Dallas Mavericks: 2015-16 Season Outlook

Three Key Storylines (cont.)

3. Are We Sure The Mavs Aren’t Tanking?

Mark Cuban has said his team is not tanking, and NBA fans everywhere have deified him for it. When you look at what the Philadelphia 76ers are doing to the competitive spirit of basketball (i.e. murdering it), the Mavs’ commitment to putting a respectable team on the floor is noble by comparison.

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The Smoking Cuban

But Dallas has undeniably set themselves up pretty darn well for a tanking season, much like the Milwaukee Bucks did two years ago. A Deron Williams-Wesley Matthews-Chandler Parsons-Dirk Nowitzki-Zaza Pachulia starting five doesn’t look as bad on paper as Twitter would lead you to believe, but who in that unit capable of defending anyone? Especially if Matthews doesn’t come back 100 percent? Don’t forget, Parsons is coming off summer surgery too.

Even more importantly, who is capable of having an impact off the bench? Charlie Villanueva, JaVale McGee, Devin Harris, J.J. Barea and rookie Justin Anderson are this team’s best bench players now. That’s not exactly encouraging.

The Mavericks may be trying to win games in 2015-16, but perhaps the way Cuban constructed the team post-DeAndre Jordan will actually be a blessing in disguise when this team unintentionally tanks its way into keeping its top-7 protected draft pick.

Next: Best, Worst Case Scenarios