Why The Dallas Mavericks Are Not Contenders

As a Mav fanatic, this is a hard write for me.  I love my team, the last thing I want to do is rip them up.  But the facts are crystal clear, and the truth must be told.

Right now the Mavericks are not contenders.

We just ended a long seven-game home stand, winning 5-7.  Good right?  Nah, no way.

We played three bottom dwellers, three contenders, and one falling from contention. 

Of the five wins we only played one complete game.  The game against Phoenix, was the only one the Mavs controlled from start to finish.

The loss to San Antonio was a heart-breaker, we were evenly matched going in.  Too many turnovers and no answer for Tim Duncan put another one the "L" column.

Atlanta and Phoenix were the only games that we came out with real energy.  We took first quarter leads, with the bench pushing the spread.  But with Atlanta, we threw away a 19-point lead. The Mavs barely got away with the win.

The games against Sacramento, Charlotte, and Oklahoma City should have been blow-outs.  We struggled on our home floor against three bad teams. Holes in our defense, or just the lack of, gave little opportunity for our transition offense to work.

Playing these teams close forced coach Carlisle to play Dirk, Terry, and Kidd for heavy minutes.  As much as I love seeing Dirk go 30+ every night, we have a lot of season left. 

Can he keep playing at this pace?  Where was the much needed garbage time to develop the young Mavs?

And the Mavs dare to call themselves contenders.

I was hoping against Denver, the Mavs would quiet the critics.  Instead they have made me one of them. 

The novelty act of the three-guards is only a band-aid on the ills of this team.  At least coach Carlisle had enough sense not to put J Kidd on Durant.

Again we worked a team into foul trouble, with 4:25 left Denver was in the penalty.  Again no one drove the lanes to the basket.  Again no one was stopping the clock by shooting free throws (see my point).

The Mavs can still be contenders.

We have one of the best passing point-guards in the league.  J Kidd does make those around him better, just look at Dirk's stats for example.  He has shown he can still put up points, just enough to keep the defense honest.  That's really all we ask.

The two-guard is still a mystery.  Little JJ is giving everything he has, no one can ask more of him (except grow six inches).  He has given a glimmer of stability to the position, but lets face it, he's not the cure.  A better alternative will be George, once J-ho is up to full speed again.

Grant it, we won 9-12 games without our No. 2 shooter, Josh Howard (he made a cameo appearance vs Denver for seven points).  But they were ugly wins.  To say the Mavs will take wins any way they can get them shows little pride and a lot of desperation.

Dirk Nowitzki is on pace for a career-best season, if the heavy minutes don't catch up with him first.

The biggest disappointment to me is our centers.  I love seeing Damp getting the feed inside for a BIG DUNK.  But if he's fouled he can't make free throws. Diop robbed us of the whole mid-cap to get him back here.  For what?  Bass plays more minutes at center than Diop. The problem is Bass is supposed to be Dirk's backup.

I say trade Damp and Diop and get someone like Chris Kaman.  Better yet, go and get Chris Kaman here. He would fit perfectly, he played with Dirk this summer, so there is some chemistry to start with.

Without a secured lead in fourth quarters, coach Carlisle can't give Green and others time to develop and find their game.

Again I hate being so critical of my team.  But as a fanatic, I have more right to it than the "far weather fan."  I believe they are better than what we have seen.  Hopefully will we see it soon because...

I want them to be contenders!