As with all things, change is inevitable and this year’s NBA playoffs proved to be no different. This year’s NBA Playoffs showed a changing of the elite within the NBA, with the younger players coming into their own and the player’s fans becoming accustomed to watching their domination which became merely shells of who they used to be. Being able to contribute not as much but accepting roles as the younger generation takes the reins.
The Dallas Mavericks were able to take advantage of the transitioning stage this year, winning their first NBA championship. The Mavericks average age per player was 31.09, which by no means was young, but the crafty ability of their veterans Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, and Jason Terry, as well as an extremely deep bench were able to overcome the three-headed monster known as the Miami Heat whose average age was 28.8.
Regardless of the outcome of the NBA Finals, the playoffs as a whole were a testament to the change taking place in the NBA.
The 2011 Finals were the first NBA Finals since 1998 to not include Kobe Bryant (seven Finals appearances), Tim Duncan (three Finals appearances), or Shaquille O’Neal (five Finals Appearances). In fact, at the conclusion of the second round of the playoffs, none of these three titans of the past decade remained in contention as Tim Duncan’s Spurs were beat in the first round by the eight-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, the legendary Los Angeles Lakers (led by Kobe Bryant) were swept by the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics (featuring Shaquille O’Neal) were defeated by the Miami Heat in five games. Out of the three aforementioned players, only Kobe Bryant continues to put up great numbers, as age and injuries have had the best of Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal (who retired at the end of the season).
The leaders in the major stat categories of the playoffs showed the domination of the younger talent as well. In points, four of the top five points per game scorers (Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, and Carmelo Anthony) have only been in the league since 2003. The same ratio remained in the category of assists per game, with Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, and Andre Igoudala. Dwight Howard led the playoffs in both field goal percentage and rebounds per game, while Serge Ibaka led the playoffs in blocked shots per game. Furthermore, in regards to two-stat dominance, three of the five players with the most double-doubles in the playoffs (LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Derrick Rose) have only been in the league since 2003 at the earliest.
The regular season awards for the best player in a given category are given during the post season, highlighting who indeed is the elite in the NBA. 2011 MVP Derrick Rose, 2009 and 2010 MVP LeBron James, 2010 and 2011 Scoring Champion Kevin Durant, and 2009, 2010, and 2011 Defensive Player of the year Dwight Howard were all members of the All-NBA First team this season. In addition, all the aforementioned players were drafted either in 2003 or later and are all under 26 years of age. The future looks bright for the NBA, with more years of dominance expected from these players, as well as many others. That is, when this lockout situation ends.
