The Baseline Sees All: Dallas Mavericks

Elsewhere in our web of basketball knowledge, you'll find comprehensive team previews by experts intimately acquainted with what makes these NBA teams tick, where they've been, and what might be next for them. So why another set of previews? Because sometimes, it's worth listening to your crazy uncle about that broken leg before you take a second trip to the doctor's office.

The Mavs just might be the biggest question mark of 2009-10. Consider the following:

Jason Kidd(notes) just gets older and older. Shawn Marion(notes), the new addition, might have been exposed by leaving Phoenix, or also could be showing the effects of aging. Josh Howard(notes) is one of those "when he plays well, they win" guys, but has been dinged up or otherwise compromised for what seems like ages. Dirk Nowitzki(notes) should be on the MVP radar every year, and yet can't go at it alone like James or Wade can. Jason Terry(notes) seems to have been around forever. Oh, and their center is Drew Gooden(notes).

Or then, there's the other version.

Kidd has proven himself endlessly resourceful when it comes to staying effective despite his age; Marion may have lost a step, but he's back with an elite PG (sorry, Jose) on a legit team that should be pushing the tempo; Howard's run of bad luck and judgment has to end at some point; Dirk is a weapon unlike any other in the league, especially when a coach isn't obsessed with his height; Terry shows no signs of slowing down or letting up; and Gooden has proven himself a perfectly respectable rebounder and defender, and putting him in the middle allows the team to operate more fluidly than ever.

It's kind of like their unexpectedly strong showing in last year's playoffs. They shocked the Spurs, who just happened to be down one Manu. But still, the Mavs, who had been remarkably mediocre during much of the year, trampled a team known for solving the seemingly insolvable. Then were the Nuggets, the hottest team in the league and just maybe a threat to the Lakers. The Mavericks got bounced in five games, but put up a fight—most games were close, one only went to the Nuggets because of a botched call, and Dallas showed a toughness that they've historically lacked.

Where did that leave them? I have no idea, but the overall feeling was a good one, which is generally how I see them heading into this season. They're not contenders—at least I don't think they are—and I'd still place the Nuggets well ahead of them. But really, anything between "league's best record" and the lottery wouldn't surprise me. I would almost say that makes them exciting and unpredictable, if they weren't so old. Then again, they're likely to be somewhat exciting and unpredictable on the floor. But still old.

What do you think?

Most Likely Breakout: Hard to say, on a team that so, um, familiar. Jose Juan Barea(notes) showed during last year's playoffs that, at least on offense, he can make an impact from either guard slot. Matt Carroll(notes), acquired from Charlotte, has played some great ball in spurts in games that didn't matter. Rookie speedster Rodrigue Beaubois(notes) is, on pure physical tools alone, one of the most intriguing rookies from this past draft. Barea or Carroll could become a secondary scoring threat off the bench after Terry, but that veteran core is going to keep either one from suddenly ascending. Beaubois just won't get a chance, unless things go seriously awry and the team's left scrambling for answers. Anything could happen

Most Likely Letdown: Kidd, Marion or anyone else looking old doesn't count. Death happens. All eyes are on Drew Gooden, one of Jerry West's few missteps as a GM, to prove he can actually work as the team's big man of choice. Otherwise, we're back to Dampier, and Marcin Gortat(notes) turns into the one that got away. Gooden's been a disappointment and redeemed himself to become a valuable role player. Now at another crucial juncture, he's trying to make a switch that puts him in a position to fail, even if no one's expecting him to star.

Blog superstar: Wouldn't you like to know what Tim Thomas(notes) has been thinking all these years? I'd say they should trade for Larry Hughes(notes) and include him on there, but Hughes has that whole pathos thing going.

Signature game: The last one they lose.

Why else you should care: Critical mass of big names, boom/bust potential and pleasant memories you wouldn't mind warming over one more time.
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