Jason Kidd

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, Rodrigue Beaubois, Kris Humphries, Quinton Ross, Tim Thomas

Lost: Brandon Bass, Antoine Wright, Jerry Stackhouse, Ryan Hollins, Devean George, Gerald Green

Ceiling: Western Conference Finals
Navigating the first 82 games of the schedule isn’t a problem for Dirk Nowitzki and his Mavs. Whether they steamroll the entire league for 67 wins, or scrap together a late-March/early-April run to squeak into the playoffs on the back-end, simply making the postseason isn’t the hard part, even in the competitive West. The Mavs have done it nine years in a row, winning no fewer than 50 games each time. It’s what happens next that has proven to be unpredictable … This time, the Mavs have a franchise superstar (Dirk) who’s coming off a season where he finished 4th in the NBA in scoring (25.9 ppg) and doesn’t have the distractions going on at home that he has last year. And Dirk is on the other side of 30. He knows he’s running out of time to be The Man on a championship team, and he’s rested after skipping the FIBA European Championships this summer. He will have a big year, and is the caliber of superstar who can carry his team a couple rounds in the playoffs … Dallas has surrounded Dirk with a big, veteran lineup that includes 6-7 Josh Howard at the two, Shawn Marion as a SF that can grab 10 boards a night and guard power forwards, Jason Kidd at PG (shooting the ball better than he ever has), two serviceable 7-footers in Erick Dampier and Drew Gooden sharing the five spot, and reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry. The rest of the rotation is rounded out by some decent/promising young guys like J.J. Barea, Humphries and Beaubois … Dallas will probably get in with a 5th or 6th seed; and between Dirk and the supporting cast’s talent, playoff experience, depth and scoring ability, they can run with most teams in the West.

Basement: Quiet first-round exit
I don’t consider Dirk non-clutch, but his critics aren’t getting their ammo out of nowhere. His field-goal and three-point percentages have been dropping slightly since the MVP year in ’07, and there is the age factor. Not to mention Kidd is 36 years old … Howard is going to be playing out of position, Marion may have officially fallen off (and both of them have been banged up this preseason), and calling Dampier and Gooden “serviceable” earlier may have been a stretch … Most importantly, there isn’t one Western Conference playoff team who you’d look at and say “Dallas would definitely beat them” in a series.

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10/23 — Washington Wizards
10/23 — Minnesota Timberwolves
10/22 — Utah Jazz
10/22 — Orlando Magic
10/22 — Phoenix Suns
10/21 — Charlotte Bobcats
10/21 — San Antonio Spurs
10/21 — Miami Heat
10/19 — Oklahoma City Thunder
10/19 — Milwaukee Bucks
10/15 — Portland Trail Blazers
10/14 — Chicago Bulls
10/13 — Golden State Warriors
10/12 — Toronto Raptors
10/9 — Houston Rockets
10/8 — Detroit Pistons
10/7 — Memphis Grizzlies
10/6 — New York Knicks
10/5 — New Orleans Hornets
10/2 — Atlanta Hawks
9/30 — Sacramento Kings
9/29 — New Jersey Nets
9/28 — Denver Nuggets

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