2009-10 Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks have overcome some major obstacles in their time in the NBA but when the 36-21 Mavericks met the 43-14 LA Lakers in Dallas and took out the defending NBA Champions 101-96. Now normally games in the middle of the season have little consequence during the playoffs but this game was special. "They were more aggressive, especially in the second half," said Lakers forward Pau Gasol. "We couldn't get control of the game."
This is the look of the new Dallas Mavericks. Gone this season are Guard Gregg Buckner and Center Jake Voskuhl. Tim Thomas and Drew Gooden signed on with the Mavericks this season and in early January, the team traded Kris Humphries and Shane Williams for Eduardo Najera. In February 2010, the Mavericks traded Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.
Previous Seasons
When the 2008-09 Dallas Mavericks entered the NBA Playoffs, they knew that they had enough to take out the San Antonio Spurs but little else. After taking out the Spurs in five games, the Mavericks were upset by Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets four games to one.
Contending just won’t cut it for Dallas Mavericks ticket holders this season. With All-Stars Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd, there’s simply just too much talent roaming around the court at the American Airlines Arena not to make a run at an NBA Championship. If Nowitzki and company can make it happen, it would be a franchise first and a dream come true for enthusiastic owner Mark Cuban.
Dallas entered the NBA with an expansion team in 1980. The Dallas Mavericks got off to a rough start when their top pick refused to sign and was traded away. The team struggled in its first season, posting a 15-67 record but by their second season some signs of life began to emerge. That second season the mavericks were very young, featuring three key players in their first professional season. Jay Vincent, Mark, Aguirre, and Rolando Blackman took some time to jell, but by the end of the season the Mavericks were fairly competitive and finished with an improvement over the previous season of 13 wins to finish 28-54. The uphill trek continued slowly in 1982-83 as the Mavericks added another 10 wins to that total.
Dallas started things rolling early in the 1983-84 campaign and carried it through the season to finish at 43-39, the first winning season in franchise history, and earned a playoff berth with a 2nd place ranking in the Midwest Division, another franchise first. For a franchise entering its first post-season play, the Mavericks did well, knocking off the Seattle Supersonics in the first round before being eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. The momentum carried over to the 1984-85 season as Dallas continued to improve on its regular season record but in the playoffs the Mavericks failed to get past the first round.
