Team Breakdown: Dallas Mavericks

Observations from the December 18 ESPN broadcast of Phoenix Suns @ Dallas Mavericks.






















Offense

Talent: Same personnel. Same offensive firepower. Individually, still one of the most talented squads in the league. Josh Howard and Jason Terry are off to good starts, averaging 21.9 and 16.4 ppg, with both stars shooting close to 50% from the field. Dirk is making a conscious effort to post up more. Devin Harris is lightning quick to the rack, but still needs a more reliable jumper.

Quality of Shots: Not so good. A lot of shots are forced. They still don't have a consistent low-post threat. Dirk is drifting in and out of the low block, and the other players are just standing around, waiting for him to be the man. During most of the game, the Mavs were dominating individually, but in the closing minutes of the game, their lack of a fluid offense was exposed, as the Suns stormed back from a 14 point deficit to close to one. The quality of shots seemed to drop significantly, especially without a go-to guy.

Defense

Individual: Not as menacing as in the prior season. Terry, Howard, and Harris were swarming opponents on the perimeter - making it difficult to get open looks or to make the entry pass into the post. So far this season, that same intensity is lacking. Phoenix's high-throttled offense got to the cup way too easily in this game.

Team: The reason the Mavs were so good last year was because their defensive rotation was outstanding. Along with applying pressure on the perimeter, they would converge in the paint when necessary. This year, they're giving up 98 points on average to the opposition. Consequently, this leads to closer games (point differential is 9th, at +3.53).

Prognosis

To say that they were humbled in their 1st round elimination to the Warriors last season would be an understatement. If Dallas can figure out the right balance of including more of Dirk in the post, without making the offense stagnant (like they did in this game), they should be able to execute better. Most importantly, the collaborative and fiery spirit that characterized last season's 67 regular season wins, is still lacking at both ends of the court. If Avery can get his mojo back, and get the players to understand the team game more, they'll be back in full force. Until then, one can only hope that they'll gain steam as the season progresses just like last year.