|
I hope you guys don't mind me posting here (I'm a Pacers fan), but this is my take on the Mavs:
I think firing Avery Johnson was the right move, because I've always found his coaching style to be suspect. Granted this doesn't solve all of the team's problems, but Avery certainly didn't help things this year. Everybody knows that the Kidd trade was a bad one for the Mavs. However, I believe that it could be made up for. While Kidd has lost his status as a top 5 PG, he is still capable of running a team.
I think the biggest problem this year was team chemistry issues. The team brought in too many new players in February, which created a lot of uncertain roles, and didrupting team chemistry. Also, I believe the team's defense softened up a bit after the trade. Harris, Diop, and Hassell were very good defensive players who the Mavs certainly could have used against the Hornets. Everybody talks about how the Mavs miss Devin Harris, but I'm here to tell you, Diop is the guy they miss the most. His absense leaves the Mavs without a true frontcourt defensive presence to compliment Dirk, because Dampier is a step slow, and Bass is a bit undersized. The good news: Diop is is free agent this summer, so the Mavs could and should attempt to bring him back.
Devean George and Antoine Wright are two similar players. Both are decent perimeter defender who won't score too much. The Mavs can keep on of them, but the other one needs to go, as well as some of the other dead wood on the bench (Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, Jamaal Magloire).
Also, Brandon Bass is a stud. He is going to have a big year next year and will turn Dampier into Rick Carlisle's new Scot Pollard. In other words, he'll turn Dampier into a 10-minute-a-night stiff.
-Just my thoughts.
|
