Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban declares the Western Conference an open battlefield – NBA Update
There are no clear favourites to clinch the Western Conference title this season, believes Mark Cuban, the savvy owner of the defending NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks.
Dismissing the notion that the San Antonio Spurs are the hands down favourite to reach the NBA finals this season, Cuban insisted that the playoffs are a different ball game altogether;
"Like I've said all year long, the regular season means next to nothing," He said Thursday. "Every single team, even the Spurs for a period there when they go through a tough part of their schedule, struggle. ... There was nobody
that was overly impressive. So we'll see what happens."
While the Eastern Conference has been top heavy as usual, with Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat dominating the rest, the Western Conference has been unpredictable.
The season started with the Oklahoma City Thunder making a strong start and the other elites following. In that span, teams like Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves also made strong run, but as the second half
started, the veteran teams started to take over.
The Spurs were ruthless after the All-Star break and deep into the season, they finally displaced the Thunder as the top team in the West. The Lakers also turned a few heads with a strong finish and so did the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Mavericks however never played like a champion team and were at one time in danger of being knocked out of the playoffs contention. They ultimately finished the regular season at the seventh spot in the West and will start
their playoff campaign against Thunder, with the game-1 of the first round series on Saturday.
Part of the Mavericks slump was due to the departure of players like Tyson Chandler and DeShawn Stevenson, but the major uncertainty arose due to Lamar Odom, who just refused to settle down with the team. The fact that Dirk Nowitzki
found his groove late also played a huge part in the 36-30 record.
However Cuban still believes that his team has got enough resources to repeat the championship feat this season;
"We've got veterans and we've gone this way in the playoffs," Cuban said. "Our guys are strong-willed, strong-minded. You don't last in the league as long as Dirk, J-Kidd, Trix [Marion], Vince. You don't last as long as those guys
and have the success that they've had without being strong-minded."
The Mavs certainly do have the resources to make a strong challenge and it’s true that post season is different from the regular season. However, they might just have brought too much of a baggage into the playoffs.
Their low seed has exposed them very early to the likes of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and the defending champions are sure to have some tough games.
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