I agree, but talent is rarely an issue when talking about supporting casts for teams that make a playoff run (read: more than one and done). There's normally enough base talent. I think the type of talent relative to who you're building around matters.
You mentioned it yourself that the style of Lebron vs Dirk make a difference. LBJ didn't really have any shooters or a distributor either. He was expected to create his shot, his teammates shot, be everything. Dirk doesn't have to run the offense AND be the offense which is what I think held back LBJ in Cleveland. Add in the coaching and management of personnel (which Dallas has done very well IMO), and you've got the difference. I definitely agree with you that the difference in pure talent between LBJ's Cavs and this year's Mavs are negligible.
When LBJ went into distributor mode, the Cavs could still score because Mo and Jamison can do some things, but neither is a guy you'd want trying to close out an opponent either. So when he had to take back over, I think better teams could sense it and confuse/lock him up to an extent.
I think that's where LBJ's mental shortcomings come into play. I don't think he does well shifting from facilitating to taking over. He doesn't seem to have that "switch" so to speak. I sometimes think his well-rounded abilities actually hinder him in that regard...it's like he can't ever figure out what type of player he is.
As for this playoff run by the Mavs, aside from being more mature/experienced and better handled, I think some of it can also simply be attributed to a bit of luck and just being hot. Sometimes a team turns it on at the right time...not because they are more "clutch" but because things just timed out well.
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