Dirk's Dozen

Dirk Nowitski is definitely hungry after losing 4 straight games in last season's finals to the Miami Heat. Right now his team is the hottest in the NBA riding a 12 game win streak into tonight's game vs. the Washington Wizards. While I don't expect the Mavs to win 20 straight (it would be cool to see), they can most likely make it again to this year's finals.

Now the MAVS have some imaginably tough games coming up. Washington and New Jersey are not pushover teams and both should make the Eastern conference playoffs (if it means much this year). The Mavs will then have Denver and Detroit, a scoring powerhouse and a defensive juggernaut, to contend with. If the MAVS escape these with a 4-0 record, I would definitely say they should be ranked #1 in the league.


The Dallas Mavs need several things to happen to re-enter the NBA Finals and win:

1-San Antonio must falter. I hate to say it, but I'm not sure that if Dallas gets San Antonio again that they could put them away like last year. San Antonio is a team of very talented, very experienced playoff vets with rings on their fingers. I always used to pick Dirk over Duncan in a fantasy league, Dirk can just do more. But when it comes down to it the Spurs have that experience.

2-Josh Howard needs to continue playing at the level he is right now. Josh Howard has really stepped his game up lately and that really compliments Dirk and Jason Terry. I was watching some of the Mavs-Kings the other night and the Mavs were really pushing the ball up the floor, almost in a Phoenix Suns like style. Its refreshing to see that kinda basketball, and I think Dallas can do it well.

3-Mark Cuban must do what he said. Mark Cuban said he's going to put more of his efforts into marketing and helping his team vs marketing/helping the NBA as a product. I think that's great. He's been great for the game in his efforts and interactions with the league and fans. But he can also cause a distraction for his team. If he does as he says this year, that should allow the Mavs to play their best basketball, unbothered by antics.

4-Avery Johnson must "elevate" his coaching and make appropriate changes. The first thing I noticed last year when the Mavs Heat finals began, was coaching. Riley is a savvy, experienced and very smart basketball coach who has coached thru a few eras and several titles. Avery Johnson has not. If the Heat fail to make the finals again, and the Mavs make it, there arent' many coaches in the East who have a ton of experience (Eddie Jordan has most tenure). Avery really didn't have an answer for D-Wade last year, he just exploded against the Mavs.

5-No injuries, the obvious. This is usually the #1 killer of most teams momentum or hopes. Exceptions are the Phoenix Suns, so hopefully the Mavs will be healthy for this season and especially when it counts.

You might recall the episode of Punk'd a few seasons ago. Dirk Nowitski was approached by a young boy while at a restaurant. The boy continued to bring all sorts of memorabilia to Dirk's table for him to sign. Dirk willingly signed all sorts of items, from jerseys to Lakers' hats, and he did it as the nice guy, but soon began to show his frustration. This year Dirk's frustration will be no joke for opposing teams. Congrats to the Mavs for this great win streak, may they continue on this great path!