Hello Celebritys

The Mavericks open their season Tuesday night as they host the Washington Wizards at the American Airlines Center. I gave you a preview of the Eastern and Western Conferences last week and now, it is time to focus on the Mavericks.

Dallas will be a very good team this season. I picked them to finish 4^th in the West and I think they win somewhere between 55-58 games. I’m leaning more towards 56 though. If you look at what that Mavs team accomplished last year, then there is no way to say that they won’t be improved this season. The 08-09 Mavs had a new coach and system, fought through a 2-7 start, and Josh Howard missed a large amount of games, but they were still able to win 50 games.

This year, the core of the team is already familiar with Coach Carlisle and they know the system. The Mavs finally got rid of some of the older players like Devean George and Jerry Stackhouse to bring in new faces Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas, Quinton Ross, and Roddy Beaubois. The core of the team is still the same, but the role players and supporting cast off the bench is drastically improved.

The addition of Shawn Marion is by far the biggest move the Mavs made in the offseason. The Matrix automatically brings toughness and athleticism to the team. He is able to create on his own, slash to the hoop for easy baskets, and he compliments Jason Kidd very well. Marion is also solid on the defensive end, which has been a big focus for the Mavericks this pre-season. Dallas also brought in Drew Gooden who will get his fair share of starts at center this season. Gooden lacks some size of a tradition center, but can hold his own in the paint and has more range than Erick Dampier.

The schedule doesn’t do the Mavericks any favors out of the gate. They open with a dangerous Washington team, then go on the road to L.A. to face the Lakers and Clippers, then come home for Utah, turn around and fly to New Orleans to play the Hornets on the second night of a back-to-back. Dallas has to get things going early, but from indications in the preseason, Dirk and the guys are ready to go. (Full Schedule Breakdown)

Overall, I expect this team to very good and very entertaining to watch. When you add players like Marion, Gooden, and Thomas to a veteran core like Kidd, Dirk, Jet, and Josh…it should make for a very exciting season. As I said above, this team should win 56 games, host a first round playoff series, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see them in the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers.