Southwest - GDHQNBA15_2pg-Dallas Mavericks

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WESTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHWEST DIVISION Dallas Last spring, Dallas took the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs to seven games in their first-round playoff series. This after the Mavericks had retooled last offseason, adding Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert and Monta Ellis. But after an acclimation period, Calderon and Ellis became key contributors alongside Vince Carter, Shawn Marion and former League and Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki. Well, Calderon, Carter, Dalembert and Marion each departed in the offseason. But once again, Dallas has reloaded, bringing in Al-Farouq Aminu, veteran big man Tyson Chandler, a key member of their 2011 NBA championship team, Raymond Felton, Richard Jefferson, Jameer Nelson and Chandler Parsons. “We’re obviously very excited about this team,” Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said at a September press conference to introduce the Mavericks’ new additions. “Coming into this year, we know we’re going to be a better team than we were last year just based on the analytics.” DEFENSE Carlisle admitted last year’s Mavericks were not very good defensively. He hopes bringing Chandler back is the catalyst the Mavericks need to show rapid improvement on that end of the floor. “I want the guys to feel secure and safe,” Chandler said at Dallas’ media day. “Nobody should ever feel like they’re on an island where they have to be the best defender in the League. We just have to play together.” Chandler, the 2012 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and threetime All-Defensive Team member returns with high expectations, which he welcomes. “It’s not pressure. It’s excitement,” he said. “It’s a very talented group. The guard play is gritty and I feel like we’re really going to get after guys. It’s more excitement than it is pressure.” One big loss defensively is the departure of Marion, Dallas’ top perimeter defender, to Cleveland. However, Carlisle feels adding Aminu and Parsons will be enough to mitigate that loss. “Marion was a great player for us. We’ll miss a lot of what he did,” Carlisle said. “We feel like we can cover him. Chandler Parsons is a solid defender. Al-Farouq Aminu is going to be one of our better perimeter defenders because of his quickness and length.” But the only question about Chandler is his durability. He missed 63 games over his three seasons in New York after playing 74 for Dallas in 2010-11, and that has always been a concern with the big man. “I’ve had injuries in my career,” Chandler said. “Whether it’s fair or not it’s not for me to sit up here and worry. I just go day by day and try to ensure that I’m capable of performing at the best of my abilities, and then from there you never know what happens.” Dallas likes Aminu’s length and athleticism and holdover Brandan Wright delivers similar qualities off the bench or as an occasional starter. Third-year swingman Jae Crowder is adept at coming off the bench and delivering big defensive stops while also contributing from long range. Some wonder what sort of magic Carlisle can work on the likes of Felton and Nelson, two players not exactly known for defense in their previous stops. Last season, he showed Ellis the virtues of playing D, how it can help his offensive game and Ellis bought in. Carlisle’s also worked wonders with Nowitzki, so expecting similar results with Felton and Nelson isn’t a big stretch. OFFENSE With a likely starting five of Nelson, Ellis, Parsons, Chandler and Nowitzki, scoring shouldn’t be much of an issue for the Mavericks. Dallas is loaded at point guard with three solid veterans in Felton, Devin Harris, who figures to again come off the bench, and Nelson. “I see Jameer Nelson, Ray Felton and Devin Harris all playing both guard positions,” Carlisle said. “We like attackers. We like guys that can make plays both with and without the ball. I just want good basketball players that want to win and I think we have that.” Carlisle has already said he won’t be afraid to employ a three-guard lineup when that would be advantageous to the Mavs, an idea all three point men are in favor of. Monta Ellis Danny Bollinger/NBAE/Getty Images


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