What should be Mavs goals for season?

[LRB]

I read an article quoting Nellie as saying the Mavs current goals at for the regular season are to win the Midwest division titile and secure at least a 2nd seed in the Western Conference playoffs. It didn't mention what the the current goals were for the playoffs. I'm sure Nellie and all the Mavs want to win it all this year, just as they would like to finish with the best overall record in the NBA for homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. Nellie was also quoted as saying: "We never said we're better than Sacramento or the Lakers," Nelson said. "We're fooling ourselves if we think we're the best team in basketball."

This got me to thinking about my own expectations for the Mavs. I remember the loss to Indiana and how upsetting that was. One reason that I remeber was that the Mavs couldn't go 82-0. I didn't really expect an 82-0 season and believe that it is unrealistic, nor do I think that that is a reasonable expectation for any team. The Mavs are just a few years removed from when a goal of making the playoffs would have been as unrealistic as an 82-0 season. I do know that often I let my feelings for my favorite team get the best of my better judgement and I heap unrealistic expectations on them. I think this is very easy to do for the Mavs. IMO they have overachieved so far this year. 14-0 streak to start the season. 20-3 overall record so far. Improved defense and rebounding from last year with nothing taken away from the offense. They have had some luck (Shaq being out for the 1st Laker game, lots of East coast teams to start year with, etc.). By luck, I mean things that they do not directly control. They've also had some bad luck mainly in the form of injuries.

What I'm interested in is seeing what you think about the following:

1. What should be our expectations of Mavs for the regular season in terms of win/loss?

2. What should be our expectations of Mavs for the regular season against the elite teams (San Antonio, Kings, Lakers(yes I'm including the lakers even if they are elite in name only at this point in the season)?

3. What should our expectation of Mavs be for other playoff teams?

4. What should our expectation be of Mavs in the playoffs?

5. How much should we expect the Mavs to "hold back" in the regular season to be successful in the playoffs in any?

6. What should we expect of the Mavs this season to consider it a success?

7. What is are the milestones that if the Mavs fail to reach that we should consider this season a setback?