 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CENTERS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
 |
Dallas Mavericks Cuban shells out big bucks to keep Mavs competitive
By Marty Burns, CNNSI.com They were the NBA's Cinderella team a year ago. First they shocked the league by making the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Then they overcame a 2-0 deficit to stun the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs. Now the Mavericks hope to take the next step to a Midwest Division title. That's why owner Mark Cuban shelled out big bucks in the offseason to re-sign Michael Finley and Shawn Bradley, ensuring they would rejoin Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Juwan Howard in one of the NBA's best starting units.
To strengthen the bench, Cuban also acquired veteran point guard Tim Hardaway (Heat), swingman Adrian Griffin (Celtics), forward Danny Manning (Jazz) and center Evan Eschmeyer (Nets). The Mavs are probably still a year away from serious title contention, but fans in Big D have reason to be optimistic. Dallas must still learn how to play better team defense and keep opponents off the boards. In addition, it won't be able to sneak up on foes anymore. But with the experience gained in its two playoff series last season, as well as the added bench depth, the Mavs figure to be filling up new American Airlines arena deep into the month of May. Standout stat: 8 Games the Mavericks lost in the regular season after acquiring Juwan Howard at the February trading deadline. They went 19-8 after Feb. 23.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
