history. But with a Christmas Day unwrapping of the banner and the presentation of those long-sought rings, what could make for a better celebration?</p><p></p><p>How about doing it again?</p><p></p><p>As the Southwest Division gears up for another growling, snarling fight, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs' breakthrough in winning it all last season has to make them top dogs at the opening tip. That is, assuming that Jason Kidd will be able to coax his 38-year-old body into going the distance through a compacted, grueling schedule and that club owner Mark Cuban finds the money to keep key free agents Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler in the mix.</p><p></p><p>The San Antonio Spurs' grip on elite status may be slipping, and three-games-in-three-nights will be especially tough on the aging Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. The New Orleans Hornets will play with one eye on the basketball and the other on Chris Paul's impending free agency. The Memphis Grizzlies, assuming Marc Gasol stays in the middle, will make a case that they are finally here to stay as a playoff factor. The Houston Rockets will welcome Kevin McHale to a star-less roster that desperately needs direction and leadership.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-southwest-preview/dal_pm.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>2010-11 record:</strong> 57-25</p><p></p><p><strong>Finish:</strong> Second in Southwest Division</p><p></p><p><strong>Playoffs:</strong> Won NBA Championship. Defeated Portland in Western Conference first round (4-2), defeated L.A. Lakers in Western Conference semifinals (4-0), defeated Oklahoma City in Western Conference finals (4-1), defeated Miami in NBA Finals (4-2)</p><p></p><p><strong>Strengths:</strong> The Mavs are surging with balance and confidence after winning the first championship in franchise history. Nowitzki shows no signs of slowing down and even 38-year-old Kidd looks like he can keep on going in a harmonious locker room and on a roster that has many contributors and virtually no holes. The swagger that comes from winning it all will only make the Mavs tougher.</p><p></p><p><strong>Challenges:</strong> The old adage is that it's even harder to stay at the top than to get there in the first place. Now the Mavs will have to deal with having the target on their backs. Their first post-lockout priorities will be to get free agents Chandler, J.J. Barea and Butler re-signed so that Chandler can continue to protect the basket and rebound and that a healthy Butler returns from a knee injury to his dependable scoring ways. Barea was a key cog in Dallas' playoff run and would only help the repeat cause. The next will be to keep them as hungry and driven when they get new deals. Eventually age will catch up to the veteran Kidd, so a youngster behind him -- Rodrigue Beaubois -- must continue to bloom.</p><p></p><p><strong>Outlook: </strong>On one hand, an extended lockout would have enabled the Mavs to reign as champions longer. But this is a team that practically can't wait to get back onto the court to run and shoot and strut while wearing their crowns. Being the defending champions should finally allow Dallas to play without the burden of prior unfulfillment and it would not be a surprise to see the Mavs back in The Finals next June.</p><p></p><p><strong>This could make a difference:</strong> After years of searching for the man who could anchor the middle of their lineup and allow the likes of Nowitzki and Jason Terry to do their thing, the Mavs must go to any lengths and meet any price under the new labor rules to keep Chandler guarding the paint. If Chandler leaves, they go back to being the old, soft Mavs without a backbone.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-southwest-preview/sas_pm.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>2010-11 record:</strong> 61-21</p><p></p><p><strong>Finish:</strong> First in Southwest Division</p><p></p><p><strong>Playoffs: </strong>Lost to Memphis in Western Conference first round (4-2)</p><p></p><p><strong>Strengths: </strong>Institutional knowledge is the term that coach Gregg Popovich likes to use. The Spurs have it in spades. The core of Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker has won more games than any other NBA team over the past decade and knows what it takes to play at a high level. Meanwhile Pop will keep the focus on the details, especially at the defensive end. The Big Three is aging, but still effective when healthy.</p><p></p><p><strong>Challenges:</strong> After two seasons, it's pretty clear the Richard Jefferson experiment is a flop, but they're stuck owing him $31 million for three more seasons. It's a huge hole that has to be filled and that's where rookie Kawhi Leonard could be needed to contribute immediately. They'll also need more at both ends from Tiago Splitter in his second season.</p><p></p><p><strong>Outlook:</strong> More than four years removed from their last championship (2007), the veteran Spurs (Duncan, 35; Ginobili, 34; Parker, 29) looked worn down and worn out in the stunning upset playoff loss to the Grizzlies. The Big Three still have the ability and punch to get the Spurs into the upper half of the playoff bracket, but they can no longer be expected to do it all every night. Unless the supporting cast can carry more of the weight, the elite contending days are over and the curtain falls on an era of greatness in San Antonio.</p><p></p><p><strong>This could make a difference:</strong> Popovich often said no player he's coached ever made the improvement of George Hill in his first two NBA seasons. Yet the Spurs traded Hill to Indiana on draft night for the rights to Leonard. Yes, they were that desperate. At No. 15, Leonard is the highest draft pick since Duncan in 1997 and it might not be overstating the case too much to say the direction of the season is in his hands. If he can hit the corner jumper, rebound, defend and somehow force his way into the Rookie of the Year conversation, the Spurs could challenge the Mavs, Lakers and Thunder in the West again.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="eranda444, post: 11519517, member: 34580"] [IMG]http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-southwest-preview/SW-preview-608.