Dallas Mavericks
2010-2011 Record- 57-25, 2nd place Southwest Division
Playoffs- Defeated Portland 4-2, LA Lakers 4-0
Starting 5 (Regular/Playoffs)
PG- Jason Kidd (7.9 PPG/8.2 APG/4.4 RPG; 10.1/7.2/4.2)
SG- Deshawn Stevenson (5.3 PPG/1.1 APG/1.5 RPG; 3.2/1.0/0.7)
SF- Shawn Marion (12.5 PPG/1.4 APG/6.9 RPG; 9.7/2.3/6.4)
PF- Dirk Nowitzki (23.0 PPG/2.6 APG/7.0 RPG; 26.5/2.8/8.4)
C- Tyson Chandler (10.1 PPG/1.1 BPG/9.4 RPG; 6.9/0.7/8.7)
Bench
Peja Stojakovic (20:12/8.6 PPG/0.9 APG/2.6 RPG; 24:18/10.7/0.2/2.1)
Jason Terry (31:18/15.8 PPG/4.1 APG/1.9 RPG; 32:18/18.3/3.8/2.0)
Brendan Haywood (18:30/4.4 PPG/0.3 APG/5.2 RPG; 17:30/2.6/0.3/5.4)
JJ Barea (20:36/9.5 PPG/3.9 APG/2.0 RPG; 17:48/7.7/3.7/1.2)
Key Injuries- none
Coach- Rick Carlisle, 3rd year with team, 162-82 in regular season, 15-11 in playoffs..Has taken the Mavericks to playoffs in all three years, but the first time he has taken the team to the conference finals. It is the first appearance in the NBA's final 4 since 2004 when he led the Pacers to the conference finals, the year after he took the Detroit Pistons to the conference finals. He has done an outstanding job with Dallas, with the team improving in wins every season, with this year including a 57-win regular season, and has gone 8-2 in the playoffs.
Team Overview- Much better up front, with the starting veteran center in Tyson Chandler, who has averaged 7 points and 9 boards in the playoffs, and Shawn Marion, who has averaged 6 boards. They have the Haywood and Stojakovic coming off the bench. They also have Dirk, who has been one of the best players in the playoffs, averaging 26.5 points per game. In the backcourt, they have the veteran Jason Kidd and JJ Barea at the point, and SG Jason Terry coming off the bench, averaging 18.3 PPG in the playoffs.
Oklahoma City Thunder
2010-2011 Record- 55-27, Northwest Division Champions
Playoffs- Defeated Denver 4-1, Memphis 4-3
Starting 5 (Regular/Playoffs)
PG- Russell Westbrook (21.9 PPG/8.2 APG/4.6 RPG; 23.9/7.0/5.6)
SG- Thabo Sefolosha (5.1 PPG/1.4 APG/4.4 RPG; 4.4/0.8/3.1)
SF- Kevin Durant (27.7 PPG/2.7 APG/6.8 RPG; 28.9/2.3/7.7)
PF- Serge Ibaka (9.9 PPG/0.3 APG/7.6 RPG; 9.6/0.3/7.7)
C- Kendrick Perkins (5.1 PPG/0.9 BPG/7.9 RPG; 4.7/0.5/6.5)
Bench
Nazr Mohammad (17:54/6.9 PPG/0.3 APG/4.8 RPG; 11:48/2.7/0.0/2.4)
Nick Collison (21:30/4.6 PPG/1.0 APG/4.5 RPG; 23:06/5.9/0.6/5.1)
Eric Maynor (14:36/4.2 PPG/2.9 APG/1.5 RPG; 12:48/5.2/2.5/1.3)
James Harden (26:42/12.2 PPG/2.1 APG/3.1 RPG; 31:18/12.4/3.7/5.1)
Key Injuries- none
Coach- Scott Brooks, 3rd year with team, 127-106 regular season, 10-8 in playoffs..Brooks has grown with this unit that features Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, Sefolosha, and Ibaka. After a tough first year, he's led the Thunder to two 50-win seasons, and has been very good in the playoffs, taking the eventual NBA champion Lakers to game 6 last year, then this year beating Denver in 5 and winning an intense 7 game series with Memphis.
