HoopsHype.com Season Previews

Dallas Mavericks (60-22) .... Teams Atlanta Dallas New Orleans Orlando Utah

SUBTRACTIONS: Darrell Armstrong (Indiana), Marquis Daniels (Indiana), Adrian Griffin (Chicago), Rawle Marshall (Indiana), Pavel Podkolzin (Khimki Moscow) and Josh Powell (Indiana).

STRENGTHS: The deepest team in the NBA ... Reliable backups at every position ... They will always have fresh legs in the fourth quarter ... Potent offensive squad ... Dallas has plenty of players able to average 10-plus ppg in the regular season ... Good combination of stars and role players ... Nice mix of youth and experience ... Dirk Nowitzki remains a Top 5 player in the NBA and a matchup nightmare ... Dirk and Jason Terry are pretty good clutch players ... Josh Howard will be an All-Star candidate this season ... Excellent rebounding squad ... Nowitzki, Howard, DeSagana Diop, Erick Dampier and DJ Mbenga guarantee a lot of blocked shots ... Three seven-footers ... The nucleus of the team remains intact ... The Mavs proved they are no longer a soft squad ... Players have completely bought into Avery Johnson's philosophy.

WEAKNESSES: Dirk Nowitzki plays with Germany once again this summer ... Will he pay the effort late in the season? ... All the best scorers in Dallas are perimeter players ... Low-post scoring might be an issue ... Compared to other contenders, the Mavs are not very strong at the shooting guard position ... Could officiating be a problem if Mark Cuban doesn't stop complaining?

PROJECTION: 1st in the Southwest Division / 1st in the Western Conference

.PROJECTED STARTERS
	Point guard Jason Terry		Shooting guard Jerry Stackhouse		Small Forward Josh Howard
	Excellent combo guard with the ability to hit big shots. Scoring is not a problem for him. Average playmaker.		Very talented guard. Can really score the ball. Can be very selfish too. Better starting or coming off the bench for the Mavericks?		Great all-around player. Can score, rebound and play pretty good defense. Don't be surprised if he makes his first All-Star appearance.
	Power Forward Dirk Nowitzki		Center Erick Dampier		Sixth Man Devin Harris
	One of the finest offensive players in the NBA. Could very well lead the league in scoring. Has become a true leader for this team.		Will be asked to do the dirty job, but he won't be able to do that if he can't stay out of foul trouble. Will split minutes with DeSagana Diop.		Had a nice sophomore season after a disappointing rookie year. Can make an impact both offensively and defensively. A player to watch out for.