It played out as if it were planned by the Grinch. The Miami Heat tore into Dallas on Christmas Day and made off with everything they could get their hands on at American Airlines Center. While the Mavericks slept through the opening of the NBA season, LeBron James took 37 points and still had plenty of time to get a glass of water for Cindy Lou Who.
But just like in Whoville, while the Heat were perched aloft searching for signs of anguish and sadness, Christmas still came to Dallas. It came just the same.
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Because the one thing James and Dwyane Wade couldn’t take with them — even if they had prevented the banner from being raised — was the 2011 NBA championship that the Mavericks won at their expense six months ago.
The euphoria in North Texas isn’t for a dynasty but for a year that everyone, Dallas owner Mark Cuban included, knows can’t be duplicated. What better time for the asterisk of a shortened season to let the Heat and the Chicago Bulls beat each other silly and allow Oklahoma City to fret over how to pay for its talent while Cuban calmly regroups and prepares for the next looming free agent tempest in the summer of 2012.
Dallas does have the Fragile Three — Vince Carter, Delonte West and Lamar Odom — and Cuban isn’t immune to overspending at times (see: Haywood, Brendan), but 7-footers always get their money.
It would have compounded the problem to do the same on any combination of Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea and Caron Butler when the market didn’t demand it and when Texas native Deron Williams and Dwight Howard soon could be available.
Winning makes Dallas as attractive as any city in the NBA, and with Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd, the Mavericks still have enough to get to the playoffs. By that time, at least Odom and West should be more comfortable.
The Mavericks certainly looked a bit old and a bit slow in their season opener, but they’re wise enough to pick their battles, and it won’t be long before Cuban inevitably opens his checkbook again.
Even if there wasn’t exactly the gift of a victory on Christmas Day, there aren’t good reasons for Dallas fans to stop smiling or believing.
– Craig Stouffer
