by James Finneral
The Dallas Mavericks along with the Spurs are the only teams to take down the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in the past four years. Although they won a title fairly recently, this is a very different Maverick team with veterans mixed with a decent amount of young players.
This summer the Mavericks were actually pretty productive in the free agency market by signing Dirk Nowitzki and snagging a frustrated Chandler Parsons. Parsons felt undervalued by the Houston Rockets and winded up in Dallas. Parsons should fit in nicely with the Mavericks because they need a quality small forward. However Parsons knows that this Maverick team does not have the talent to win a championship. Parsons is one of those guys desperately coveting an NBA championship and that is why he made such a big push to get Dwight Howard to Houston. That being said if Parsons does not believe in his teammates he may not perform to the best of his abilities.
Potential Starting Lineup:
PG: Raymond Felton
SG: Monta Ellis
SF: Chandler Parsons
PF: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Tyson Chandler
The Mavericks have an excellent starting lineup for a team that will probably not make the playoffs. They have strong players at each position except center, but this Southwest division is filled with more talented, younger and more athletic teams making the road for the Mavericks very difficult. Where the Mavericks really struggle is their bench. They really have no depth aside from Shawn Marion and DeJaun Blair, who are not exactly prime options off the bench.
This is a pretty mature team that knows how to win, but the Chandler Parsons addition might not be as crucial as people have made it out to be. Just based on the strength of the Western Conference the Mavericks will not be a premier team in the league.
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