2009-10 NBA Preview: Dallas Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks

2008-09 Record: 50-32

Anticipated Starting Five

PG- Jason Kidd
SG- Josh Howard
SF- Shawn Marion
PF- Dirk Nowitzki
C-  Erick Dampier

Key Reserves:  Jason Terry, Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas, Jose Juan Barea, Quinton Ross, Rodrigue Beaubois

Biggest Strength: Solid veteran players

Kidd, Dirk, Terry, Marion, Gooden, Thomas, Howard.

You don’t have to worry about this team getting rattled and they can handle pressure situations no problem with Dirk as their go-to guy.  This is a team that could really be a pest in the playoffs.  They easily handled the Ginobili-less Spurs squad in the first round easily.  Then got out-worked and out-talented against the Nuggets.  With the addition of Marion, Gooden and to Thomas they might be in position to compete deeper into the playoffs.

Biggest Weakness: Three-point shooting and lack of easy baskets

Last season Jason Kidd was the Mavs best three point shooter at 40%.  That was a career high for him and was a necessity because teams were leaving him wide open when they went to double Dirk.  They adding Marion who isn’t a perimeter shooting threat at small forward.  They have Matt Carroll but I have no idea where he fits into their plans or if he will even be a regular rotation player.  Terry is a mid-range shooter and below average three point shooter.

As a team they were 25th in the NBA in three point shooting % yet they took the 8th most.  That doesn’t exactly make a lot of sense.  On top of that they got shots around the rim less than any team in the NBA which confirmed my thought that the Mavericks live and die with mid-range jumpers from Dirk, Howard, Terry and pray to God Jason Kidd can make open threes.  They need to find away to get more easy baskets.

Key Player: Jason Kidd

Kidd will be 36 going into the season and turns 37 in March.  He is the only reliable point guard and passer on the roster (I consider Terry a shooter/scorer).  If he falls off a cliff in terms of his production, durability and defense the Mavs will fall off a cliff in the West.

Biggest Question: Will Mark Cuban ever get a title?

He’s a whole lot of crazy, but you can’t argue Mark Cuban’s passion for his team and I think the majority of fans would love to have him in their corner. He spares no expense, both on acquiring players, and making the players he has comfortable. He truly cares about the outcome of the games (sometimes too much) and he is more like a fan than other owners. I personally would like to see him win a championship because of his genuine passion. But it certainly seems like that window passed when D-Wade free-throwed his way to the 2006 title. Once this group of old guys leave, he will have to start from scratch and we all know how long that can take.

Best Individual Season of All-Time: Dirk Nowitzki, 2005-06

26.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.4 3PM/G

I love Dirk. After Iverson and Jameer, he is my favorite NBA player. Like Iverson, he is a truly unique player. He’s the only player in NBA history to amass 19,000 points, 7,000 rebounds, 2,000 assists and 1,000 3-pointers for his career, and I didn’t even have to include his 850 blocks and 770 steals. And how is this for a stat – he’s hit 1,080 3-pointers in his career as a true 7-footer. According to basketball-reference.com, 196 other 7-footers have played in an NBA game, and they have combined for 1,238 3-pointers made, a number Nowitzki will pass all by himself in the next couple years. 2005-06 was Dirk’s best year – he won the MVP and led the Mavs to the finals, but couldn’t finish off Wade and the Heat.

Pete’s 2010 Outlook: 2nd  place, Southwest division /  4th  place, Western conference /  7th place, NBA

The Mavs probably only have a couple years before they start trending towards mediocrity, but I don’t think that will start this year. As always, they have a solid starting 5, and in the Mavs tradition of Antawn Jamison, Jerry Stackhouse, Eddie Jones, Keith Van Horn, Nick Van Exel, Tim Hardaway and Antoine Walker, they have a former star coming off the bench in Shawn Marion. I believe they will be improved, due to improved depth, over the team that smacked the Spurs out of the first round 4-1 last year. Keep an eye on Rodrigue Beaubois, who showed tremendous athleticism in the summer league while scoring 17 ppg on 48% shooting from the PG position.

Dannie’s 2010 Outlook: 2nd place, Southwest division /   5th place, Western conference / 9th place, NBA

This team is always around, always in the mix.  But in my opinion their window already closed.  In fact they deliberately closed it when they traded away Devin Harris.  Their shot at title was wasted when they blew a series lead to the Heat and they won’t get another chance with the core players they have now.  And considering they will continue to be competitive they will be hard pressed to get another young talent like Harris any time soon.  They mortgaged their future when in reality they weren’t fully equipped to compete with an increasingly tough top of the West.

Adding Marion and Gooden is great but I don’t think it’s going to be good enough.

See all 2010 NBA team previews

September 28, 2009