Dallas Mavericks prepared for anyone in a quest to clinch their first NBA championship title
After sweeping the two times defending champions Los Angeles Lakers in a record-setting fashion, the streaking Dallas Mavericks are rearing to challenge any team that stands between them and their drive to the first ever NBA championship title.
For the first time since 2006, the Mavericks will compete either Oklahoma City Thunder or Memphis Grizzlies for the Western Conference title. Although Memphis and Thunder cannot match Dallas’ collective experience, however both the teams pose challenges, which are entirely different in nature to what the Mavs faced from the Portland Trailblazers and Lakers in the first two rounds. The rosters on both the teams are dynamic and energetic which is the essence for any championship contender side at this stage of the season. What these teams do not have is the experience of surviving the most jittery stage of them all – the finals.
Maverick’s veteran coach Rick Carlisle said after finishing the practice, “In many ways all that stuff is out of the window when you get to this point. Whatever teams gets to the third round will have won two series to get to this point. They will be a in a groove and they will have a lot of confidence, so at this point I don’t believe those teams will be thinking about how inexperienced they are. They’re going to keep playing.”
Mavericks coaching staff doesn’t needs to worry about players motivation level as well. All they need to do at the moment is to divert their attention on what the line-up does best. In addition to the valuable practice time Dallas has earned after inflicting the sweep, the team is also keeping a close eye on the Oklahoma City and Grizzlies’ matchup.
Tyson Chandlers, the Mavs big man said, “I watch every game, do as much scouting as I can. You can scout both teams, but you don’t know which team you’ll be playing so you kind of just key into the game and watch how Memphis rolls, how Oklahoma City runs things. I guess we’ll see [Friday night] maybe where you’re going to land.”
Presently, OKC is leading the semi-final series 3-2. If the Grizzlies can manage to extend the series to game 7, the first game of the Conference finals will be played on Tuesday at the American Airlines Centre. This will not only give the Mavs some additional rest time but also add to the fatigue of their opponents. On the other hand, a Grizzlies defeat in the game 6 will start the best-of-seven series of the Western Conference finals from Sunday.
Although San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, who were considered as the toughest contenders, are no more part of the upcoming showdowns, Carlisle still believes that this series is still far from over. The Grizzlies has shown great commitment throughout whereas Oklahoma City carries the best shooter in the league. However, fuelled up with the determination to put the ring on the figure, the Dallas Mavericks are ready to crush anything in their way.
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