Poor season

[dirkFREAKINnowitzki]

It appears that the Suns, Sonics, and Spurs are better teams than Dallas at this point. This opinion is base mainly on records and head to head comparisons only. Is Dallas a better team than last year or are they just having a poor season so far?

Several problems compared to last year:

-Their road record is better than their home record.
-The team just hasn't jelled.
-Will the team jell? It didn't jell last year.
-We are now broke at the 1 and 5. Instead of just being broke at the 5.
-We are 16-9, compared to 15-10 record of last year.

What will fix this team? With the players that we have or a logical trade with very tradeable players.

[Bayliss]

We are 16-9, compared to 15-10 record of last year.

Most important thing at the moment because this year's team is much more balanced than last year's team. And it has more upside from youth + "roles."

If Nellie sticks to playing Dampier, and Terry/Harris. The Mavs should be fine. And I have yet to see Seattle and Phoenix being better than us. The only team in the entire league that is better than the Mavs is the Spurs. Everyone else has major flaws, especially in a 7 game series... including the Mavericks.

[Turkey]

-We are 16-9, compared to 15-10 record of last year.

That's worst than last year.

[Bayliss]

That's worst than last year.

Um.... 16-9 has a winning percentage of .64

15-10 has a winning percentage of .60

The Mavs so far record wise are a +1 in the win column and a -1 in the loss column through the same number of games. Therefore they have a better record.

[DubOverdose]

I'd rather this team have a better road record than home record. The home record should be a LOT easier to fix than fixing a road record. I don't think there is anything to worry about yet with this team.

[Bayliss]

I'd rather this team have a better road record than home record.

I would also. More than likely this team will not have home court advantage in the playoffs. Therefore winning on the road is much more critical.

[dude1394]

the only thing worrying about this team is the "surgance"(?) of phoenix, seattle. The west has just flat out gotten even tougher if possible. Although not having BOTH shaq/duncan in the conference is a small consolation.

At the end we should be a better team, but only if we can get much better pg play than we have gotten. Being last in APG ofr this team is really a huge drop-off that is going to be hard to fix.

[rakesh.s]

Originally posted by: dirkFREAKINnowitzki
It appears that the Suns, Sonics, and Spurs are better teams than Dallas at this point. This opinion is base mainly on records and head to head comparisons only. Is Dallas a better team than last year or are they just having a poor season so far?

Several problems compared to last year:

-Their road record is better than their home record.
-The team just hasn't jelled.
-Will the team jell? It didn't jell last year.
-We are now broke at the 1 and 5. Instead of just being broke at the 5.
-We are 16-9, compared to 15-10 record of last year.

What will fix this team? With the players that we have or a logical trade with very tradeable players.

- You need to win on the road if you want to win a championship.
- Don Nelson
- Don Nelson
- Dampier can play, Terry needs to start but..Don Nelson
- Play well on the road, make the playoffs, make sure Dirk gets the ball and stays healthy..but..Don Nelson

Suns are everything the mavs wanted to be for the last 4 years. Same with the Sonics.

Spurs are the spurs..they are known to choke if their lead evaporates, so there's always that factor..

[jayC]

Don Nelson has won over 1,000 games. The mavs have led the league in scoring 4 consecutive seasons. The mavs have won 50 games or more four consecutive seasons. Man, Rakesh you are negative. The Sonics haven't been a contender since 97. The Mavericks have in 2003 were in the WCF. The Mavericks needed a change. They are much younger. You are a cowboy fan. A spoiled one at that. One that didn't recognize the greatness of the Cowboys. Troy Aikman won 90 games in the 90's. We went to the superbowl three times and went to the NFC title game 4 times. The point is before you start to gripe about Nelson. You have to realize how hard it is to win a title. You like a lot of fans need to stop and smell the roses.

