New Kids on the Block

The Nash-less Mavs try to hang tough and build a winning team from scratch

A A A Comments By John Gonzalez Thursday, Oct 28 2004

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"That's always been the knock on Dirk," says one NBA Western Conference scout. "He's a special talent. He's one of the best players in the league. But the people that I talk to wonder when he's going to realize that and make the jump to the next level. [Kevin Garnett] was like that, but he made the jump last year. Dirk has it in him to carry a team the way K.G. did, but he still has to show the willingness."

Like it or not, that's probably where they are right now: casting their lot with Nowitzki. Because they tried the "deep-team-with-lots-of-stars" thing last year, and it didn't work out so well. The chief lesson learned last season wasn't so much that you can't have a squad packed with name-brand talent; it was that you have to have one guy whose name appears on the marquee above all the others--and the others have to accept that fact. You have to have one guy who demands more attention than all the others--and the others have to accept that, too. You have to have an undisputed leader. Either Nowitzki assumes that role and demands more from himself and, by extension, his teammates, or the Mavs will likely re-create last season.

Steve Satterwhite

Devin Harris

Steve Satterwhite

Erick Dampier is tall. And big. Just what Nellie ordered. (Except for the fact that he's not Shaq.)

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"I think last year we put a lot of pieces together, and everyone was saying that because we got this guy or that guy that we would rise to the top," Finley says. "I think as a team we read into that a little bit, and we got too comfortable. Now, with the new guys coming in, hopefully they want to prove that they want to win. And with the guys who are returning, we know that it doesn't matter what you have on paper. We still have to go out there and play. People are underestimating us now. With us as the underdog, I like that. I wouldn't change it. I hope we stay the underdog all year long."