Dallas Mavericks have a lot of hurdles to overcome for the Championship repeat – NBA Special Report (Part-1)
The road to the NBA Championship is never easy.
Ask Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and the bevy of veterans who constituted the Dallas Mavericks side, which overcame all odds and took down the mighty Miami Heat in the NBA Finals last season.
However, even after winning the NBA title, there are very few analysts who are tipping the Mavs to repeat the feat in the next season, whenever it starts. There are numerous reason to believe that and some of the are listed as
under:
The ‘Age’ Factor
When the Mavericks enetered the NBA Finals this year, most people believed that this would be their last shot at the NBA glory. The reason was that the Mavericks are one of the oldest teams in the league. Players like Dirk Nowitzki,
Jason Terry, Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd who form the very foundation on which the franchise is built, are well into their 30’s, with Jason Kidd at 38.
Judging by the way, the Mavs played in the Finals, it is safe to say that they also had this fact at the back of their mind.
Now, when they have achieved the holy grail of NBA, it is rather optimistic to expect these veterans to deliver again with the same intensity. The Mavericks already have had a deep run into the playoffs this season. If we suppose
that they again reach the later stages of the playoffs next season, achieving the championship will be nothing short of a miracle for the aged team.
Lockout and the hard salary Cap
Earlier in the article, when I mentioned the 2011-12 season, I staple a phrase ‘whenever it starts’ with it. This is fact, that will be playing on the mind of every Dallas faithful at the moment. For a team that is fuelled by its
veterans, a cancelled NBA season will mean that they all grow a year older and with it, their ability to repeat last season’s heroics will also take a hit.
Secondly, with the owners apparently united in their stance over the terms of the new Collective Bargaining agreement or CBA, there is a huge possibility that the salary cap of each team will be reduced significantly. In other
words, the franchise will enforce a hard salary cap.
The situation does not bode well at all for the Mavs, who have six players on the free market this summer. These players include the likes of Jose Juan Barea, Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler, who are all integral
part of the roster setup. The players have indicated that they want to stay at the franchise, but with the NBA Championship under their belt, their stakes have risen in the free agency and one thing is for sure - they won’t be coming in cheap.
This all surmounts to the fact that the Mavs will have let of some of the players, who were crucial in guiding them to the championship.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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