[rakesh.s]

Originally posted by: jayC
Don Nelson has won over 1,000 games. The mavs have led the league in scoring 4 consecutive seasons. The mavs have won 50 games or more four consecutive seasons. Man, Rakesh you are negative. The Sonics haven't been a contender since 97. The Mavericks have in 2003 were in the WCF. The Mavericks needed a change. They are much younger. You are a cowboy fan. A spoiled one at that. One that didn't recognize the greatness of the Cowboys. Troy Aikman won 90 games in the 90's. We went to the superbowl three times and went to the NFC title game 4 times. The point is before you start to gripe about Nelson. You have to realize how hard it is to win a title. You like a lot of fans need to stop and smell the roses.

so what if he's won 1000 games?? That means Lenny Wilkens is an AWESOME coach..perhaps the greatest coach of all time

The players on the roster are not being utilized properly..when you cry and bitch and moan about not having a center for 3 years when bradley is rotting away on the bench, you don't deserve any respect

To make matters worse, you actually do sign a big man to a BIG contract and again start toying with the lineups

If the mavs won 75 games in the regular season and then lost in the first round of the playoffs, common sense would say that the season
was a failure

Regular season doesn't matter and if that's all Don Nelson is playing for, then he needs to go.

[dude1394]

blah,blah,blah,nellie,blah,blah,nellie,blah,blah,b lah,cuban,blah,blah,blah

[seal614]

reality check here guys*

how many times have 16 wins right now? In the entire L?

- Brian

[jayC]

The mavs will be there in the end. If they aren't nellie will be fired. This team is two deep at every position except power forward. And although we have lost 6 games at home. We are 8-3 on the road and that is a big improvement over last season. I just think Nellie deserves the benefit of the doubt. At least the mavs finally addressed their needs, and in the process became younger. This team has won 17 games in an entire season in the mid 90's.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

"Poor Season"

Is the season over yet?

[DubOverdose]

Note Finley has played 9 full games. The Mavericks are 7-2 in those games. Those losses came to the Warriors and Sonics. Mavs w/Dirk and Finley =Very Good

[jibikao]

Originally posted by: Bayliss

Most important thing at the moment because this year's team is much more balanced than last year's team. And it has more upside from youth + "roles."

If Nellie sticks to playing Dampier, and Terry/Harris. The Mavs should be fine. And I have yet to see Seattle and Phoenix being better than us. The only team in the entire league that is better than the Mavs is the Spurs. Everyone else has major flaws, especially in a 7 game series... including the Mavericks.

You need to watch more carefully then... Suns is clearly better than Mavs at this point.

But I do think Mavs has a "chance"... it's not for sure yet 'cause a lot of people were hoping that Walk would jel with the team last year but it didn't.

Nelson... Nelson... Nelson...

Jimmy

[Just211]

well i think a little has to do with scheduling. here's how they rank record, to strength of schedule.(SOURCE USATODAY)
21-3 SUNS 30th
20-5 SPURS 19th
18-5 SONICS 10th
15-8 WOLVES 11th
16-7 KINGS 17th
16-9 MAVS 14th
13-10 LAKERS 21st
12-11 BLAZERS 12th
13-11 NUGGETS 8th
11-12 CLIPPS 26th
11-15 GRIZZ 9th
10-15 JAZZ 6th
11-13 ROCKETS 29th
7-17 WARRIORS 13th
2-21 HORNETS 5th

the things that jump out, are that the Suns obviously have the easiest route as of yet
the Jazz have bad timing for AK to be out
The Sonics schedule rank surprises me, and it'll be interesting to if they can stay that hot all year
and the Rockets suck

But regarding the Mavs, I think if they had the 30th schedule, they'd have less losses, so Sometimes you have to remember a team has to have time to gell. and luckily the schedule gets easier, and IMO i think Terry is about to figure out the point against some of these east teams.

[Psychedelic Fuzz]

The schedule thus far has been brutal. Up until this stretch, those other teams had played 2,3, or 4 fewer games than the mavs.

The mavericks have had seven back-to-backs in 25 games, (not to mention the 3-games-in-4-days situations that result.) In spite of that, they are just four games back in the division, one game better than at the same point last year

and there has been at least one injury to every key player on the team.

Be careful you don't tear a ligament with all that knee-jerking

[dude1394]

also if you look at that usatoday before the chicago, atlanta game their schedule was something like top 5, top 8...Wolves have been playing a tough one as well, they've impressed me more than I expected.

[kg_veteran]

I don't even know that I'd call it a poor season so far. I'd call it a work in progress.

