Dallas Mavericks and their 'guarded' approach

Monta Ellis

Ellis’ weakness going forward has always been his inability to choose between good and bad shots. Giving him the benefit of the doubt though is the fact that he has almost never played with a pass first facilitator. Devin Harris is an interesting addition, his play off the bench will be critical in terms of both playmaking and defence. He brings some much needed solidity to the back court. Along with Ellington and Carter, he will have to shoulder the brunt of the bench scoring.

The rookies Larkin, Ledo and Mekel have all shown some promise in the summer league, and a lot of trust has been placed in them by the management. Their development over the course of the season will be a good watch, and offensively, this Dallas Mavericks roster looks to be an exciting one.

Defensively though, its a completely different ball game, and they could have a tough time keeping opponents out. Expect thoroughly entertaining games, featuring lots of brilliant offensive basketball thrown in with some dodgy defence. That is where coach Carlisle and his ingenuity come in. He transformed the 2011 roster into a strong defensive outfit, utilizing the strengths of Chandler and Marion coupled with Kidd’s positional intelligence.

He used a 3-2 zone defence to offset the defensive liabilities of his team and prevented the opposition from getting to the basket easily. This flexibility will be very crucial in the coming season. Dalembert and Marion will be pivotal to the defensive organization and fortitude of the team. Crowder and Ellington on the wings will be expected to provide strength and fight for position. Wright and Blair will be the energy guys, hustling for rebounds, finishing around the rim, and providing some much needed size and backup to the starting line up.

On the whole, Dallas has taken a conscious decision that they will play a lot of small ball (the 3 guard line up that has featured so often the last couple of years) and utilize their speed and quickness to make stuff happen. They possess the ability to take jump shots and also drive to the hoop, thus opening up free shots for the wings, which was a tactic frequently used earlier.

The 2013-14 season might well be like one of the Nellie years, where the team was completely breathtaking offensively, and a shambles defensively. A play-off position beckons, but it remains to be seen whether the Mavs can actually make this a season to remember. For now though, the probability of this season falling flat on their face is high, just like a lot of Wile e Coyote’s hair-brained schemes. But as is his wont, Wile e Coyote never gives up, and the same way, the Dallas Mavericks always look toward the future, forgetting the past.