Dallas Mavericks: A Few Bubble Teams On The Same Level

The Dallas Mavericks are set to enter the 2015-16 season with a team very different from 2014-15. First of all, they won’t have starters like Rajon Rondo, Monta Ellis and Tyson Chandler. Instead, they will roll with Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews and either JaVale McGee, Samuel Dalembert or Zaza Pachulia, depending on who Rick Carlisle decides to start.

The other thing that is different has to do with the goals for the team. Though every player will say that the goal is to win a Championship, it is obvious that this year’s Mavs are just going to attempt to stay afloat in the Western Conference Playoff race. The bottom line is that the Mavs aren’t going to be the same this season, which means they will be hanging with a lot of new teams in their position in the standings.

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Last season, the Mavs were in a battle with the Trail Blazers and Pelicans. However, near the last month of the season, the Mavs were virtually locked in the 7th seed and never really had to worry about anyone taking that spot. That is expected to change for 2015-16. The Playoff race in the Western Conference is going to be intense, meaning there will be more teams, including the Mavs battling for the 8th and final Playoff spot.

Some may say that the Mavs are destined for more but if you take a look at the roster and take into account the fact that Matthews and Parsons are coming off serious injuries, it’s safe to put them in the category of a team that will be battling for the last Playoff spot. After all, the Warriors, Rockets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Spurs and Thunder will hold the top six positions. By taking a look at the Western Conference, the teams that will be battling with the Mavs at the bottom are most likely going to be the Pelicans, Suns, Jazz and Trail Blazers.

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The Pelicans already have one of the top players in the league in Anthony Davis, but their problem has been building a contending team around him. Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon and Omer Asik is a place to start but they still haven’t been able to break through. Last season they earned the 8th seed in the West and with the talent getting deeper along with no major signings this summer, they are most likely going to be the toughest team for the Mavs to counter in the race.

The Suns got better, even though they had to give up some key players. Markieff Morris has already requested a trade and of course they traded away Goran Dragic last season but their team is starting to show some chemistry. That chemistry will likely grow stronger now that they have Tyson Chandler to hold down the middle defensively. Last season they had a disappointing 10th place finish but were still a fun team to watch and provided entertainment whenever they played the Mavs. The story between these two teams will be the battles that their guards have on offense and defense.

The Jazz are a team expected to make a small jump this season. Throughout the last few seasons they have been in a rebuilding mode but last year they only fell seven games short of a playoff spot, which is saying something in the Western Conference. Built around Gordon Hayward, they have young pieces like Rudy Gobert, Trey Burke and Derrick Favors. They may not be a significant threat, but they should be in the thick of things with the Mavs and other teams.

The last team is the Blazers. After experiencing a horrible summer of losing four out of five starters (Wesley Matthews, Nicholas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez), they rebounded nicely. Last season they were 4th in the West so they will go through a drop but by adding Al-Farouq Aminu, Mason Plumlee and Mike Miller, they built a decent team that should be able to make a run for the Playoffs.

Unless the Mavs are able to prove everyone wrong, which isn’t out of the question, it looks as if they will be in a much thicker Playoff race this season. One that’s not so much about what seed they will have in the Playoffs but whether or not they will make the Playoffs.

Injuries are still things to take into account with the other contenders in the Western Conference, but it certainly feels like the Mavs will be a part of the second tier this season. It should be interesting to see if they can overcome the rest of the teams on the bubble.

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