The Dallas Mavericks Have To Be Considered Darkhorse Title Contenders
Dirk Nowitzki (photo. Monte Isom)
First they acquired Eduardo Najera from New Jersey for Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams. Next they traded Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson. Then when they signed Von Wafer to a 10-day contract, you had to know that Mark Cuban had something up his sleeve. It’s safe to say, the Mavericks are making a run at the title.
Over their last five games, Dallas has beat the Suns, Magic, Heat, Pacers and Lakers. They’re coming together at just the right time, and they now have depth for days.
To get a Dallas perspective on all the Mavs’ latest movements, I hit up native Texan Chris Stuckey, who is also the brains behind MavsBall.com. He talks about all the trades,
Dime: Were you sad to see Josh Howard go?
Chris Stuckey: Howard was a player that had overstayed his welcome. He was great asset for the Mavs for many years, but when it’s time to go, it’s time to go.
Dime: Was there anyone traded that you would have liked to see stay in Dallas?
CS: The player that the Mavs did not want to see go was Drew Gooden. Gooden had filled in nicely as the backup center and power forward. The hope was to see the Wizards offer him a buyout, then invite him to return after the mandantory 30-day waiting period. Unfortunately, Gooden’s involvement in the three-team deal that sent Antawn Jamison to Cleveland derailed that possibility. The Clippers, Gooden’s new team, have expressed their desire to keep Gooden on the roster.
Dime: So what’s your grade on the trade?
CS: Despite this, the trade was a homerun for the Mavs. Butler is an upgrade over Howard – both on the court and off. In the Mavs current starting lineup, Butler is the starting shooting guard rather than playing his natural position, small forward. He has had a rocky start with the Mavs on the offensive end, but his presence has definitely been felt on defense. He is a long, athletic wing with the ability to guard almost any wing in the league.
Dime: What about Brendan Haywood? How does he fit in?
CS: The somewhat hidden gem in this deal is the acquisition of Haywood. The seven-foot big man is a welcome addition to this center deprived franchise. Haywood has quick feet and good hands. Panic doesn’t set in when Haywood is forced to put the ball on the ground and dribble (see Erick Dampier). He was called upon to enter the starting lineup in only his second game following Dampier’s open dislocation of his right middle finger. Haywood has filled in admirably causing some to knee-jerk and ask if he is the best center in Mavericks history. I’m not ready to go that far, but he has been quite impressive.
Dime: If that’s the case, do they re-sign him this summer? He currently has a $6 million expiring deal.
CS: Because Haywood is currently in the final year of his contract, in the trade the Mavs also acquired Haywood’s Bird Rights. This is big for the Dallas because it allows them offer Haywood a more lucrative deal than other free agent suitors. If all goes as planned, Haywood will be donning a Mavs uniform and in the starting lineup for the next five years.
Dime: So what about the other guy? Does DeShawn Stevenson bring anything to the table?
CS: Stevenson is the player that the Mavs had to take on in order to make the deal go down. He is owed $4.1 million next season which is quite a bit for a guy that is averaging 15 minutes of burn per game, but he will not be a part of the regular rotation for the Mavs.
Dime: What are your thoughts on Von Wafer?
CS: The trade with the Wizards left the Mavs’ roster with two open roster spots. Wafer was brought in to provide depth and another body for practice purposes. He won’t see much playing time, but he is a guy that can come in and drain a three if summoned.
Dime: So how far do you think the Mavs can go?
CS: The Mavs have the ability to overtake the Nuggets for the second seed in the Western Conference. The trade was made to better match up against the Lakers. The Western Conference finals are definitely in reach, but beating the Lakers may be a feat that no team can accomplish.
What do you think? Can the Mavericks contend for a title this season?
Other Stories About The Mavericks:
- Dime Exclusive: Inside The Mavericks Locker Room
- MVP Watch: Dirk Nowitzki Has Been A Cold Blooded Killer
- Where Are They Now? Ndudi Ebi
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February 25th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Heckler says:
they need to get some more speed and a decent backup point guard. they also need some youth
maybe they should look to make a move for tj ford.
February 25th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Prof. TX says:
The Laker’s toughest obstacle last year was Houston, a fast and balanced team. The Mavs should be reviewing footage of that series to see what gave the Lakers some problems. You need good defensive bigs against LA, but you don’t necessarily need a big offensively dominant PF/C. Kidd feeding Dirk and Butler on the wings will make a nice back court.
February 25th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
karizmatic says:
Very simply, no. They are going to have a hard time getting past the nuggets if that becomes their matchup.
February 25th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
CTP says:
The Mavs aren’t beating the Jazz or the Nuggets or the Lakers in the playoffs…
Just sayin..
February 25th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
quest??? says:
@heckler are u high??? Tj ford??!? That is the last thing they need they do have decent back up pgs barea and rodrigue
February 25th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Jayo says:
“The player that the Mavs did not want to see go was Drew Gooden. Gooden had filled in nicely as the backup center and power forward.”
