October 8, 2009 11:08 am  |  17 Comments

30 Teams, 30 Days

Dallas Mavericks Season Preview.

The Dallas Mavericks kick-off our Southwest Division previews. You can read past previews here.Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki & Jason Terry

by Nima Zarrabi

The longhair is back to full length, folks. This time, a headband is necessary.

When Dirk Nowitzki showed up at Mavs training camp this year, owner Mark Cuban raved about his tan and “summer beach look”, featuring bleach blonde hair strewn all across his dome and down to his shoulders. Dirk being Dirk, he proudly described it.

And when it comes to the Mavs, it starts and ends with Dirk.

Much has been written about Dirk’s off-court drama at the end of last season, but looking back, how much did any of those distractions really impact his play? Dallas beat San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs and while coming up short against the Nuggets in round two, Nowitzki dropped 36 points and 16 rebounds per game during the series.
What became clear was the fact that the Mavs needed some retooling. Cuban and team president Donnie Nelson didn’t waste any time, adding several players this off-season in order to help improve the Mavs athleticism and depth.

Newcomers Quinton Ross, Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas and Shawn Marion join a veteran core of players with a good amount of playoff experience. Dallas’ starting five will likely consist of Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Erick Dampier, Nowitzki and Marion. Sixth man of the year Jason Terry leads the bench corps, along with Gooden, Ross, J.J. Barea, Kris Humphries, James Singleton, Thomas (status uncertain after knee surgery in late September) and Matt Carroll.

The Mavs depth allows coach Rick Carlisle some unique lineups should he choose to get freaky. He can slide Dirk to center and insert Terry for Dampier for the true gunner lineup. Carlisle may prefer to interchange Gooden for Dampier for rebounding purposes or even play them together. Several unique options will be available should the Mavs stay healthy. Dallas is hoping Howard is back to full health after missing 30 games last season with wrist and ankle ailments. Carlisle dubbed Howard’s off-season surgery as a minor ankle reconstruction and believes he is a critical component to their success, meaning he will likely hold him out of the entire exhibition season as a precaution. The Mavs plan to interchange Howard and Marion at the two and three positions, likely making things a bit easier on the offensive end for Dirk. Nowitzki spent the summer away from the German National basketball team for the first time in his career, reportedly going nine weeks this off-season away from the game. The Mavs are hoping the rest will pay dividends when the playoffs roll around. Early reports indicate that the 36-year-old Kidd is in great shape and it will be interesting to see him reconnect with Marion, his former teammate in Phoenix. Marion is hoping to get back to his high flying days in Phoenix, after disappointing stops in Miami and Toronto. Kidd has a very capable backup in Barea, who appears to be recovered from off-season shoulder surgery. Terry, who had a life changing visit to china this off-season, is coming off one of his best statistical seasons, dropping 19.6 points per game. As always, he will be counted on for his instant offense off the bench.

After finishing 50-32 in his first year as Mavs coach, Carlisle is hoping the Mavs can improve their defense, rebounding and three-point shooting. He has made defense a focal part of the Mavs training camp, convinced the team cannot depend on its high octane offense to win consistently in the west.

Much will be made of the Mavs aging veterans this season, but I expect the off-season additions and a rejuvenated Nowitzki and Kidd to improve on last season’s record. I predict the Mavs will win over 50 games and be in the hunt for the No. 2 seed in the west behind the favorite, the Los Angeles Lakers.

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  • Ken Posted: Oct.8 at 11:14 am
    I see them in the second round of playoffs, but I have a feeling they won’t make WCF. Lakers and Spurs and even Nuggets should be better than them. Losing Bass is gonna hurt.

  • Tzvi Twersky Posted: Oct.8 at 11:22 am
    “Beach body” usually means toned, defined, slim, looking good basically. Usually doesn’t refer to hair, Mark Cuban.

  • Vic De Zen Posted: Oct.8 at 11:28 am
    “He has made defense a focal part of the Mavs training camp, convinced the team cannot depend on its high octane offense to win consistently in the west.” I’ll believe this when I see it. They’re going to need a defensive emphasis considering the physical play of Denver and the powerhouse LA Lakers.

