How Does Dallas Match-Up Against the Best in the West?
In order to stay ahead of the pack, the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers signed Ron Artest. The San Antonio Spurs traded for Richard Jefferson, the Portland Trailblazers signed Andre Miller, and every other team in the West made moves in order to try to get better. Dallas has a large hill to climb in order to get to the top as the West is as tough as ever.
Dallas also re-tooled and now have a pretty salty starting 5 and bench group when healthy.
Dallas projected starting 5 this season and player analysis:
Point Guard: Jason Kidd
Savvy veteran that has great vision and passing ability. Has become quality 3-point shooter as teams pretty much refuse to cover him. Now has the horses to run with Josh Howard, Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, and Dirk Nowitzki along with Dallas' deep bench. Lacking defensively against the top point guards in the league, but who doesn't?
Shooting Guard: Josh Howard
Ankle and wrist injuries will keep him sidelined to start the season. Quality player but "shot hunts" sometimes and holds the ball too long. Needs to become more like Shawn Marion and accept role as defensive specialist and slasher. Good defensive player, but not great.
Small Forward: Shawn Marion
Has been exceptional in the preseason, doing everything Dallas has asked of him. Will cover other team's top scorer night-in night-out. Extremely awkward shot but still goes in most of the time, has not shot a lot in the preseason.
Power Forward: Dirk Nowitzki
Top power forward in basketball, in my opinion. Extremely careful with the ball as his low turnover totals have shown throughout his career even though he has the ball in his hands very often. Not a stalwart defensively, but he tries which makes him at least an average defender. Becoming a better passer, but that area of his game still needs work. Will score less this season because of the addition of Marion.
Center: Drew Gooden
Erick Dampier will also start at center some of the time, but Gooden will take the majority of starts. Gooden is much more athletic than Dampier, and is much more comfortable at the offensive end. Sometimes gives great effort at the defensive end, but other times lackadaisical. Will be major upgrade over Damp.
The Bench:
6th Man: Jason Terry
Terry has become Mr. Mav, so to speak. Incredible fan favorite and dominated the 4th quarter last year. Good 3-point shooter, great driving to the basket but does not do that much. Average to poor ball handler which makes him not great as a backup-point guard. Poor defender. Best 6th man in the league, would start on almost every other team in the NBA.
Backup Point Guard: J.J. Barea
Really a very small shooting guard. Clutch shooter, one of only Mavs last year that went to the basket consistently. Despite size can get to the basket regular and has innate ability to finish despite much taller defenders. Tries at the defensive end, and athletic enough to stay in front of some players. Will not get nearly as much playing time when Josh Howard comes back.
Backup Center: Erick Dampier
Damp has caught a-lot of flak from Mavs fans since he signed with Dallas, but he has played near or at his career averages since he has been here. Contract year but I wouldn't expect him to average a double-double as he did the last go round. Good low-post defender because of his strength but not quick enough to guard face-up centers. Terrible hands, no offensive game to speak of. Overall a quality backup and part-time starter.
Specialists/ Energy Guys: Quinton Ross, Nick Humphries, James Singleton, Matt Carroll, Tim Thomas, Rodrigue Beaubois
I assume Ross will start in J-Ho's absence and he his a long-athletic defender, but not much of an offensive game. Much tougher than he looks.
Humphries will be a energy-defensive guy who plays as a change-up or when the other big guys get in foul trouble. Finisher at the basket, and hard-nosed defender.
Beaubois has a lot of talent but too many guys who play his position in front of him. May play more later in the season.
Carroll is a 3-point specialist that doesn't really have a spot in the rotation once Tim Thomas gets back from injury. Has played better this preseason than his dreadful first year as a Mav.
Tim Thomas will play occasionally when he gets back from injury. 3-point specialist and "fake tough" guy. Likes to blow little kisses.
Singleton played a good amount last year and is a good energy player, but Dallas got more talented in the off-season so he is now a the end of the bench.
The first two weeks of the season are going to be difficult for the Mavs. Between opening night (Oct 27) and Nov 11, Dallas plays home games against Washington and Utah and roadies in Los Angeles, in New Orleans and in San Antonio. This 8-game stretch includes three sets of back-to-back games and will be a big part in determining how Dallas will do this season. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that Dallas is still uncertain when Josh Howard will play this season. It is a possibility that J-Ho could miss all eight of these games.
Even without Josh Howard, I feel the Mavericks will play well during this stretch and come out of it with a winning record. Overall this season, I believe that Dallas' record will be in the top 3 or 4 in the Western Conference all season long. Dallas will win at least 55 games this year if not push 60 like they have in years past. This is a prediction based on a healthy line-up, Howard included.
After a strong regular season I think Dallas can also make some serious noise in the playoffs. A possible Western Conference Finals meeting with the Lakers is not out of the question with the firepower this Mavericks team possesses.
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