DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - If anyone knows how to win an NBA championship without multiple stars, it's Dirk Nowitzki.
Nearly 11 years after the Mavs won their first and only Larry O'Brien Trophy, the organization is in a similar position to the one Nowitzki found himself in during the 2011 NBA Finals and throughout his 21 seasons in Dallas.
There are some parallels between the championship team, who won the title after slaying Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol's Lakers, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden's Thunder, and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh's Heat, and the current Mavs roster.
Dallas has its' superstar in Luka Doncic, and he's surrounded by role players, much like Dirk was. However, some of the players surrounding Dirk in 2011 were former All-Stars but had transitioned into role players by that stage of their careers (Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion).
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Doncic is in the early stages of his career, and so are several of his teammates but he's reached superstardom at an earlier age, and the expectations for success are greater than they ever were for Nowitzki in his fourth season in the league.
But does Nowitzki believe Doncic needs another superstar alongside him to help him reach the Finals?
"It kind of depends. You always want as many superstars on the team as you can get, but that also sometimes doesn't work out, as you see with numerous examples. I'm not going to name teams, but when there's some superstars, and they're a little sensitive, they got all their egos, they need touches and points, that always doesn't work out. So, if the egos clash, then it's better to have one alpha dog and have every role defined like we had in 2011 and like this team now has, and everyone else playing right up to their level, and even raise their level and do their job to their best.
"I think that's the case that we have obviously now with Luka having the ball in his hands a lot. But it helps to have Jalen (Brunson). Spencer (Dinwiddie) has been great. And (they) take some pressure off Luka to make plays all the time, and they can make plays off the dribble or when he's off the court. Everyone else is rotating, they're athletic, we can defend right now. ... And on offense, just find a play. Have Luka, Jalen or Spencer create and everybody else plays off them," Nowitzki said on Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan.
The Mavs thought they had Luka's sidekick in Kristaps Porzingis, but first-year general manager Nico Harrison and owner Mark Cuban came to the decision that the partnership wasn't working and a change needed to be made. And so, Dallas moved the big-man to Washington in a trade that brought Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans to Dallas.
Since the trade, the Mavs are 17-7 and have climbed into the No. 4 spot in the west, and are looking to wrap up home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs over the final three games of the season.
Doncic will get his third opportunity to get into the second round of the playoffs after losing to Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Clippers in the first round in back-to-back seasons, when the playoffs tip off on April 16. How the Mavs perform will go a long way to deciding which direction Harrison and Cuban go in the offseason.
"It's a fun team, I'm not going to say we're a championship-caliber team, but we'll see what happens if we can stay healthy," Nowitzki said. "It hurts that Tim (Hardaway) went down with his broken foot. He's still a big part (of the team) and a big shot maker. … But if you look at the west, it's going to be tough whoever you face. There's some tough competition. Even in the first round, you can have a killer matchup."
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