The Dallas Mavericks are on pace to lock up the fourth-best record in the NBA and they are doing it ... quietly? This is a team that exploded onto the scene back in 2001, winning 53 games out of nowhere with one of the most powerful offenses of all time. Their owner, Mark Cuban, has the subtlety of a La Cucaracha car honk. So why are they the best team no one is talking about?
In a season of surprise teams like Phoenix and Seattle, the Mavs have been inconspicuously flying below the radar. They are on pace to win 55 games, which will probably be third-best out in the West. They have won as many games as Seattle and more than any team in the East other than Miami.
Dirk Nowitzki's play has been off the charts this season, and yet he probably will not finish better than fourth in MVP balloting. In his seventh season out of Germany, he is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and three-point percentage. Averages of 26.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game are good for third and eighth overall in the league.
Still, Dirk has had his tremendous year overshadowed by the attention that Shaq and Steve Nash have received in their new uniforms. Dirk is putting up better numbers than both of them, but he is not playing on a new team that has undergone a dramatic turnaround, which is the surefire way to get MVP consideration.
If Dirk is overshadowed the whole team will be overshadowed. It is a weird scenario to come across a player who is the best European player of all time and a future hall-of-famer, but who also may never start an All-Star game. Dirk will probably always be underappreciated, and that is going to affect that amount of credit that the Mavs get as a team.
Nowitzki is the only bonafide star on the team. There is a big drop-off between him and their next best player (probably Michael Finley). The good news is the next seven players behind Nowitzki are all capable of big nights. Michael Finley and Jerry Stackhouse are in reduced roles, but both are capable of 25 or more on any given night. Van Horn can put up 18 and pull down five if needed. Howard is a bouncy, energetic player that makes things happen. Daniels has been steady and efficient, and Terry has run the point well while being deadly from three. Even Dampier has been the rock in the middle that Dallas has coveted for the last five years.
They are the second options to Nowitzki. There is no third, fourth or fifth option on this team. That is what makes them so difficult to slow down. Defenses cannot key on two or three players. Almost their entire rotation is capable of going off, and it is hard to tell where the lightning will strike on any given night. This team effort behind Dirk will not impress you with their numbers, but they will kill you on the court.
Perhaps the most positive change with this team has been their effort and intensity on defense. New head coach Avery Johnson has stressed defensive intensity, and the team has made some real strides in that area with the Little General at the helm. In Johnson's first 10 games since fully taking over, the team is allowing 94.7 points per game, almost three points less than they had been doing under Don Nelson.
Defense has been the Holy Grail for the Mavericks, and they have finally started to turn the corner. Only their offense is lagging slightly and is performing below the one that broke records a couple of years ago. They still have this lingering stereotype of being a poor defensive team, even though they have vastly improved in that area. So when people look at Dallas, they still think bad defense, and don't see them scoring over 100 every game. This is the popular mode of thinking with this team, and it explains why people tend to overlook the Mavs.
But with Nowitzki playing extremely well with a talented supporting cast and the team playing some defense, Dallas is deserving of a lot more credit than it has received. It is about time people start talking about the Mavericks, especially with the injury to Tim Duncan. With Duncan down, there is no odds-on favorite in the West.
Do not be surprised if this team, a team that a lot of people thought would be lost without Steve Nash, will be playing in June.
Dennis Doyle is a senior majoring in engineering. He can be reached at Dennis.Doyle@tufts.edu.
