Nowitzki Last Lone Star to Win It All

There will never be a championship team like the 2011 Mavericks, a team with a lone superstar putting the team on his back. Maybe another 2004 Pistons team of 4 (basically 5 if you include Tayshaun Prince) all stars, but a lone superstar? Never again. And we can thank the Miami Heat for that. We have entered the era of super teams, teams with three legitimate all stars, two being top ten/fifteen players. Think Heat, Thunder, and potentially the Lakers and Knicks. Teams like the Pacers and Nuggets, while they have created a young nucleus of potential all stars, none of those stars seem destined to be a top ten player that will put them over the top. Paul George maybe? But that's a stretch. These young teams are interesting though, let's look at the Nuggets. Ty Lawson, Danillo Galinari, Andre Iguodola, Kenneth Faried, Javale McGee, Andre Miller, and Wilson Chandler are all proven players in this league and all can make an all star team (except Miller). If they get the chance to trade three of those for a stud like a Kevin Love or DeMarcus Cousins, they should do it in a heart beat. In this league you need to stay young, stay flexible, and stay talented. Obviously, the Thunder are the perfect team to model after, who modeled themselves after the Spurs, they have young talent, two superstars, and a maybe all star in Serge Ibaka. The thing about the Thunder that will hurt them for a long time is not having an seven foot presence with an arsenal of post moves. That's the only way a team will be able to beat the Heat, like Indiana or LA, because that's what they lack. The Heat are going to be the best team for the next 10 years assuming nothing changes, so a contending NBA team has to have that low post presence, specifically a seven footer, who can tear it up on both ends of the court. The Lakers have the pieces a team needs to beat the Heat, an active point guard, two seven foot monsters, with Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant being two of the best perimeter defensive players in the league. Indiana could get lucky in a seven game series if Roy Hibbert goes off on them. I can see teams like New York, Brooklyn, and Atlanta challenging the Heat but I just can't see Lebron losing to them. The Hest have designed themselves as the best team in the league but also with weaknesses that can be broken down. A super team, which is pretty much the only team that could match up against Miami in a playoff series, would need to have all stars at point guard and center (think LA and SA) with a third superstar that can turn it on and close out games. The 2011 Mavs definitely caught fire at the right time and that is another uneasy necessity a team must put itself in coming into the playoffs. For example, the 2011 Spurs destroyed every team in the league, having the best record with a new look faster paced Spurs, but seemed like they tired themselves out in the playoffs against the gigantic, banging tandem of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, two stars who can with it all with the right superstar leading them. Unless Rudy Gay can take it to the next level, I think the Grizzlies should consider trading him for a James Harden like player, or get rid of Mike Conley for a young stud with tons of upside.