Team Overview- A young and upcoming team, they have one of the game's best point guards in Russell Westbrook, and the 2-time defending scoring champion in Kevin Durant. They are an all-around very good team, with one of the game's best defenders in Sefolosha, a jack-of-all-trades point guard in Russell Westbrook, who is coming off a triple-double in game 7 against Memphis, Durant is one of the game's best scorers if not the best scorer in the game. Ibaka and Harden are up-and-coming players, Perkins is a lunch-pail type of player, who's physical paint game made him an integral part of the great Celtics teams of the past few years, and a second unit that is very good.
Team Comparisons
Experience- The Dallas Mavericks last went to the finals in 2006, losing to the Miami Heat. They currently have just two players from that team (Nowitzki, Terry). That number must be taken for a grain of salt, however, as this team boasts a number of veteran players, 10 of which have been in the league 8 or more years. One of those players, Jason Kidd, led two New Jersey Nets teams to the NBA finals earlier in the last decade. Meanwhile, the Thunder do have experience, with the most of the players being on the team in the last two seasons, which featured a deep playoff series with eventual Finals Champion LA Lakers last season, then this year with a 7 game playoff series with Memphis, while Mohammad won a ring in 2005 with San Antonio. Midseason acquisition Kendrick Perkins has played in 2 of the last 3 NBA finals with Boston. Advantage: Dallas
Front Court- The Thunder used the trade deadline to upgrade at the center position, picking up Nazr Mohammad and Kendrick Perkins. They also have who I feel is one of the most up-and-coming power forwards in Serge Ibaka. The Mavs have Tyson Chandler, a defensive player of the year candidate, at center, being backed up by Brendan Haywood. The Dallas front court made the Lakers duo of Gasol and Bynum, winner of the last two NBA Finals, look like rookies. Advantage: Dallas
Backcourt: Russell Westbrook is turning into a Chris Paul type of point guard, a guy who can score, work the offense, and play great defense, averaging 24 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds per game in the playoffs thus far. The Thunder then have a unique shooting guard combo of Sefolosha, a great defender, and James Harden, a great shooter. The Mavericks have a good point combo of Kidd, who has played in the finals twice, and JJ Barea, who had a very good second round versus LA. They then have Jason Terry coming off the bench, the second-leading scorer on the team behind Dirk. Advantage: Oklahoma City
Offense- The Mavs have Dirk; the Thunder have Durant. The Thunder can also get good offensive production from Westbrook (24 PPG in playoffs), while Ibaka and Harden are capable of putting up about 15-20 points any given night as well. Meanwhile the Mavs really only can get decent points from Terry.
Defense- Dallas has a good defense (96 points allowed per game in regular season), but is an old defense with guys in their 30s, on a long layoff after sweeping LA. The Thunder has improved as the season went on, especially following the big deadline deals. Advantage: Even
Series Prediction: Oklahoma City in 6
*By the way I never did an Eastern preview, but I think it will be Chicago in 7
Western Conference Finals
Game 1- Tuesday @ 9 @ Dallas
Game 2- Thursday @ 9 @ Dallas
Game 3- Saturday @ 9 @ OKC
Game 4- May 23rd @ 9 @ OKC
Game 5- May 25th @ 9 @ Dallas (if neccessary)
Game 6- May 27th @ 9 @ OKC (if neccessary)
Game 7- May 29th @ 9 @ Dallas (if neccessary)
Eastern Conference Finals (Chicago leads 1-0)
Game 1- Chicago 103, Miami 82
Game 2- Wednesday @ 8:30 @ Chicago
Game 3- Sunday @ 8:30 @ Miami
Game 4- May 24th @ 8:30 @ Miami
Game 5- May 26th @ 8:30 @ Chicago (if neccessary)
Game 6- May 28th @ 8:30 @ Miami (if neccessary)
Game 7- May 30th @ 8:30 @ Chicago (if neccessary)
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