Dallas preview

Preview. Dallas Mavericks. By George Wang. 99-00 Record : 40-42 Best Player : Michael Finley, 22.6ppg, 6.3rpg, 5.3apg, 1.33spg. With these stats, Finley was a deserving All-star last year. Worst Player : Without a doubt their center paring of Bradley and Curley. Two tall, weak wasted draft picks. They make the likes of Muresan look like pro centers. Rising Star : Nowitzki, Courtney Alexander and Howard Eisley. These three along with Finley can take the Mavericks into the playoffs for years to come. Key Acquisitions : Alexander, Eisley and Laettner were all strokes of genius by Mark Cuban and Nelson. Key Losses : Not much, Eric Strickland. HaHaHa! But they did lose a lot a incompetence. Rumors : That Dallas might be a good team this year.	Best move this off season : All Nellie's offseason moves were excellent.Is Don Nelson still the GM of the Mavs? Worst move this off season : For once there were no bad moves by Nelson, what is the world coming to. Tell me why? Don had to wait so long before realising that drafting guys from the Chinese army with your lottery pick was not the way to find talent or make you very popular with your hometown fans.
ProjectedLineup	2001TeamRoster
C ShawnBradley. As long as this chump stays at 7'6 and blocks an occasional intruder that wonders into the Dallas key ( most of the time PGs under 6'3" or he will get dunked on ) Bradley will still have the starting center job here. C'mon, even Manute Bol and Mark Eaton started for NBA teams for god sakes. PF ChristianLaettner. He, Laettner and Nowitzki will probably make up the tallest, slowest and most unathletic starting front court threesome in the history of the league. But laettner does have some nice passing skills. SF DirkNowitzki. A budding star in the making. So many people Think. Yes, Dirk does pose major problems on offense for opposition teams. He is nearly impossible to match up on because he is 6'11 and can drain the trey on a regular basis. He shot .379% from downtown last season, better than most 2 guards in the league. On the defensive end though, Dirk poses major problems for his team. He rebounds like a pussy for his size at 6.3rpg and I have seen the likes of Oliver Miller blow past him on the dribble. Well he is just good at the moment. Great? not yet. SG MichaelFinley. Look for Finley to increase his output in every key statistic category now that he has more talent to help him. Finley is still very underrated by most people though, and he was constantly double teamed last year due to the lack of a second option on the team. And he still put up those numbers. I believe that Finley is in the top three shooting guards in the Western Conference. PG HowardEisley. Nelson has finally lost patience with the underachieving Nash. Eisley's signing was a real coup for the team and upgrades the point guard position significantly. Loo for him to step out of john Stockton's shadow this season and run the offense flawessly. ( He did learn from the best ) 6thMan CourtneyAlexander. Many think that he should have gone higher in the draft, so this is a stroke of luck for the mavericks. Dallas needed an athletic two man with range and they got one here. Alexander fits in perfectly with the team's needs. He although, is another turnstile on defense, but that can be overlooked as he will learn as the season progresses. WhatTheyHave. Dallas now seemingly has all the right pieces of the puzzle to make a legitimate run at the playoffs this season. Finley, Nowitzki and Alexander provide them with plenty of offense. The addition of Etan Thomas, Christian Laettner and the return of Gary Trent from injury beefs up the front court substantially. Thomas was a blocking machine at Syracuse and has the body of an NBA PF already. While Trent is built in the Larry Johnson mode. But he can jump and eats up the glass when healthy. Dallas now also has what seemingly is a very deep bench to compliment their starting five. Thomas, Trent, Hubert Davis, Harvey and Nash can all contribute immediately while barros, Mills and Buckner are good role players. They also have some 7'6" stick protecting the basket. WhatTheyNeed. Someone that can actually play at center, one of the most important positions on the team. For now they can rely on their shooters to get them through the regular season. Bradley has no real assets apart from being tall. The Mavericks need a presence that intimidates and not amuses to block up the key. Thomas could develop but he is only 6'9 and more suited to PF. 2001Projection. I seriously believe that with the talent level of the Mavericks and the form that they showed towards the end of last year, they can now make a serious play for playoff positions in the West. If all their draft picks develop quickly, don't be surprised if they do much better than most people think they will. More Teams.	Courtney Alexander G Pure scorer who will add excitment to the backcourt. Dana Barros G 3 point specialist that won't get much minutes. Shawn Bradley C At least he is big. Greg Buckner G Career backup Guard. Bill Curley F/C Second of the twin doughnuts. Hubert Davis G Brings instant offense from the bench. Howard Eisley G Now has the chance to step out of Stockton's shadow and prove his worth. Michael Finley G/F Most underrated player in the league. Plays both ends of the court hard and well. Super star for years to come in this league. Donnell Harvey F Jumping jack with extremely high energy levels that will make him go all night. Not afraid of the dirty work, although little raw skill wise could be a pleasant surprise. Christian Laettner F Poor recent seasons belies his true talent, a good passing and shooting big man that will compliment Nowitzki well. Terry Mills F/C Further adds to Dallas' compliment of good shooting big men that can drain the trey. Eduardo Najera F Another raw but energy filled rookie, will not get significant minutes in his first season. Steve Nash G Relegated to being a backup, which may suit him more. Dirk Nowitzki F Looking to have breakout year this season, pressure should be taken off with arrval of more talent. Etan Thomas F/C Hard defensive stopper will get big minutes this season. Gary Trent F Returning from serious injury, can he recapture the form he displayed in '98?