Dallas Mavericks - season preview

[Karma]

POINT GUARDS

Jason Terry / Devin Harris / Darrell Armstrong

SHOOTING GUARD

Jerry Stackhouse / Doug Christie / Marquis Daniels

SMALL FORWARDS

Josh Howard / Josh Powell / Tariq Abdul-Wahad​

POWER FORWARDS

Dirk Nowitzki / Keith Van Horn

CENTERS

Eric Dampier / DJ Mbenga / Pavel Podkolzin / Desagana Diop​

Other Players : Rawle Marshall (SG/SF)
2004/05 : 58-24, 2nd Southwest, Western Conference No. 4 Seed
Key Additions : Doug Christie
Coach : Avery Johnson

Strengths : Dallas Mavericks continue to be a slick offensive unit. Led by superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks will always try and beat you from the offensive end of the court. Outside of Nowitzki's phenominal inside/outside game, they have the talents of Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse at the guard spots, and the super athlete Josh Howard at small forward. Keith Van Horn give Dallas a solid shooter from the bench, and new signing Doug Christie will try and and solidify Dallas's defense. 2nd year point guard Devin Harris should be improved from his rookie season, and the Mavs will hope for more from talented big Eric Dampier.

Weaknesses : The main reason Dallas have been knocked out of the playoffs reasonably early year after year has been their leaky defense. Perimeter player Doug Christie has been brought in to assist in this area, but even his ageing body will not overly help, particulary with Michael Finley departing. Dallas do lack another consistent post scorer outside of Nowitzki. Dampier's game is erratic, and their backup bigs are either scared of the paint (Van Horn) or have averaged more fouls then points (Mbenga, Pavel, Diop). Finding minutes for their swingman, Stackhouse, Daniels, Christie and Howard will prove a headache for Coach Johnson.

Key Player : Once again forward Dirk Nowitzki will have the weight of expectation thrown on his shoulders. With his long time running mates Nash and now Finley departed, Dirk will have to find a new way of getting this team to the next level. Dirk's offense and rebounding have been outstanding the past few seasons, and it might come down to a little more work on defense that proves the difference maker. However he needs support, which inst always forthcoming from the remaining roster players.

Overview : This is basically the same squad from last season's campaign with the swapping of Christie for Finley. Lumbering center Shawn Bradley has retired and has been replaced by an inferior player in Diop. With the roster if anything being weaker, Coach Johnson has to look within to find improvement. He has exciting young guns in Howard, Daniels and Harris to look to for an uptempo lift for the squad, and possibly center Dampier playin closer to his contract value. This team will remain dangerous, however dont seem to be on the same level as conference rivals San Antonio and Phoenix. Look for a similar record and unfortunately another early playoff exit.

Win Range : 54 - 59 wins

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

With the addition of Lasagna, they should win it all. :chuckles:

They sure are an old team, compared to what we've been seeing so far...

 

[highplainsdrifter]

Dallas is loaded as always, and will be tough to beat. Yes they will have a hard time advancing against the best of the West. Dirk is da man, but im still not convinced he can carry a team deep in the playoffs. I really like Avery Johnson, we'll see what he can do with a full season as head coach.

 

[TruBuckeye22]

i like that Dallas had the guts to make the changes they have over the last few years. it was obvious that the Nash, Findlay, and Dirk trio had reached their limits and the franchise decided to go in another direction when some may have been afraid to upset fans. they still have Dirk who is young enough to be a star for years to come as their center piece and have young and improving players in Daniels and Howard to build around. they still have to fill in some holes to be the best in the Texas, muchless the league but i think they made the right choice.