Since their finals appearance in 2006, the Dallas Mavericks experienced two rather disappointing seasons. Even though they finished with 67-15 and 51-31 records respectively, they did not manage to make it past round one in the post-season. This year they were subject to fierce criticism, many experts have been claiming that the time window for the aging Mavericks team might have already closed. With three of their starters being well beyond 30, it has been questioned repeatedly whether the franchise is heading towards the right direction.

However, instead of a make over owner Marc Cuban decided to sign role players such as James Singleton and Devean George as well as new coach Rick Carlisle and give the current roster another shot. With a strong finish at the end of the regular season Dallas made it their ninth consecutive 50+ win season and appeared to play much better defense than early in the season. The team is under significant pressure since the Mavs still want to see themselves as championship contenders, even if their performance throughout the 2007-08 and 2008-09 season frequently undermined such ambitions.

So now they are up against the San Antonio Spurs who won multiple championships over the past decade. Likewise, the Spurs are known for their tough defense and excellent coaching of Greg Popovich. In the past the jumpshooting Mavericks team around Dirk Nowitzki often struggled against teams who were able to contain Nowitzki and limit the amount of open looks given to the Mavs offense. Thus, the general consensus appeared to be that most likely this year’s playoff campaign would see another first round exit for the Texan team around Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki. Especially the fact that they neither were able to perform consistently on the road nor obtain home court advantage suggested that things may not go Dallas’ way once again.

However, the playoff opener in San Antonio on Saturday saw a completely different Mavericks team than for most of the regular season on the road. Playing surprisingly good defense and moving the ball well they managed to clinch a 105-97 win. Considering that Dirk Nowitzki only had 19 points and Jason Terry 13 points makes the win even more respectable as it really was a team effort instead of the usual two man show. Whether we can expect Dallas to continue playing like that remains debatable, but one thing is for sure, Dirk and the Dallas Mavericks will keep battling in the post-season to avoid another first round elimination!