Do people realize how good Dallas is going to be in 2014-2015?

[Carter_17]

They added depth in the SF position and lost depth in frontcourt. I really believe they will miss the rebounds and effort Blair provided.
Not to mention that felton can hurt the team even though there are Harris and Nelson (and Mekel?) on the bench.
They have none who can actually defend at 4 , their frontcourt is Old and without depth . Wright is pretty decent though and a really solid player for Mavs.

In the end it will all depend on Ellis performance and Chandler's health.

[qrich]

yeah did you follow the series? They outplayed the Spurs in at least 5 of the games.

So they outplayed a team 5 times out of 7, but still lost the series.

Man, in that case, a team just needs to outplay them two times in 7 games, and they are fine.

[josh99]

I get what you're saying, another example is when the Bucks outplayed the Heat in 2013. I really thought we were the better team, but Miami just executed better in the final 48 minutes of every game.

[masonanddixon]

To the people claiming Dirk was not top 5 last season, name me just one player (let alone 5) who could have gotten that Mavs squad to more than 49 wins in the West.

[chips93]

To the people claiming Dirk was not top 5 last season, name me just one player (let alone 5) who could have gotten that Mavs squad to more than 49 wins in the West.

you're really underselling ellis's contribution last year. he was a great second banana

griffin, love, aldridge could have all approximated dirk's value last year.

[kurple]

mavericks are underrated but i think they just match up well with the spurs.

okc woulda raped them in 4 last year

mavs are not underrated. everyone has them in their top4-5 in the west

i would not be shocked if they miss the playoffs. they are this years underpreforming team (D12 Lakers, KG Nets, Last years Knicks)

[kurple]

one semi-long chandler injury and they are ****ed

and their PG's are really unimpressive

[oarabbus]

So they outplayed a team 5 times out of 7, but still lost the series.

Man, in that case, a team just needs to outplay them two times in 7 games, and they are fine.

Exactly qrich, just like the Warriors outplayed the Clips in 5 of 7 games last playoff

[ArbitraryWater]

mavs are not underrated. everyone has them in their top4-5 in the west

i would not be shocked if they miss the playoffs. they are this years underpreforming team (D12 Lakers, KG Nets, Last years Knicks)

How would that be underperforming? We're expecting 2 Players to take a big step Forward (1 of them rejuvenating himself) and 2 more to stay at their same Level.... While 1 of them is getting older and older, and the other is prone to be rather inconsistent.

[tpols]

one semi-long chandler injury and they are ****ed

and their PG's are really unimpressive

They did just fine with a shit center last year.. and their PG's are about the same. Worst comes to worst dirk/parsons/ellis >> dirk/marion/ellis and they are a fringe second round team.. I guess if thats being 'fvcked' every team in the league outside the top 2-3 are ****ed as well.

Raytmond Felton will do better for this team I believe.. the knicks were as dysfunctional as it gets, Carlisle is like mini pop, he gets the best out of players.

i would not be shocked if they miss the playoffs. they are this years underpreforming team (D12 Lakers, KG Nets, Last years Knicks)

I dont see this happening because in all those scenarios there was shit coaching/management. Dantoni, Woodson and Kidd? 3 of the worst/inexperienced coaches in the league.. carlisle wont let that shit happen.. unless dirk goes down theyll be a playoff team.

[Fudge]

I get what you're saying, another example is when the Bucks outplayed the Heat in 2013. I really thought we were the better team, but Miami just executed better in the final 48 minutes of every game.

[SexSymbol]

One of the worst supporting casts ever in the Dirk era outplayed the Spurs, and now this season they have upgraded at the SF and C positions and have added depth at the PG spot.

Dirk is a year older but he's still a top 5 player.

This team should be winning it all.

[DirkNowitzki41]

Obvious troll thread, but Mavs are definitely better than last year. 4th-5th seed, and 2nd round is the most likely scenario but you never know.. if things just gel right, they could sneak to the wcf. They have the talent, now its just about chemistry and fit.

Dirk and Ellis were great together and adding Parsons and Tyson is gonna make them even better. More spacing for Ellis to drive with Parsons at the wing, and Tyson is actually able to catch the ball and finish. No more Dalembert stone hands

[SCdac]

I'll believe it when I see it. Tons of hype from extreme Mavs homers is to be expected. Think Mavs got better but any team giving Raymond Felton minutes kinda makes me laugh. Mavs yesterday talked about a putting Devin Harris and Felton on the court at the same time. Good luck with that. But you never know in today's NBA (or any era for that matter). Evenly spread, deep teams can win it all. Chandler is a good pick up but is he better than Dalembert offensively. Can Dirk still take over a 7 game series? Is Chandler Parsons really a glorified role player? Lots of questions imo. But I'm all for good competition, and rivalries.

[qrich]

Exactly qrich, just like the Warriors outplayed the Clips in 5 of 7 games last playoff

I want you or Dallas in Round 1, we just have to outplay you guys twice and we'll advance