  • onlyclipfanonslam Posted: Oct.8 at 11:57 am
    Man does this team have firepower. HUGE upgrade with Matrix. Don’t sleep on Q Ross one of the better defensive stoppers in the NBA. The only bad thing they did, sign Tim Thomas

  • larrylegend Posted: Oct.8 at 12:42 pm
    darksaber where are u?

  • Darksaber Posted: Oct.8 at 12:57 pm
    Ask and you shall receive, larrylegend: The Saber is in the hizouse! Haven’t been on Slamonline in ages, missed it…then again, the Top 50 isn’t really that appealing to me anymore, and i’m busy traveling allover Asia lately. As for Carlisle choosing to “get freaky” (let’s hope the wives and girlfriends—WAG’s– don’t protest too much when he’s molesting the players, eh?). Mavs did a lot of tinkering, and let go one of the key players for them: Bass. Not Chuck from Gossip Girl, the humongous, undersized but springy guy at the 4 with the nice stroke and broad shoulders. It will come back to haunt them. lots of question marks for this team, but it all begins and ends with one man: Josh Howard. If Josh can play minutes at the 2, while also spelling Marion at the 3, Mavs have a fantastic starting 4 (notice how i didn’t included Erick-is-Damp in that? Shameful waste of talent that). I don’t quite agree with them increasing their win total and challenging the Kobsters for the Western crown, San Antonio (if healthy), Portland (if they mature quickly) and even Denver (just saw their Taiwan game vs Indiana, horrid performance) are gonna be right there for that spot. Oh and Dirk? He’ll be a nightmare, now that he’s had some downtime for the first summer in….forever. But please “Samson”, trim the shaggy do a bit.

  • Darksaber Posted: Oct.8 at 12:59 pm
    Oh and one more thing: Ein wenig mehr Respekt für Dirk Nowitzki, verdammt nochmal!!

  • Sparker Posted: Oct.8 at 1:53 pm
    co-sign that last bit

  • TADOne Posted: Oct.8 at 2:15 pm
    2nd seed in the West?!?! Um, no.

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Oct.8 at 2:31 pm
    Darksaber, you think Damp could be better than he is? Sure, he had a money season in Golden State (which ‘earned’ him his current contract), but does he really have the game to back up his bulk?

  • The D Train Posted: Oct.8 at 3:02 pm
    Dirk’s flowing locks make me hunger for the soothing sounds of The Scorpions.

  • JD Posted: Oct.8 at 3:13 pm
    This is a load of crap, the Spurs will beat out any other competitions for the 2 seed and it b SA and LA clear, fighting for the top seed in the west

  • The D Train Posted: Oct.8 at 3:27 pm
    We should definitely hand the 1 and 2 seeds to LA and SA because Ron Artest is totally stable and couldn’t possibly derail the Lakers freight-train, and Ginobili and Duncan are 2 of the healthiest players in league history, with nary an injury among them. Frankly, I don’t even know why they bother playing the games.

  • Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Oct.8 at 9:00 pm
    Whaddup Darksaber! I think Damp played pretty well for the Mavs before. The real question mark was when Cubes spent a tonne of money reeling in Desagana Diop, although I’m not sure exactly what the details were there because Diop is now on what team? I’m asking an actual question, since I actually do not know what team Diop is on now. Charlotte?

  • Darksaber Posted: Oct.8 at 9:58 pm
    Hi Ryne, hello Teddy the man, hope all is well. Ryno, you did just answer your own question, fact that he nearly led the league in Rebounding and generally showed he gave a rat’s ass about the game during his contract Year in G-State (one season after serious injury even!) shows that he could be a very good defensive Center in the Nba. he’s huge, has hops, a decent jumper and can challenge shots. So yeah, i think he’s a waste of talent. Gimme the Net’s Lopez in that Rotation and watch out for the Mavs (granted, Lopez is already a more polished scorer and will only improve on D/Boards/Blocks etc.)

  • Darksaber Posted: Oct.8 at 9:59 pm
    @ The D Train: cue the whistling intro of the scorpions “Winds of Change”. Good one, man.

  • max Posted: Oct.20 at 2:39 am
    dallas is thrash. spurs all the way

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