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| Mike Stone/Reuters |
Founder
The Dallas Mavericks proved everyone wrong last season when they won the NBA Finals. They had the odds against them since the first round.
Now they plan on doing the same this season as they enter as the seventh seed.
For owner Mark Cuban, he thinks the Western Conference will be wide-open this season for the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
"Like I've said all year long, the regular season means next to nothing," he told ESPN Dallas. "Every single team, even the Spurs for a period there when they go through a tough part of their schedule, struggle. ... There was nobody that was overly impressive. So we'll see what happens."
Though the Mavericks have lost 30 games already, the same amount last season in a longer, 82-game schedule; they plan on making a run as they still have their main core of players that helped lift them over the Miami Heat last summer.
"We've got veterans and we've gone this way in the playoffs," Cuban said. "Our guys are strong-willed, strong-minded. You don't last in the league as long as Dirk, J-Kidd, Trix [Marion], Vince. You don't last as long as those guys and have the success that they've had without being strong-minded."
The Mavericks will play the Oklahoma City Thunder to start off the first round. Last time they met them in the playoffs was during the Western Conference Finals, in which Dallas ultimately ended up winning in six games.
"I still like where we're at now," forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "We still can be a dangerous team. It's what we talked about all season: get in the playoffs. We just got to let it all rip and see what happens this weekend."
I agree with Cuban, the West is more wide-open this season. It's anyone's game.
However, I do think it will be a little bit tougher despite the improvement of Rodrigue Beaubois and the additions of Vince Carter and Delonte West. I mean, they did lose Deshawn Stevenson, Caron Butler, J.J. Barea, and Tyson Chandler; all who were such a big part of their championship run.
I guess we'll see how it goes for them.
