Tuesday, December 20, 2011

2011-2012 NBA Preview #4: Dallas Mavericks

This will be the first of the Western Conference, which my friend, Ryan, has generally picked up... any "editor's notes" will be from me... Thanks again, Ryan... let's get it going

Roster Breakdown (Starters in Bold)
  • PG - Jason Kidd, Delonte West, Rodrique Beaubois (Ed: Roddy Buckets!)
  • SG - Vince Carter, Jason Terry, Dominique Jones
  • SF - Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom
  • PF - Dirk Nowitzki, Brandan Wright, Brian Cardinal
  • C - Brendan Haywood, Ian Mahinmi, Sean Williams

General Thoughts

Remember these guys?... They were the team that beat the Miami Heat last year.... Yeah, seemed like forever but it did happen and they are the reigning champs. Cuban didn't want to overpay for his free agent to keep flexibility for next summer so thanks for the times Chandler (4yr $60 mil from NY), Butler(3yr $24 mil from Clips), and Barea(4yr $19 mil from Minny). But they brought in some other vets who can play such as Delonte West, Vince Carter and Lamar Odom. There wasn't exactly a center among these vets and I think that is where the weakness is. They still have Haywood and Frenchman Ian Mahinmi....but......yeah neither were/are Chandler. Filling that need will be tough but Carlisle will be able to play spotted zones here and there with Nowitzki at the 5 and Odom or Marion at the 4... and my obligatory Vince Carter bias... ahem... he'll fill in the the void left by Caron Butler taking long jumpers, not getting to the line, playing average defense at best, and being nicked up all year with nagging injuries... I hope he's motivated.

X-Factor

I think that Lamar Odom and Vince Carter are the X-Factors here. Since 2006, Carter's scoring average has dropped every year (Last year being 14 ppg). Maybe in this situation having next to no pressure on him and having maybe some open looks can get a little bit of his mojo back. Lamar Odom didn't really want to be there (He wanted to be back in LA but under different circumstances) so he's been a little whiny the last few weeks. Hopefully its just offseason talk and doesn't carry onto the court because he's one of the best all around players in the league. Pairing him and Dirk on the court together presents the biggest conundrum ever... who matches up with them? (Ed: They need Jason Kidd to be Jason Kidd as well, and at age 106, this isn't a given anymore)

Predicted Finish

1st in the West

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