Brendan Haywood is a HUGE upgrade over Gooden. Gooden could rebound but was having trouble w/ defending the bigger centers. I think that trade makes the Mavs viable threats to the Lakers & Nuggets in the West. Plus Caron & DsSahwn give them 2 bodies to get in the face of Kobe & Melo.
February 25th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Heckler says:
@ Quest–
nah. no high grade today (yet anyways).
i just see Dallas as a team that is getting old quickly. next year they’re going to be talked about the way the Celts and Spurs have been talked about. Aging.
So, they need to mix it up with some youth and speed. it aint gotta be tj ford, but they are gonna need to shake this up some more. and they way i see it, they’re gonna need some youth and speed.
jason kidd cant be the starting point forever.
February 25th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
dagwaller says:
They definitely CAN take the Lakers, and make no mistake about it – they’re better than the Nuggets now.
Matchups:
PG: Neither one is going to burn the other, but I think it’s safe to say that you’d take Kidd over Fisher.
SG: Obviously Kobe, but having a defensive minded guys like DeShawn, Caron, and Marion on the roster doesn’t hurt in this matchup.
SF: A draw, I think. Marion/Butler vs. Artest and Odom. Tough.
PF: Pau has been great all year, but he’s better when he gets touches. He won’t, I don’t think. Kobe’s ego has shown all year that he NEEDS the ball. Meanwhile, Dirk is the hands down leader of this team. I’d take Dirk.
C: Not even a question anymore. A Haywood/Dampier combo won’t have too much trouble with Bynum.
Bench: Shannon Brown, Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar, and maybe DJ Mbenga are the only guys I see making an impact. That’s vs. a 6th man of the year in Terry, Butler, JJ Barea, Beaubois, Haywood, and Najera. I’ll take the Mavs here, too. Terry over Brown, Butler even with Odom, Barea over Farmar, and Haywood over Mbenga. Throw in Beaubois as a change of pace/different look, and Najera as the hustle guy that can (try to) guard the backup forwards, I’d say it’s a wrap.
Coaching: You’ve got to give it to P Jax, I think. He’s got the experience and seems to know how to exploit the mismatches this team creates very well.
I count that as a 4-2-1 advantage for the Mavericks. If it were that simple, I’d give a series to the Mavericks. Does anyone agree or disagree with my positional analysis?
February 25th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Bruce*Leroy*Green says:
I agree with your analysis but the Lakers will still win in a 7 game series bcuz you failed to mention the GOD factor. Kobe is GOD on the court and won’t let LA lose to Dallas. Period. And im the biggest Mavs fan there is and i live in Dallas but after seeing Kobe score 64 in 3 quarters a few years back i just feel that Mamba has a taste for Maverick blood. Id love to see us kill Denver tho that would be epic
February 25th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
LakeShow84 says:
^^ Yep ^^
Hate to say but Kobe would go buckwild on the Mavs in the playoffs..
Cant wait for money time..
February 25th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
LakeShow84 says:
@ Dagwaller
U underestimate good coaching in playoffs where matchups KILL you.. everyone does though..
Phil will take us to the golden land..
February 25th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
dagwaller says:
Haha the God factor, love it. I just figured that you can’t “out-offense” Kobe at the 2 position, so maybe having some defensive guys there would offset his “Godliness”?
I also felt as though the Lakers largest advantage was their size and versatility up front – does anyone else think that this advantage at the least has been neutralized? Or was that not their biggest advantage last year?
The coaching deficit isn’t as large as some might make it out to be (although I still give the edge to Phil Jackson) – in 7 seasons as a head coach, Carlisle has only missed the playoffs once, and was eliminated in the first round once. The other 5 years he made it past the first round, highlighted by two Conference Finals trips. He’s no rookie.
February 25th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Jayo says:
I agree w/ you Dagwaller. I think Dallas can negate LA’s upfront length w/ Haywood, Dampier, Najera. All the while taking turns running Caron, DeShawn, & Marion at Kobe. Add in Terry dropping buckets in Fisher’s grill & you have the makings of a great 7 game series. Plus Odom & Artest have been as inconsistent as ever this year. I think LA’s homecourt advantage would make the difference tho.
February 25th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
karizmatic says:
@ dagwaller I disagree, I think the Lakers have the edge at the small forward position. Pau will step his game up in the postseason and Nowitski will disappear in crunch time when the chips are down. The Lakers are still better than the Mavis in a 7 game series. As I said before I seriously doubt they can beat the Nuggets if it comes to that.
February 25th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
Rizwan says:
No I dont think the Mavs are contenders. They have the pieces currently to get out of the west but something is off about them. They dont have that same feel of the Mavs team that got to the finals in 2006. Dirk is still Dirk but how far is he gonna carry them? Possible 3 to 5 seed and depending on favourable matches could sneak into the WCF.
