Holden, I think you are being a bit harsh. It took the Rockets several tries to get over the hump. 91 was a 1st round beating by LA. 92 we didn't make the playoffs. 93 was a tough 2nd round loss to Seattle and finally in 94 all the pieces fell together. Sacremento has been in the playoffs for several years now and have just now made it out of the 2nd round (deservedly so, I think). Heck, how many times did the Pistons beat Jordan before they finally put it all together? And then how many times did the Celtics beat the Pistons prior to that? Anyone with a sense of NBA history would realize the Mavs chances this year were very slim, despite how much talent they put together. Will they ever actually be a championship team? I don't know, but even if they don't make any changes in the offseason (which they certainly will make at least a minor change or two) that team will most likely be even better next year. Either way, they are a heck of a fun team to watch. --Drof
Dallas is about where the Kings were a couple of years ago. Remember everybody was saying that Sac could score 115 points/game but couldn't stop anybody. Well now they play pretty good team defense, but they have simply come together as a team. And Bibby for Williams was a steal!! The Mavs' team defense is poor, but will improve over the next few years by simply keeping the nucleus intact - and all their starters are pretty young. They really need Griffin or Buckner to emerge as a leader and defensive stopper a la Doug Christie. Also I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of moves to strengthen their rebounding. Dallas has come a long way in a few short years. Cuban and Nelson are nobody's fools so I look for them to get better every year. Dallas Rocket
Don't forget they also have Abdul-Wahad who was given that contract because of his defensive abilities. Denver tried to turn him into an offensive player after he signed that contract in which case they failed because he's not. But he is a very good, and athletic defender a la Doug Christie. They may not even bring back Buck or Griffen due to the amount of injuries they have suffered over the past two years. Buck is a restricted free agent too.
Sometimes especially when you look at the past, Nelson is too smart for his own good. People praise him and i do think he's a good coach, but he's made some moves in the past that didn't warrant anything good. Sometimes he tries trickery, which works in a 5 game set, but the best team always wins in 7. Why did he wait till this rd and start 4 different lineups? Also after watching LaFrentz play, I don't think the Rockets should think about signing him. Lafrentz is the classic example of how you can have a good shotblocker and still be piss poor defensively. Boston is the polar opposite which is what i try to tell Rocket fans. Good defense doesn't always means you have a eraser. Boston is also the example the Rockets should use as far as defense. If they can go from the bottom 3rd to the top 5 without adding or having a good shot blocker, why can't the Rockets?
Couldn't agree with you more. When Nellie was with Golden State he broke up run TMC by trading Richmond for no real reason. He has made his mistakes but he is also one of the best judges of talent in the NBA. I also don't understand why he stopped going to Dirk against the Kings this year in game 5. He is a little odd at times but overall a very exciting coach. As for Boston, they have come a very long way. Two years ago they had one of the worst defenses in the NBA, and are now one of the best and that's basically with the same talent. They brought in some coaches that really know what they're doing. I'm hoping Cuban can bring in a coach that can teach the Mavs how to play D. They have the players that have the potential to be good defenders they just need someone to teach them how because Del Harris is doing a pretty crappy job of right now. A guy like Olowakandi wouldn't hurt either.
Yeah right. Juwan was the worst defender on the team. He was also turnover prone. He was stripped of the ball constantly. Also, Juwan can't hit a 2 foot shot in the playoffs to save his life. I was begging for the Mavs to get rid of Juwan. The Timberwolves might have pulled off the upset if Juwan would have been here. The reason the Mavs lost the series so convincingly is NVE and Nash both had a horrendous series. They couldn't guard Bibby and neither could hit their shots.
