Mavericks on the Brink of Elimination, Change

On Monday night, when the Dallas Mavericks take the floor to play the Denver Nuggets in Game Four at the American Airlines Center, they will be playing to avoid the sweep, to preserve some semblance of pride and to, perhaps, make a case for their being a Maverick when camp breaks next fall.
 
Unfortunately though, they won't be playing for anything more.
 
Dallas is in a 3-0 hole to the Nuggets, a deficit that no team in history has overcome. They are 0-7 against Denver this season.
 
One of the most promising statistics that Dallas had going for them going into the playoffs was their 15-1 record at home after the All-Star break. What wasn't nearly so talked about was the fact that that one loss came aginst these Denver Nuggets; one of four losses Dallas suffered at their hands over 2008-2009.
 
Despite what could be called a blown call at the end of Game Three, Denver has controlled the series throughout. A gaffe by referee Mark Wunderlic has only muddied the fact that Dallas has been beaten soundly for the majority of the series, and particularly in the second half. At this point, with Houston and Los Angeles tied at two games a piece, Denver is looking more and more like a favorite not to merely go to the conference finals, but to win the west.
 
That said, Dallas will, in all likelihood, do just about anything they can to stave off an embarrassing elimination and subsequent Nuggets celebration on the American Airlines Center hardwood. "We had enough of that with Miami,'' said Jason Terry. But, sad as it may be, Dallas looks to be headed for an early vacation regardless.
 
Whether or not Dallas can delay what seems to be inevitable is ultimately irrelevant. It would take more than a miracle for Denver to collapse in such a monumental fashion over a span of four games, leaving the Mavericks to play for little more than pride.
 
Usually when watching such games, we're told to look at the team moving forward, and ponder what the future holds. However, this may just as well be a crapshoot as far as Dallas is concerned. The Mavericks will, in all likelihood, be an entirely different beast in 2009-2010, than they are now. Changes will be made; just what changes, no one seems quite sure.
 
Brandon Bass and Jason Kidd are both free agents after the year, and it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that very few Mavericks will be 'off the table' come the offseason.
 
This means that, if you're in the house for Game Four tonight, you may not only witness the end of a season; you may be witnessing the end of an era.