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Tuesday, October 31, 2000
Mavs: Lots of talent, but where's the D?
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Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason / 1999 | Roster
Last year: 40-42, fourth in Midwest, ninth in conference
Coach/GM: Don Nelson
Arena, first game: Reunion Arena (18,187); Oct. 11, 1980
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 644-964/0
Notable: Finley's 249 consecutive starts third on active list
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THE TOP EIGHT
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Pos
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Player
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Key Stat
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Skinny
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PG
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Steve Nash
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8.6 ppg
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Still disappointing, but young enough
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SG
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Michael Finley
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22.6 ppg
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Led the NBA in minutes at 42.2
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SF
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Dirk Nowitzki
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6.5 rpg
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Yes, Nellie knew what he was doing
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PF
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Christian Laettner
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6.7 rpg
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He's really not a bad player, just no star
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C
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Shawn Bradley
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2.5 bpg
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Now he's a bad player; does block shots
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6th
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Gary Trent
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11 games
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Maybe he can play, but he's never healthy
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7th
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Howard Eisley
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4.2 apg
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Capable to start if Nash flops
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8th
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Hubert Davis
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.468 FG
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Few are better at draining the three
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The Mavs can shoot the ball. Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki are tremendous offensive players from the perimeter. What's hurt Dallas over the years, and continues to hurt them, is the lack of an interior game. They are unable to pound the ball inside. That would force teams to double-team and rotate, generating open shots from the outside. The interior game gets your opponent in foul trouble. That forces coaches to change their lineup and you can't overstate the importance of getting to the line early. The Mavericks tried to add to their inside presence last year by signing Dennis Rodman. Publicity stunt or not, owner Mark Cuban's acquisition of Rodman would have bolstered their interior if he was even a shade of his former self. Let's just say it didn't work out.
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By Marc Stein
Special to ESPN.com
The Good
For once, there is some tangible NBA good in Big D. After a league-worst 10 seasons out of the playoffs, the Mavericks and moneybags owner Mark Cuban have amassed one of the deepest rosters in the league. Deep enough to spawn some justifiable optimism in their football town, if not quite sufficient to guarantee that long-awaited playoff berth. Michael Finley is an All-Star, Dirk Nowitzki is getting there and proven helpers such as Christian Laettner and Howard Eisley have been added without the loss of a starter. Because Cuban is willing to pay the maximum-allowable amount to facilitate signings and trades, Dallas also enjoyed one of best draft-day hauls anywhere: Etan Thomas, Courtney Alexander, Donnell Harvey and Eduardo Najera. The list of quality veterans at Don Nelson's disposal is seemingly endless: Gary Trent, Steve Nash, Hubert Davis, Greg Buckner, Loy Vaught, etc. We'll even throw in Shawn Bradley, now as a backup center to Laettner. There's also the comforting knowledge that Cuban will continue wheeling, dealing and spending until he gets it right.
The Bad
Cuban came into the league proclaiming Portland as "the poster child for what I can possibly do." In the nine months since, the Mavericks have indeed mimicked the Paul Allen approach, sacrificing cap space by taking on huge contracts in trades -- thereby filling every seat on the bench with an able body. The problem, of course, is that everyone can't play, and a minutes crunch often leads to crumbling chemistry. Especially when it's a minutes crunch on a .500 team; the Blazers were testy enough coming within one quarter of the Finals. Buckner has played so well in the preseason that Alexander, the nation's leading scorer at Fresno State, is Dallas' fifth guard at present. Think he'll be happy about that? Ditto for Davis, the league's leading 3-point shooter ... and no better than Dallas' sixth guard in the current rotation. They've also got oodles of power forwards: Trent, Thomas, Vaught and Harvey are true fours; Nowitzki, Laettner and Najera can also play there. How Don Nelson keeps all these fellows happy is a mystery. And for all that talent, the Mavericks still don't defend very well. They still rebound poorly, too, and Cuban hasn't yet found a way to get them into the East.
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THE BIG QUESTION |
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Will they stay healthy, after leading the league in man-games lost to injury in two of Nelson's three seasons as coach? Furthermore, how long will the Cuban honeymoon last if the Mavericks get off to a slow start for the third consecutive year?
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Whose team is this?
Uh, take a guess. Finley and Nowitzki are hugely popular, Najera is already a cult hero and Dallasites even tolerate Bradley, but this is Cuban's regime. He has already become the face of the franchise, the say-anything Charles Barkley of owners. He has put the Mavericks back in the national spotlight, albeit with plenty of negative publicity, and probably puts in more hours than any executive in the league, largely because Cuban doesn't sleep. The trick, though, will be his ability to bring a true superstar to Dallas. He certainly has a lot of tradable pieces when the grumbling about minutes gets too loud, but repairing the Mavericks' leaguewide reputation will still take some work. Even though players around the NBA are clearly paying more attention to Cuban's lavish treatment of the current squad, the Mavericks still haven't signed a single marquee free agent in their 20-season history. They're very, very lucky that Finley is better than anyone envisioned, salvaging the controversial Jason Kidd trade.
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| Finley |
How they'll play
The better question is: How won't they play? There isn't much you don't see from Dallas, as veteran Nellie watchers know. It's safest to expect the unexpected, with lots of bizarre combinations that cause matchup headaches for the opposition. Finley will occasionally run the point, Nowitzki will play some center and every big man who can pass it a little (like Laettner and Trent) will get a turn away from the basket to run things from the top of the key. There will be lots of isolation ran for Finley and lots of pushing the ball. Almost everyone who rebounds it, save Bradley, is encouraged to dribble upcourt themselves instead of looking for a point guard. Getting those rebounds, though, is the challenge. Harvey should eventually become a great board man, but he's a little raw to steal minutes at the start from all the veterans. Defensively, the Mavericks have only one perimeter stopper (Buckner) and are really porous when Bradley isn't in the game to change shots. Trouble is, Bradley's presence bogs down the offense, so Nelson often has to make a tough choice. They're going to have to score a bunch to stay in the playoff hunt.
Projection
Dallas thinks it can win 45 games and halt the playoff drought. Last season's record (40-42) is a more reasonable expectation, but a more balanced season as opposed to a slow start (9-23) and a searing finish (16-5). The Mavericks should be right around No. 8 all year.
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