More of the roundtable: Season a success? | Biggest surprise | Biggest disappointment | Season in a word
7. In five years, what part of this season are we going to best remember?
Tim Cato (@tim_cato): Not to blindly repeat my answer for best game of the season, but I've got to think we'll see that Vince Carter game winner here and there for the next five years. Certainly, it's not as popular as it would have been if the Mavericks pulled off the upset, but it's still one of the very best shots in Mavericks playoff series (falling behind Dirk's and-1 in 2006 against the Spurs Game 7, his game winning layup in Game 2 and probably a few more Dirk shots scattered throughout the postseason).
Alan Smithee (@SmitheeMMB): The methodical climb of Dirk on the all time scoring list, and the huge names he passed almost every other week. Pretty much anything about Mavericks basketball in the last decade and a half will be remembered as it relates to Dirk.
Andrew Tobolowsky (@andytobo): I don't know, I think these post-2011 seasons will all kind of blend together, but best case scenario we'll remember it as the one where the core of Dirk, Monta, Caldy, and Wright got their feet wet together and got ready to make the Mavs matter in the NBA again, for however long Dirk's still kicking.
Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace): The offense. Last year's Mavericks were capable of scoring outbursts, but by mid-season the team was so easy to predict it became a grind to watch them. This year's squad was capable of 120 points on literally any night. If anything, I wish the coaching staff gave up on defense earlier, because watching teams try to defend Jose, Monta, Carter, Dirk, or Wright on a given possession could be hilarious. They could just score at will.
Doyle Rader (@TheKobeBeef): Vince Cater’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Game 3. That is YouTube gold.
Bailey Roger (@BRogers789): The playoff series. It was SO GOOD. But I think Dirk breaking into the top 10 all-time scorers will be forever remembered as well.
Josh Bowe (@Boweman55): I'll probably always remember the Monta-Dirk connection and how well it worked offensively. The Mavs never had a guy who could score 30 as easily as Monta would at times and while Monta was never the guy to make Dirk the Mavs second-best player, he masqueraded as it at enough times in the season that it made it pretty memorable to watch.