There are two schools of thought when it comes to NBA teams having a long layover between playoff series. On the one hand, it can allow players to rest, get rehab on nagging injuries, and it can allow coaches to work through issues from previous series. On the other hand, it can also cause a team to lose the edge they had to win the previous series. Tonight we’ll find out which of those scenarios holds true for the Dallas Mavericks, who swept the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and then sat back and waited as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies duked it out through tight games, overtimes, and ultimately seven contests to determine who would meet them in the Western Conference Finals.

For a less veteran team, having a week off after blowing out the defending champs might be a problem. Young teams have a tendency to underestimate their situation, perhaps even develop a false sense of security. For a team like the Mavericks, however, time off is more likely to be a benefit. Aging veterans like Jason Kidd and Peja Stojakovic, in particular, are likely to be better off for having a week to get treatment and work out the kinks with team trainers. Even Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, who aren’t exactly old, but are certainly nearing the end of their respective primes, will likely be refreshed and ready for renewed postseason intensity as a result of a brief hiatus.

"I think the big thing is we feel good," says Kidd. "We would have liked to have started on Sunday. The rest that we have is over with, we’ve got to start playing basketball."

"We got a lot of extra work in after practice," adds Terry. "During practice it was live, it was competitive. We welcome a different opponent now because we’ve beaten up on each other for the last week."

Meanwhile, the Thunder will barely have had time to catch their breath before launching right into the Western Conference Finals, and that’s probably a good thing for them. A young team shouldn’t be allowed to start thinking about what they’ve accomplished, nor should they have too much time to think about the daunting task that lies ahead. Better for them to just keep fighting night after night, perhaps achieving their ultimate goal before they realize they’re not supposed to be ready to be champions just yet. The Thunder haven’t had time to get overconfident, but they also haven’t had time to psych themselves out before the big ride.

There are plenty of intrigues as we anticipate the start of the Western Conference Finals in Dallas tonight, from how the teams will approach defending each other’s superstars to how the OKC supporting cast will keep up with the impressive depth of the Mavericks. So far youth has been served in the 2011 NBA playoffs, as the only perennial contender still standing is Dallas. Will the Thunder complete the clean sweep, or will the Mavs hold back  the hands of time for another year?

Of all of the great storylines that are sure to define this series, the time off for Dallas is likely to be little more than a footnote. This Mavericks team is out to prove they are permanently rid of the "soft" label, and they’re very likely to come out of the gates swinging.

Frank Gets Second Interview

The Houston Rockets continue to close in on their next head coach, spending a good part of the day on Monday with Boston Celtics assistant coach Lawrence Frank. This was the second interview for Frank, who is widely believed to be a finalist for the opening, though the Rockets are not commenting publicly on their process. Sources close to the situation told HOOPSWORLD recently that the belief that a decision is imminent is being "overstated," but it does seem to be down to Frank, Dallas Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey and former Minnesota Timberwolves GM and head coach Kevin McHale.

Admittedly, none of these candidates is going to inspire ticket sales or Red Rowdy optimism in Houston, least of all McHale, who was part of the Boston Celtics team that defeated the Rockets in the 1986 NBA Finals. McHale would really prefer a front office job, but as none seem to be presenting themselves he’s apparently willing to settle for another coaching gig.

Lawrence Frank joined Doc Rivers’ staff in Boston when Tom Thibodeau left to take the head coaching job with the Chicago Bulls. Frank spent a little over six seasons with the New Jersey Nets, a stint that ended when the Nets start the 2009-10 campaign with an 0-16 record. That’s after he started his head coaching career by winning his first 13 games upon relieving Byron Scott as the Nets’ head man.  The Nets made the playoffs in four of Frank’s six seasons with the team, though they never made it out of the second round.

Dwane Casey may be the best choice of the group, though more because of his experience as an assistant than as a head coach. He had the dubious honor of trying to make something of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the wake of the Kevin Garnett trade, something a long list of head coaches have been struggling to do for years. The Timberwolves, with their mess of a roster, were 20-20 and in the playoff picture when Casey was fired, and went 12-30 the rest of the season under Randy Wittman. As much as his time in Minnesota may seem like a failure on the surface, Casey’s ability to make something decent out of a mess of a roster should give him a leg up in the Houston job search. Maybe . . .just maybe . . .Casey could make something out of Hasheem Thabeet, in whom the Rockets have invested a roster spot for next season. Perhaps he could make something out of the rest of Houston’s mix-and-match lineup, as well.

