Another trip to the lottery is on the cards for the Mavs this year.
After attempting to put all of hiss eggs in one basket in the past two off-seasons, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will need to take his medicine again this season.
After attempting to lure Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard to Dallas in separate deals they prized-trio all opted for different avenues in their careers.
The NBA champions in 2011 are now on the nose.
The lone-big name on the roster is Dirk Nowitzki who at 35 years of age is starting to showing every one of those years in the NBA.
Despite playing a low-impact style which is designed to get the most out of his aging frame, Nowitzki is coming off his worst scoring year ever, where he averaged just 17.5 points a game.
The German superstar will still be capable of going off on any given night and going close to the 30-point mark but how many of those games will we see from him and will Nowitzki play in all 82 games, that remains to be seen.
The only significant moves the Mavs have been able to make this off-season is the acquisition of Monta Ellis from Milwaukee, Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert start at centre.
Vince Carter will continue to fill an important role off the bench for Dallas this year with the star veteran embracing his role of providing quick-fire offence as part of the team’s second unit.
But will those nights be frequent enough to see them overcome a loaded South West division that features an much improved New Orleans and Houston side to go with playoff teams Memphis and San Antonio?
In the back of Dallas’ fans minds will be possible injuries to their aging roster, with Carter and Shawn Marion not getting any younger with the depth to their bench being young and very inexperienced if they are needed to play long minutes against the best teams in the league.
The Mavs will flip Marion’s contract for another piece to their puzzle, but their biggest chance of rapid improvement is getting lucky in the stacked 2014 draft.
Dallas Mavericks predicted finish: 12th
Rankings
Offence: 7/10
Defence: 6/10
Front court: 7/10
Back court: 7/10
Bench: 5/10
Coach: 8/10
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