The Dallas Mavericks arguably made the best offseason moves of any team, upgrading at key positions and adding depth to the backcourt. Could the Mavericks now be a top-four team in the Western Conference?
Tyson Chandler, Chandler Parsons and Jameer Nelson were among the key additions Dallas signed in the summer. Given the team's upgrades, Basketball Insiders' Nate Duncan believes Dallas can be a top-four seed in the Western Conference.
Per Duncan:
"The Mavs are looking like a contender for a top-4 seed, especially with the Thunder looking like they'll be in the bottom half of the bracket now with their injuries. And (the Mavericks) are dangerous in a playoff series due to (coach Rick) Carlisle's ability to muck things up defensively, like against the far superior Spurs last year.
"However, ... overall defense is going to be a problem for any team that starts (Monta) Ellis, Parsons, and Dirk (Nowitzki). Any injury to Chandler would also be devastating. However, their offense could make up for it in the regular season, as they have been unstoppable so far.
"I'm not sure they can win 3 rounds in the west playoffs with that defense, but it will be fun to see them try. I think second round is about right for a ceiling for this team. Let's see whether they can keep scoring at this rate though."
After losing their season opener to San Antonio by one point, Dallas has gone on to win three straight games while scoring at least 100 points in every contest. Chandler is a defensive anchor, but Ellis, Parsons and Devon Harris aren't known for being lock-down defenders.
Nelson is a veteran and a nice upgrade coming off the bench, but it'll be interesting to see what kind of production the rest of the bench can produce in the regular season.
