
Watching the Mavericks, everything seems to come down to one question: Will their role players make enough 3's to make up for the fact that they are a top heavy team lacking in stylistic diversity or flexibility?

James Harden has long been the cosmos itself; what will it look like for him to be just another individual residing in a world he cannot fully shape?

James Harden finally looked like a man whose experience has enriched him, rather than ran him ragged, and gave everyone with the fear of being too washed up something to model themselves after.

Memphis seems destined to figure heavily in the future either way, but the grizzled three-time champions are not prepared to concede the present after spending the past couple of seasons licking wounds and rebuilding around their core.