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Where do the Dallas Mavericks fit in the Western Conference picture?

The years are finally starting to catch up with Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki. (Image: Wikicommons)
Roar Guru
29th September, 2014
17

I preface this article by admitting I am a huge Dallas Mavericks fan, but don’t think I let it influence my writing.

That being the case, by any measure the Mavs are shaping as one of the most improved teams in the coming 2014/15 season, aside from that mob from Ohio.

Last season, teamwork and shrewd coaching brought the Mavs within a game of upsetting the champion San Antonio Spurs before class took over in a Game 7 blowout. The reaction to this loss was swift, with the Mavs trading starters Samuel Dalembert and Jose Calderon (plus a few players and draft picks) for Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton.

There are some nice names involved in this trade but make no mistake, while Dalembert was a guy who played a handful of decent games a year he had trouble setting his alarm clock. He was a problem child and disruptive teammate.

However Chandler is a significant upgrade at centre and the success (or otherwise) of this trade depends entirely on him.

When dialled in, he a dominant defensive player capable of shaping his teams fortune on that end of the floor. Dallas will be hoping he can recapture his form from the Mavs 2010/11 championship run.

15 July 2014 was a significant day for the Mavs, who resigned franchise player and the all-time greatest Maverick Dirk Nowitzki to a three-year, $30million contract. Despite being 36 years of age, Nowitzki remains an efficiently elite offensive player, but would want to redeem himself after a below-par series against the Spurs in last season’s playoffs.

In addition to signing Dirk, the Mavs signed free-agent Chandler Parsons on a three-year, $45million contract. A dynamic swingman from the cross-state Houston Rockets, Parsons comes with a cocky attitude and has leveraged from one outstanding NBA season. Defence has never been a priority for Parsons, a fact that is sure to change under Carlisle zone-heavy defensive structure.

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Free-agents Jameer Nelson, Al-Farouq Aminu and Richard Jefferson figure to play a role for the Mavs this season, who may well go 10 players deep and have as much offensive firepower as anyone in the league.

Dallas will start top 10 players at four of the five starting positions (Ellis, Parsons, Nowitzki and Chandler) with Jameer Nelson, Devin Harris and Felton fighting for the starting point guard spot.

While Felton could start, he could just as easily slip to third-choice point guard if he doesn’t embrace the Dallas culture. He has a history of struggling with fitness and condition, and has had his fair of off-court distractions. The Mavericks organisation won’t accept that behaviour, so Felton will be walking a fine line from the first day of training camp.

Jae Crowder, Aminu, Jefferson and Brandon Wright will come off the bench in the other positions, rounding out a top quality offensive roster. But as is the issue every year, Dallas will rely on the brilliance of Carlisle and Chandler to play the kind of defence that will enable them to progress past the first round.

The losses of Shawn Marion to Cleveland and Vince Carter to Memphis are telling blows, robbing the Mavericks of their most explosive offensive player and one of the league’s best defenders.

Marion has been as underrated a player as the NBA has known in the last decade or so, and will be a massive loss while Carter’s ability to come off the bench and change a game immediately will be sorely missed.

So having said all that, where do the Mavs sit in the Western Conference? The Spurs remain the class of the West until proven otherwise, and the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers figure to remain on the level below them. Beyond that, the fourth seed is there for the taking and I see the Mavs taking that spot ahead of the Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trailblazers.

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Agree or disagree? Let me know!

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