Again, none of these names will get the fan base excited, not when there were early rumors of Mike Brown or Stan Van Gundy possibly coming to town. Still, these are not bad candidates, and with the right roster upgrades any of them stand a decent chance of getting Houston back into the playoffs.

Could Nowitzki Retire?

The last few years have been a roller coaster for Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki. He’s gone from NBA Finalist to MVP of a team that was embarrassed in postseason play, he’s had an unprecedented run of regular season success, accompanied by an equally disappointing run of postseason mediocrity. Now, with his team headed into the Western Conference Finals and again sniffing a shot at a championship, would he consider retiring in he got the ring?

“I might, I might not. It really depends on just how I feel and if it’s fun and if I still love to compete," Nowitzki said on The Ben And Skin Show recently. That’s the main thing, sometimes when you retire, people miss the competitiveness, they miss the camaraderie in the locker room. We just have to wait and see.”

The likelihood that Nowitzki decides it’s not fun after winning a title? Anyone who’s been following the Mavericks during Nowitzki’s career knows how unlikely that is. He even admitted it moments later, in talking about the perception that the championship window is closing for Dallas.

“It is a little overblown to me. I’ve never really looked at the window. Everything that I’ve looked at was, hey, this is a new year, a new opportunity. Last year is out of the window and now we’re going to go for it. And whatever happens this year, next year’s going to be the same. I signed on for four years.”

There’s been a lot of talk lately that Nowitzki, who is averaging 26.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in the postseason, is in some way playing better than he has in the past, that some evolution has taken place in his game. Dirk doesn’t agree with that assessment, and quickly points out (in a non-egotistical way) just how great he was during that 2006 Finals run.

“I actually don’t think so. We had an amazing run in ’06 to go to the Finals. Obviously we came up short, which is a huge disappointment, but just to get there I think me and the team played some of our best basketball. To get by the San Antonio series, playing seven games on a high level and winning on the road in a tough environment. Then I had 50 against Phoenix in a huge Game 5 here that we had to come back and win. I still think that was my best year right there in the playoffs.”

{AUTHOR_BOX}Former Mavericks head coach Don Nelson recently said he thinks Nowitzki is better now than he’s been in the past; that he’s a better leader and better defender than in previous years. Nowitzki thinks that’s something that has come with experience.

“I think it’s all about experience. On the offensive end, it’s knowing how to get a shot off, how to get to your spots, how to shoot over your defender and get to the foul line. On the defensive end, like I said, it’s great to know that you have Tyson [Chandler], who is very active. You can be a little more aggressive on post D or pick-and-roll coverage. Leadership-wise, I still pick my spots. I’m still not the most comfortable guy getting up there and holding like a 15-minute speech.”

Ultimately, as in years past, leadership for the Mavericks is a group project.

"I think we’re kind of doing it by committee," says Nowitzki. "Jason Kidd is a Hall of Fame point guard, has been to two Finals and has been a leader for a long time. The thing about us is we’re more lead-by-example kind of guys. We go out there and play every night, don’t take possessions off, and that’s how we lead.”

At the end of the day, as with all NBA players, Nowitzki’s game has been a work in progress. He started by working on ways to turn his weaknesses into strengths, and just kept working from there.

“I think it’s all kind of melted together. We always worked on the high release because we all saw that I wasn’t the most athletic guy in the gym. That helps me now, to this day, when a smaller defender is on me. If I get to a spot to 15 or 16 feet where I’m comfortable shooting with a high release, that I can get my shot off, basically on anybody. Here in the league, Nelly giving me all the confidence and then Avery adding to my repertoire, putting me on the block more. I think it’s all, just over the last 10 or 11 years, a process of working and then bringing some talent. If I was some stiff with no hands, it would’ve been tough.”

As we’ve all seen, Dirk Nowitzki is anything but a stiff with no hands. He’s the best international player to ever grace the NBA hardwoods and he’s one of the toughest players in the league to guard because of his versatility. It’s a crime that the Mavericks had only been able to get him to the Finals once, but that’s something they’re on pace to correct this year.

Listen to Dirk Nowitzki on The Ben and Skin Show by linking here!

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