2002-2003 Dallas Mavericks Playoff Run

Dirk should have won his first championship in 2003. This team was built perfectly for Don Nelson's style of play. The top players on this team were Dirk, Michael Finley, Steve Nash, and Nick Van Exel. Up until his injury Dirk was averaging 25 points and 11.5 rebounds in the playoffs, Finley averaged 18 points and 6 rebounds, Steve Nash averaged 16 points 7 assists, and Van Exel averaged 19 points 4 assists. The Big Three of Nash, Finley, and Nowitzki had been a force in past years but never enough to get over the hump. The addition of Van Exel at the trade deadline the year before really helped take some of the pressure off the stars. Van Exel was not afraid of the spotlight as he stepped up to knock down countless big shots for this team.

Other than Nowitzki, Van Exel was a huge difference maker for this team. At the end of games when the Mavericks could put the Big Three on the floor with Van Exel and Raef Lafrentz teams really had to respect the shot from everyone on the court. It was a luxury that no Mavericks team had before or after. Not to mention that four of those five players were at their best when the pressure was on. Any of the big three plus Van Exel were capable of carrying the Mavericks to a victory.

In addition to the stars playing extremely well led by Dirk, the role players on the team were extremely valuable. Walt Williams provided great shooting off the bench. Raef Lafrentz was able to stretch the floor at the Center position and give Dallas scoring that Shawn Bradley hadn't been able to provide in the past. Shawn Bradley blocked some shots and grabbed a few rebounds. Eduardo Najera was high energy and hustle off the bench. Adrian Griffin and Raja Bell provided solid perimeter defense.

Dallas lost Nowitzki in the 4th quarter of game 3 of the Western Conference Finals vs San Antonio to a knee injury and he would not play for the remainder of the series. They dropped game three and game 4 as they tried to adjust to life without Nowitzki. In game 5 with their backs against the wall Dallas was able to win 103-91 on the road.  Michael Finley led the team with 31 points and Van Exel had 21. The Mavericks had hope that the longer the series went on the better chance Nowitzki could make a return. Playing game 6 at home and hoping for a Nowitzki return in game 7 just wasn't enough as the Mavericks fell 90-78. Van Exel led the Mavericks with 19 points. Dallas also got 17 points from Walt Williams. San Antonio went on to win the championship vs New Jersey in 6 games.

This Mavericks team was so talented offensively, and was good enough defensively to beat anyone. They beat Portland in round 1, knocked off the Kings in the semifinals, and with a healthy Dirk Nowitzki they would have had enough to beat the Spurs and then New Jersey Nets. Overall I believe this was the best Mavericks team of all time.

2003 Dallas Mavericks Playoff Roster

9	Tariq Abdul-Wahad
11	Raja Bell
44	Shawn Bradley
42	Evan Eschmeyer
4	Michael Finley
7	Adrian Griffin
45	Raef LaFrentz
14	Eduardo Najera
13	Steve Nash
41	Dirk Nowitzki
31	Nick Van Exel
43	Walt Williams