Breaking Down Dallas Mavericks Center Position for 2014-15 Season

Ever since Dirk Nowitzki established himself as a star in the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks have been searching for the perfect complementary frontcourt mate.

There are two very important things this partner must do. He has to be a great rebounder, and he has to be able to pick up the slack on defense. These don’t seem like terribly complex things, but believe it or not they can be very hard to come by.

The Mavs have trotted out dozens of guys in this mold, hoping one would be the guy they could pair with their star for years to come. Finally in 2011, they found the winning formula with Tyson Chandler.

But then he was gone, signed away by the New York Knicks for four years and nearly $60 million.

And when the Mavs had the good stuff, going back to average felt so much worse. Nothing against Samuel Dalembert, Ian Mahinmi and Brendan Haywood, but none of them were Tyson Chandler.

So instead of trying to replace him, the Mavs went out and got their man. Chandler is back in Dallas, and not a minute too soon.

But just adding him to the rotation doesn’t solve all problems. He fell victim to injuries yet again last season, and his backups are questionable.

So it’s time to pop the hood and take a good long look at what the Mavericks fans can expect from their centers.

Grading Last Year’s Performance

About a year ago, it was media day for the Dallas Mavericks. And as is customary, the projected starting five of Jose Calderon, Monta Ellis, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and Samuel Dalembert took a group photo. Somewhere in that process, this gem popped up.

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Though his flexibility was somewhere between breathtaking and alarming, his play wasn’t quite as astounding.

His per-36 numbers were right on track, falling almost in lockstep with his career averages. So in that way, the Mavs got what they paid for. He blocked shots, rebounded and scored just like he was supposed to.

Unfortunately, he didn’t soak up as many minutes as the Mavs might have liked.

He played in 80 games and started 68 of them, but he only averaged 20.2 minutes per game. Twenty minutes is better than nothing—but not exactly what anyone wants from their starting center.

After Dalembert in the big man rotation was Brandan Wright, the man who somehow placed 13th in John Hollinger’s PER rankings.

Occasionally Wright would break a big game, but mostly he was consistent. Dallas knew what it had with Wright, which is very valuable. But he wasn’t a starter, and he was hit by injuries, which caused him to miss 24 games.

DeJuan Blair also factored into the mix, but he only played 15.6 minutes per game. Though, he proved to be a nice pairing with Dirk at times as kind of a monkey wrench for other teams to deal with.

It’s safe to say last year’s crop of centers was lacking a real standout, and the position was essentially pieced together for most of the year.

2013-14 Centers: C+

What to Expect This Season

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

First, let’s go through what has changed. Obviously the big change comes with the starters. Out is Samuel Dalembert, and back in is Tyson Chandler. There was also a smaller change with the bench unit as DeJuan Blair signed with the Washington Wizards.

The mainstays are the ever-efficient Brandan Wright and Bernard James.

And that’s a bit worrying.

Though Tyson Chandler has remained relatively healthy as of late, last year was worrisome. He missed 27 games due to injury, and for the two years before he came to Dallas in 2011, he only played in 58 percent of his teams’ games.

Chandler is 31 years old and will be playing in his 14th NBA season. Generally as people age, their health doesn’t improve—especially in the case of 7'0" giants playing an incredibly physically taxing sport.

So it might pay dividends to have depth.

Brandan Wright is a nice bench guy, but stretching him to starters' minutes might be pushing him way out of his comfort zone. And comfort zones would be absolutely shattered if Bernard James had to play serious minutes in the case of a Chandler injury.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that if Chandler can get through this season, the Mavs will clearly have their best frontcourt since…well 2011.

Fingers crossed.

As Dirk ages, he needs someone to make up for the things he can’t do. He needs his center to be the captain of the defense and take the tougher big man matchup. Dirk’s big partner has to protect the paint and play a nice complement to Nowitzki on the offensive end.

And of course, Tyson Chandler can do all of that when healthy. If the Mavs get the best version of Chandler, he’ll be the defensive anchor and average a double-double. With that kind of production, Dallas would be over-the-moon happy.

For right now, sounds like Chandler has the right mindset heading into training camp. He didn’t quite promise a championship in an interview with The Dallas Morning News’ Eddie Sefko, but he sounds like he’s poised for a good year.

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'There’s going to be a ton of hurdles we have to go through,' Chandler said. 'But you have to have the mindset when you come to training camp of what you’re competing for. And you keep your eyes on the prize and keep walking down the path toward the goal. I can’t guarantee the end result, but I can guarantee I’m going to keep my eyes on the prize, and I’m going to do everything it takes to get there. Whether it happens or not, we’ll all see.'

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In the end, the Mavericks’ center spot depends on Chandler and the version of him the Mavs end up having. If he’s close to 100 percent, the team doesn’t have to worry about its big men.

But if he has to miss significant time, or plays like he did last year, this will be a giant question mark all year. And the Mavs will be back to the average centers that have come to define the position for this franchise.

Fingers are still crossed.