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE="4"][B]Southwest Division: Mavs wear bullseye as reigning champs[/B][/SIZE] After all those years and all those attempts at climbing the mountain, it only makes sense that the Dallas Mavericks should have to wait a bit longer than normal to defend their first NBA championship in franchise history. But with a Christmas Day unwrapping of the banner and the presentation of those long-sought rings, what could make for a better celebration? How about doing it again? As the Southwest Division gears up for another growling, snarling fight, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs' breakthrough in winning it all last season has to make them top dogs at the opening tip. That is, assuming that Jason Kidd will be able to coax his 38-year-old body into going the distance through a compacted, grueling schedule and that club owner Mark Cuban finds the money to keep key free agents Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler in the mix. The San Antonio Spurs' grip on elite status may be slipping, and three-games-in-three-nights will be especially tough on the aging Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. The New Orleans Hornets will play with one eye on the basketball and the other on Chris Paul's impending free agency. The Memphis Grizzlies, assuming Marc Gasol stays in the middle, will make a case that they are finally here to stay as a playoff factor. The Houston Rockets will welcome Kevin McHale to a star-less roster that desperately needs direction and leadership. [IMG]http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-southwest-preview/dal_pm.jpg[/IMG] [B]2010-11 record:[/B] 57-25 [B]Finish:[/B] Second in Southwest Division [B]Playoffs:[/B] Won NBA Championship. Defeated Portland in Western Conference first round (4-2), defeated L.A. Lakers in Western Conference semifinals (4-0), defeated Oklahoma City in Western Conference finals (4-1), defeated Miami in NBA Finals (4-2) [B]Strengths:[/B] The Mavs are surging with balance and confidence after winning the first championship in franchise history. Nowitzki shows no signs of slowing down and even 38-year-old Kidd looks like he can keep on going in a harmonious locker room and on a roster that has many contributors and virtually no holes. The swagger that comes from winning it all will only make the Mavs tougher. [B]Challenges:[/B] The old adage is that it's even harder to stay at the top than to get there in the first place. Now the Mavs will have to deal with having the target on their backs. Their first post-lockout priorities will be to get free agents Chandler, J.J. Barea and Butler re-signed so that Chandler can continue to protect the basket and rebound and that a healthy Butler returns from a knee injury to his dependable scoring ways. Barea was a key cog in Dallas' playoff run and would only help the repeat cause. The next will be to keep them as hungry and driven when they get new deals. Eventually age will catch up to the veteran Kidd, so a youngster behind him -- Rodrigue Beaubois -- must continue to bloom. [B]Outlook: [/B]On one hand, an extended lockout would have enabled the Mavs to reign as champions longer. But this is a team that practically can't wait to get back onto the court to run and shoot and strut while wearing their crowns. Being the defending champions should finally allow Dallas to play without the burden of prior unfulfillment and it would not be a surprise to see the Mavs back in The Finals next June. [B]This could make a difference:[/B] After years of searching for the man who could anchor the middle of their lineup and allow the likes of Nowitzki and Jason Terry to do their thing, the Mavs must go to any lengths and meet any price under the new labor rules to keep Chandler guarding the paint. If Chandler leaves, they go back to being the old, soft Mavs without a backbone. [IMG]http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-southwest-preview/sas_pm.jpg[/IMG] [B]2010-11 record:[/B] 61-21 [B]Finish:[/B] First in Southwest Division [B]Playoffs: [/B]Lost to Memphis in Western Conference first round (4-2) [B]Strengths: [/B]Institutional knowledge is the term that coach Gregg Popovich likes to use. The Spurs have it in spades. The core of Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker has won more games than any other NBA team over the past decade and knows what it takes to play at a high level. Meanwhile Pop will keep the focus on the details, especially at the defensive end. The Big Three is aging, but still effective when healthy. [B]Challenges:[/B] After two seasons, it's pretty clear the Richard Jefferson experiment is a flop, but they're stuck owing him $31 million for three more seasons. It's a huge hole that has to be filled and that's where rookie Kawhi Leonard could be needed to contribute immediately. They'll also need more at both ends from Tiago Splitter in his second season. [B]Outlook:[/B] More than four years removed from their last championship (2007), the veteran Spurs (Duncan, 35; Ginobili, 34; Parker, 29) looked worn down and worn out in the stunning upset playoff loss to the Grizzlies. The Big Three still have the ability and punch to get the Spurs into the upper half of the playoff bracket, but they can no longer be expected to do it all every night. Unless the supporting cast can carry more of the weight, the elite contending days are over and the curtain falls on an era of greatness in San Antonio. [B]This could make a difference:[/B] Popovich often said no player he's coached ever made the improvement of George Hill in his first two NBA seasons. Yet the Spurs traded Hill to Indiana on draft night for the rights to Leonard. Yes, they were that desperate. At No. 15, Leonard is the highest draft pick since Duncan in 1997 and it might not be overstating the case too much to say the direction of the season is in his hands. If he can hit the corner jumper, rebound, defend and somehow force his way into the Rookie of the Year conversation, the Spurs could challenge the Mavs, Lakers and Thunder in the West again. [/QUOTE]
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