western conference finals: game one goes to dallas mavericks

The Mavericks are really looking like the favorites to me. The Thunders' bench is decent. In the East, Chicago's bench is great and Miami's bench is a complementary piece of the puzzle if one of the big two (sorry, Bosh, but I can't count you here), Wade or James, is on the floor. Starters for Starters, the Mavericks look like a second-rate team. Chandler? That old man Jason Kidd? Mr. Pillow-Soft zee German!? It doesn't seem conceivable that the Mavs could be on such a roll. But then you look at their bench and it's, well, no less than amazing. Most great teams have bench players whose talents contribute to keep the momentum alive and to keep the gameplay equal until the starters come back. If bench players could take a game over and consistently win, they wouldn't be bench players. They'd be in a starting rotation. Dallas is able to shatter this rule. They do no operate with the regular game engine that we know of. They have an extra gear in their automobile - an entire new scheme that's two-times faster than any competition can keep up with. When Barea comes out and goes into the high pick-and-roll, the Mavericks completely transform identities. With Kidd, they're measured, play through Dirk, feed into the post, move the ball to find the open man. When Barea's in, they play high out at the post, spread the floor, move the defense, create confusion, blow by any and every defender, and ultimately create more open shots for knock-down shooters and create penetration against any bigs in the league. As long as their defense can hold up, which is going to be a big question until it isn't, their offense is the best in the playoffs right now. If Durant's 40 can't even get the Thunder close, I'm not sure what Rose/Boozer or James/Wade would do either. Not to even mention that the Thunders' bigs, with Ibaka and Perkins, are way better than anything the East offers. Dallas will pick them apart at the end of quarters and in the 4th. I don't want to call them unstoppable, but they're definitely the favorites in my view.