Phoenix are also dark horses to get to the WCF. If they get 4th seed and homecourt, that is huge. I think the Suns can give as good as they get to any WC team besides the Lakers due to their size but Robin Lopez is coming along nicely and we have a better bench then the Lakers, Jazz and even the Nuggets I’d say. Potent scorer (Barbosa when he is healthy), solid defenders (Earl Clark and Jared Dudley) and good back up PG now (Dragic). We also have Jarron Collins to dust off come playoffs.
The west is gonna be a good race this year!
February 25th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Rizwan says:
@karizmatic
how can you say Dirk will disappear? I think he has put that crap to rest. So he lost the finals against the Heat? Tim Duncan sucked against the Pistons in the 2005 finals and almost lost had it not been for Robert Horry. You cant judge him on the basis of one series. He did actually get them to the finals that year!
February 25th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
dagwaller says:
I don’t see Dirk disappearing. He’s as clutch as they come.
VS the Nuggets? Hm.
PG – Chauncey vs. Kidd. I’d probably give the edge to Chauncey, but not by much.
SG – Afflalo vs. Butler. Butler.. Afflalo has been good this season, don’t get me wrong, but Butler can pose problems on the offensive end that Afflalo can’t.
SF – Melo vs. Marion. Melo for sure.
PF – Dirk vs. K-Mart. Dirk for sure, but K-Mart will give Dirk problems the same way Marion will give Melo problems on the defensive end.
C – This is where it’s interesting, for me. Two teams that built their names on offense over the last decade that finally have a pair of big men apiece to hold down the paint. Haywood and Dampier take the edge, for me, over Nene and Birdman simply because they’re not as one dimensional as Birdman is. Plus the size of the Mavs Centers is simply more imposing. Case in point: Birdman is 6-10, 220. Haywood is 7-0, 263. Nene is 6-11, 250, while Damp is 6-11, 265.
Bench – JR Smith and Ty Lawson are the only two reliable bench players, in my eyes, outside of Andersen. Smith and Terry are more or less the same player, while Lawson and Barea are similar, as well. That leaves a whole litany of Mavs that can step in and play minutes. Stevenson, Beaubois, and Najera are all better than their Nuggets counterparts.
Coaching – Karl vs. Carlisle? I’m a fan of Karl’s. I notice that no one on this site is calling for his job the way they were over the last few years. I’ve been over Carlisle’s resume (which is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he made the playoffs in the year the Brawl took place), and I’ll give him the point here for the unfortunate, but realistic, reason that Karl will be going through a tough couple of months. Will the Nuggets gel and come together over Karl’s health issues? Possibly. They’re a veteran team, and I don’t think that they’ll exactly fall to pieces. But if it’s close in the coaching department, I have to think that the distractions and time away from the team are going to affect Karl.
The starting lineups might be a wash, but I really think that the Mavs bench would carry them in a series against the Nuggets. Factor in Karl’s unfortunate health issues, and I just don’t see the Nuggets taking 4 games from Dallas.
February 26th, 2010 at 10:48 am
karizmatic says:
I can’t argue with that assessment, Carlisle is actually a better coach than Karl. However, I forgot to add that I think what’s going to plague the Mavs is chemistry issues, they aren’t going to have been together long enough to make it to the finals.
@ Rizwan
Some players just don’t have it in them, Vince Carter is another guy who may not bring it when it’s money time. But the real reason I don’t put much stock in Nowitski is I just don’t like his style of play. A fadeaway shooting power forward as your main guy is cool for the regular season, but the playoffs is a different beast. When you get into a tough 7 game series those legs aren’t going to be the same, those jumpers aren’t going to keep falling.
Plus as I said before the Lakers have better chemistry than the Mavs will, if they get that far. Dagwaller makes a good argument, but I’m still not convinced. Plus someone already mentioned it…I like Carlisle but he’ll get outcoached by Phil Jackson, and Kobe will outplay Nowitski, which is what it comes down to.
While I like Caron Butler, he’s not going to add as much to that dynamic as people think, at least not this year. First off he’s a natural 3, they are playing him out of position and he doesn’t have the shooting ability to consistently make LA pay for doubling Nowitski, which they will do selectively.
@Dagwaller
Ditto for Denver. First off once they bring JR Smith off the bench the entire complexion of the game will change. He’s unpredictable, but he basically cancels out anything Butler or Terry might do on a given night, also your matchups are off. KMart might start out guarding Nowitski, but when it’s money time I if Karl is smart (which isn’t a gaurantee) he’ll put Birdman on Nowitski, that’s going to be a problem. In addition I think you overestimate Marion’s ability to give Melo problems. I think this year in the playoffs is the year Melo is going to prove he’s one of those guys who really can’t be stopped. The guy’s floor game is impeccable. In fact, next to Kobe’s I think it’s the best in the league. Also look for him to do some spot duty against Nowitski. All these variables are going to pose serious problems for the Mavs, come playoff time.