Dallas Mavericks defense is still intact - NBA Update
Last season, rock solid defense played a major role in the mammoth success of the reigning champions Dallas Mavericks and helped them in winning the NBA title.
The departure of the elite defender, Tyson Chandler, who signed a contract with New York Knicks on December 9th, 2011, at the start of this shortened season, was therefore a major setback for the team.
However, surprisingly, Tyson’s departure has not affected the team at all and in fact they are displaying even a better defense than the last season.
Midway through the condensed season, the Mavs stand out as one of the best defensive teams in the league and the top Western Conference’s team as well.
So what is the reason for all this?
According to team owner Mark Cuban, the depth in the team has kept the team’s defense intact. Although Tyson is gone, but the Mavs still have their offense intact in the form of Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Jason Kidd, and these
three guys are helping the defense, by displaying excellent attack.
"I really had no idea what to expect and you still really don't know how things are going to play out, "Cuban said. "We've had to really depend on our defense, so it's changed us some. So I think that's where our depth has really
helped us, because can keep on bringing competent bodies that really know how to play and are willing to defend."
Because of the NBA lockout, which led to a delayed NBA start, limiting the regular season games to only 66 games, the teams did not get any chance to practice much and therefore, the Mavericks also did not get much time to practice
and hence to polish their defense much, however according to the coach Rick Carlisle, the team’s defensive strategy never changed one bit.
"We sell it. We sell it," Carlisle said. "We haven't had the time to really spend a lot of time on our offense. We play a lot of basic concepts. ... Our emphasis is the defensive end, because we feel our flow game offense is good
enough to where we can create shots. But that doesn't happen if we don't get the stops."
Dallas have had a mixed season so far, however nothing has changed about their defense and team’s like these have ability to bounce back anytime. Their sturdy defense is going to play a major role if they go on to win their second
consecutive championship.
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