By Michael Dugat
FOXSportsSouthwest.com and DallasBasketball.com
Jan. 1, 2011
Over the course of the Mavs' 19 home games, the chance to engage multiple representatives from teams around the league has presented itself. This has carried with it the opportunities to find assessments focused on our local team, the Dallas Mavericks, conceived of outside the local orbit, those without what some would label a hometown bias.
Based on those conversations, here are some opinions based on the general consensus of those assessments (and these are simply opinions). Some fall directly in line with what one would expect, while others may offer a small amount of surprise.
1. Doubts in the Team Remain.
Some may have noticed the three teams listed by Dwayne Wade after a near loss to Washington almost two weeks ago, when he compared the Heat's execution down the stretch to what the other winning teams have been able to accomplish. In order, he referenced the Celtics, Lakers and Spurs.
No mention of the Mavericks, despite the fact that they held the third best record in the NBA and had already beaten the Heat once at that time.
This wasn't likely a submission to the limits of the allotted time, or an accidental omission (though that is possible). Rather, it falls in line with an "I'll believe it when I see it" philosophy a few professional basketball minds have expressed in regards to the Mavs. Meaning, when the current success is duplicated in the playoffs, their belief will follow
