Mediocre Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are not going to win an NBA championship with their current group of players, but don’t tell them that. The Mavericks have made moves for the right now and have improved the team in the short-term, but they still do not stand a chance to succeed in the grind of the playoffs.

Turning Jerry Stackhouse’s expiring contract into former all-star Shawn Marion was definitely an immediate upgrade, especially considering Stackhouse has most likely played his last NBA game. Keeping Jason Kidd will keep them among the West’s top teams – at least for this season.

Marion should enjoy playing for the Mavericks and returning to the hybrid-forward role that he played so well for the Suns. He will fit right into the Mavericks up-tempo game and provide solid defense.

The Mavericks will be a great regular season team and will surely carve up lesser opponents with regularity, but none of their offseason additions sure up any of their deficiencies that led to their exit in the second round of last season’s playoffs. Adding Marion, Tim Thomas and Drew Gooden only helps the Mavs get better at what they were already good at. They are running inside of a hamster wheel instead of sprinting ahead to title contention.

Marion helps the Mavericks play at a faster-pace and allows them lineup flexibility, but how in the world does he help the Mavericks contain the elite frontcourt players of the west? Nene made the Mavs frontcourt players look silly in the second round of the playoffs and they could not contend with the energy and length of Chris Andersen. If you’re looking for energy, Thomas and Gooden are most definitely not going to be the guys who are going to bring it. If the Mavs could not contend with Nene, Andersen and Kenyon Martin, then what are they going to do against Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess or Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom?

The Mavericks plan is a flawed one. They have depth issues, their core is aging and they have no young promising prospects on the roster. Their only real hope is that Chris Bosh falls into their laps like Gasol did for the Lakers two years ago. The Mavericks will be a 50-win regular season team and at times will look like a very explosive club, but they are sure to fall flat on their faces in the playoffs without a real presence in the paint.