I don't know how they are convincingly better than us by any stretch. Parsons and Matthews are coming off of serious injury. Pachulia is a journeyman bruiser with little actual talent. Dirk is more or less equal to Kobe in terms of being ancient, and Deron has been a career underachiever. I'd say they MIGHT be better than us, but it's far from convincing. Of course, they're better coached than us but their roster doesn't match ours at all.
We will see @therealdeal. I think experience is huge and I think Dallas is in a much better position to be more successful for the next 2 years. After that its a different story.
I just have my doubts they'll be healthy. They're also not a deep team by any stretch either. I think we should be a better team this season honestly just because when we go to our bench we've got a lot of weapons and they've got JJ Barea.
Deron is old and injury prone. I haven't watched much of him since he left for Brooklyn but that team is either old or injured in all 5 starting positions. They won't be able to keep up with the fast paced teams of the NBA IMO. Deron Williams is a bonafide half-court guard, Dirk is at best a shade less effective than Kobe, and who knows how Matthews plays off an AChilles tear AND in a system without a big like LaMarcus, and I don't think that Parsons is quite the slasher that Batum was. Not to mention Damian Lillard who I believe today is more effective at breaking down the defense than Deron. The 2 things that have on us are coaching and veterans. They're one injury to that starting lineup away from being a lottery team IMO.
I have to agree with KB24 on this one. I think the Mavs are a good amount better than us. I also don't think Dirk and Kobe are equivalent either. Both ancient? Yes, but imo, Dirk has been better and will most likely be better. He has at least been able to stay on the floor, and that alone is a big difference. Yes, we can blame our coaching staff for running Kobe into the ground, but that's just another huge advantage for the Mavericks. The coaching staff is much better. Dirk has also shown an ability to adapt with old age. He can play off the ball and let others do the work. Can Kobe? Possibly, but we aren't sure yet how the team will look in terms of chemistry. This team has a bunch of players who new to the team and new to the NBA in general. The Mavs have veterans who understand the NBA. We're younger, and yes, the Mavs do have health concerns, but despite their old age, the Lakers have also been the ones that have been decimated by injuries the past few years. Our young core has a ton of potential, but that potential is still raw. I think they need at least 2 years to flourish.
@thkthebest Good point about Kobe. You're right in that staying on the floor is a big difference. I'm really hoping, almost praying that Kobe doesn't have an injury issues this year. I'd love for him to play 60-65 games. Another good point that Dirk is OK playing off the ball. In that regard he is a more safe bet than Kobe, agreed. I think for the Mavs to be a playoff team Deron has to have a resurgence to his old form. Definitely not out of the question....he left a crap situation in BKN for warm weather & southern comfort. I've lessened my expectations for our team. Even with healthy Kobe and effective Roy Hibbert we're going to have to rely on our rookies to come through if we want a shot at the Playoffs. I think that's a little bit too much to expect right now. Who knows though, maybe we change some things in our offense, maybe we stay healthy, maybe Russell adapts a little bit and can provide 10/5/5 and a 3 point shot. Then maybe, just maybe we'll have an outside shot at the 8th seed.
eh, both the mavs and lakers will be on the outside looking in, but if I had to lay money, I'd put it on dallas due to vastly superior coaching and more proven veteran talent. I do think they are gambling heavily health-wise, though. they didn't really have a choice after the Jordan jilt.
