It is now official that all of Texas' NBA teams have been eliminated from the playoffs. I am not surprised in the least bit due to the fact that all three were fatally flawed. If any of these teams plans on doing better next year, then major changes have to be on the horizon. Sometimes as a fan it is hard to remove yourself from a situation, and as a hater of another team is also hard to look at them objectively as well. I am a tried and true Texan to heart, but I am a die hard Dallas Mavericks fan, casual observer of the Houston Rockets, and an outright despiser of the San Antonio Spurs. With that said I will try my best to break down where each team failed this year, and need to improve upon.
Dallas Mavericks
Looking back a couple of years ago when the Mavs were in the NBA Finals, it seemed like there would be a couple more years of domination. But, ever since that collapse against the Miami Heat it has seemed as if a fog has hung over the franchise. Last years regular season crown and first round playoff exit sealed the deal for changes if something big didn't happen this year. The Mavs started slowly and due to injuries, lingered around the bottom of the Western Conference. Midway through the season while others teams traded for big men, the Dallas Mavericks opted to trade away YOUTH, and SIZE for an aging Jason Kidd. It was apparent from the beginning that the new team was having trouble meshing together thus sealing the fate for utter disappointment later. Sure enough, a first round loss to the New Orleans Hornets, who behind YOUTH, and SIZE embarrassed the listless Mavs. I wonder if Mark Cuban thought later on it would have been nice to have a fast Devin Harris on an equally quick Chris Paul. The Mavericks roster is getting up in age as far as key players are concerned. Somehow this offseason they need to figure out way to find an athletic scorer that can fill the role that Jerry Stackhouse has been playing off the bench, because it seems as if he has hit the down slope of his career. They are also in need of a quality big man due to the trade of DeSagana Diop. The horrible trade ended up costing Avery Johnson his job, and he has been since been replaced by Rick Carlisle. Carlisle will bring a new philosophy, but will it be enough to counteract the mistakes in personnel. Hindsight is always 20/20, but I doubted that trade long before it was made. The Mavs need to find a new window because theirs is closed for now.
Houston Rockets
The championship years, and memories of Houston being called “Clutch City” are long gone amidst the struggles they have had after the ’94, ’95 seasons. All things considered, the coaching situation for the Rockets has been pretty stable, only two since Rudy Tomjanovich retired, there have just not been explosive results on the court, only reaching the Western Conference Finals in 1997. The years following have been riddled with bad personnel moves (Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Brent Price), and bad contracts (Kelvin Cato, Matt Maloney, Steve Francis (twice)). Every team they have assembled since ’97 has been missing a key part whether it has been point guard play, a scoring shooting guard, or a serviceable big man. This year in their first round exit to the Utah Jazz, a team that has haunted the Rockets playoff dreams, it was evident that simply put the Rockets are just not athletic, or big enough. Although without Yao Ming due to injury, the Rockets just do not posses the athletes to play above the rim basketball needed in today’s game. Tracy McGrady is the reluctant star, more willing to defer to Yao Ming when possible, and it appears that when the weight is on his shoulders he easily folds like a lawn chair. Also, in the front court of the Rockets, it is hard to compete on a nightly basis in the NBA when you have a roster full of 6’7” power forwards. The lone bright spot was Carl Landry, amongst the group of himself, Luis Scola, and Chuck Hayes. So you might ask what do the Rockets need going forward? There are a few things that are key: one is a back-up for Yao, due to an aging and most likely retiring Dikembe Mutumbo. They will also need to find an athletic small forward, Shane Battier is definitely solid but he is not a leaper, or slasher just merely a spot up shooter on offense. And last but not least, somebody needs to tell Tracy McGrady to go see the Wizard of OZ and get a heart. I am really tired of hearing how tired he is, or what new injury he has. After 82 games everyone has something, let’s just suck it up and go play.
San Antonio Spurs
Last but not least, the Spurs, winners of 4 of the last 9 championships. No doubt they are the benchmark for success in the NBA, and model for many, but this year they showed some chinks in the armor. They breezed through the Suns in the first round, but ran into the buzz saw that is Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets that had just come off of demoralizing the Dallas Mavericks. Many people have learned to not bet against the Spurs, even as I sip on the “hater-ade” in the back of my mind I always have doubts that when the Spurs are down that they are truly out. Once again they showed their mojo, when down 3-1 to the Hornets won the last 3 to take the series. But the telling part of the series was how old the Spurs looked. It was adjustments made by the Spurs coaching staff, and just the grit shown by Tony parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and even Robert Horry dusted of his bones to hit a few shots. But let me stress that besides Tony Parker, many of the Spurs key players are on the down side of their careers, a list that includes: Michael Finley, Robert Horry, Kurt Thomas, Bruce Bowen, Bent Barry, and even though just a 2nd year player Fabricio Oberto is already 33 years old. In football, the New England Patriots have stayed on top by not keeping old players around well past their prime. But if you are to see a decline in the quality of the Spurs in the next few years it will be because they stayed loyal to the group a little to long. Although it is a refreshing gesture in today’s world of sports, it can also be a franchise killer. Only time will tell whether the Spurs will keep bringing championships back to the River Walk or if they will endure a downfall like they experienced in the 1980’s.
So for Texas to continue it’s reign of dominance over the last 11-12 years, all three of it’s NBA franchises have to make key moves this summer. All of the teams have a stable nucleus, Dallas has Dirk Nowitzki/Josh Howard, Houston has Yao Ming/Tracy McGrady, and the Spurs have Tony Parker/Tim Duncan. It is those supporting players, and periphery pieces that are what is key. I feel it is going to be an exciting summer when it comes to movement. Let’s just sit back and enjoy these NBA Finals, because it is a rebirth of the NBA again.
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