Sure, the Suns have sprinted out to a 21-3 start playing the easiest schedule in the league, but I'll be Savovic-shocked if they don't pay for playing Marion at PF come playoff time.

The Sonics have played out of their mind so far...and they are 3 whole games ahead of the Mavericks. That's another team that will be exposed in the playoffs. They can score with anybody, but their interior defense will be hammered once people start to see them the second and third time around.

The Kings are the Kings -- they could easily beat the Mavs, but they certainly don't scare me.

The Wolves are a year older and quite a bit more disjointed, even if they are deeper with Wally and Troy back from injuries. I like our chances against them in the playoffs.

The Spurs are the team to beat in the West. No question about that.

Having said all that, I agree with Bayliss. It's the Spurs...and then everybody else.

The Mavs need to figure out how to maximize Dampier's contributions by the time the playoffs roll around, and they need to continue to develop Devin Harris. If they do those two things and stay relatively healthy, they've got as good a shot as anybody at reaching the WCF, and then from there, who knows?

[Eman]

Kg, at 20 plus points and 11.7 rebounds (3rd in the league?) Shawn Marion is one of the best power forwards in the league this year I think it is safe to say.

He also has a good number of Blocked shots.

Just because He's a little undersized and we all salivate about having him along side Dirk as our small forward, doesn't mean he can't play the other position for Phoenix.

They may be playing small ball, but its a tougher, more athletic small ball that scares me.

[V2M]

Suns are obviously playing great now. Now can they sustain it through the whole season and into the playoffs is a whole different question. Not too many teams have proven they can win the whole season playing small ball.

My guess, they're gonna' win about 60 games but struggle in the playoffs. For one, they don't have a lot of depth which could be exploited late in the season. Second, with Amare at Center and Marion at PF, teams like SA, Min, Dallas & Sac are gonna' drive it in early and get those two guys in foul trouble. Third, Nash has a history of fading away late in the season. He's gonna' struggle in a 7-game series when teams plan on taking the ball away from his hands.

Suns may win the 1st round, in lieu of getting a #1 seed and playing the #8 seed at home, but I don't see 'em getting past 2nd round.

[dude1394]

Sounds like wishful thinking, we'll all see however, but I for one would like to see an atheletic run it up and down team win it all. I would have liked for it to have been my mavs that did it, but I can't have everything.

I certainly think my mavs are better than last year, but I'm not sold on the "fact" that they are better than two years ago.

[EricaLubarsky]

did anyone catch the game against Denver last night? Pathetic. Neither team played defense and the Nuggets (K-Mart) lost the game because instead of using up the shot clock (which was off at the end of the game), they took a shot 8 seconds in, giving the Suns 16 seconds to get a good shot.

No Suns love for that crappy game.

[kg_veteran]

Originally posted by: Eman
Kg, at 20 plus points and 11.7 rebounds (3rd in the league?) Shawn Marion is one of the best power forwards in the league this year I think it is safe to say.

He also has a good number of Blocked shots.

Just because He's a little undersized and we all salivate about having him along side Dirk as our small forward, doesn't mean he can't play the other position for Phoenix.

They may be playing small ball, but its a tougher, more athletic small ball that scares me.

If Shawn Marion is going to try and guard Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kevin Garnett in the playoffs, he's going to get destroyed.

Mark that down.

[EricaLubarsky]

Marion only works when the offense is fast. His defense is fairly poor and so far Marion hasnt been too impressive in a slower tempo game. Marion mostly gets his rebounds and his blocks on the break and off wild bounces. There are a few teams that can slow teams down. Two of them have championships in the last few years.

[FreshJive]

Right now the top five man unit according to 82games is small ball:
PHO
Nash-Richardson-Johnson-Marion-Stoudemire 448 1092 926 +166 18 5 78 %

I always hoped it would be the Mavs to put away the myth that a good team can't play fast, but I'll take the Suns.

[sike]

time will tell if this line up can last...

[EricaLubarsky]

Obviously the best five man unit is the 5 starters of the hottest team in the league. Suns have ZERO depth- their starters do everything and they have a regular lineup.

[FreshJive]

We heard all this a couple of years ago. We got off to a hot start, and no one wanted to give the Mavs credit because they like to run and shoot. They all said that we would cool off or slow down, but we ended up a Dirk away from a title.