Dallas Mavericks - NBA Odds, Lines & Betting

Head Coach: Avery Johnson

Conference: Western/Southwest

2006-07 W/L Record: 67-15

2006-07 Wagering Stats:
41-37-4 ATS (19-20-2 H, 22-17-2 A)
37-43-2 O/U (22-19 H, 15-24-2 A)

2007-08 NBA Odds:
+ 225 to win Western Conference
+400 to win NBA title

After winning a whopping 67 games last season, the Dallas Mavericks were historically trounced – and bounced – out of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last season by the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors, who looked liked they owned Dallas from the opening game of the series.

Dallas will try to regroup from its second consecutive postseason collapse under head coach Avery Johnson and certainly has enough talent on the roster to win it all – for the next few seasons at that.

Whether this team has developed any ‘heart’ or not, remains the number one question heading into the 2007-08 season.

The Mavericks gave young point guard Devin Harris a big new contract and Harris, one of the quickest players in the league, should see plenty of minutes while splitting time at the point with veteran shoot-first point guard, Jason Terry.

Neither player is a typical, pass-first floor general which is exactly what the Mavericks need with a roster full of players that know how to put the ball in the hole. Dallas wisely added veteran shooting guard Eddie Jones who will come off the bench and provide outstanding perimeter defense and quality offense. Youngster, Maurice Ager may see some minutes late in games that have already been decided.

In the frontcourt, the Mavericks have league MVP Dirk Nowitzki, who posted some eye-popping regular season statistics, but failed miserably as a team leader in letting the Mavericks become just the third No.1 seed in league history to get knocked out in the first round last season.

Former Mavericks head coach Don Nelson, now the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, knew exactly what to do to get Nowitzki out of his game, defending the 7-foot freak of nature with smaller quicker forwards that denied him the ball and made him put it on the floor for uncomfortable forays to the basket when he did. The Warriors pestered Nowitzki into averaging just 19.7 points per game on a miserable 38 percent shooting from the field.
 
Dallas should look to go to their athletic small forward Josh Howard abit more this season as Howard  has improved each season in the league and finished with a career-best 18.9 points per game average last season and was the Mavs’ best player in the team’s first-round loss to the Warriors, averaging 21.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

Centers, Erick Dampier and DeSagana Diop provide the Mavericks with size, defense and rebounding. Unfortunately, Johnson failed to utilize either player against the smaller, quicker Warriors in the postseason, a mistake I believe contributed mightily to the Maverick’s stunning ouster.

While there is no doubt that this team has more than enough talent to reach – and win – the NBA Finals, the stunning failures of the past two seasons, lead me to believe that this team simply needs more heart, toughness and smarts - three traits head coach Avery Johnson displayed on a nightly basis during his playing days less than a decade ago.

If the Mavericks can add some swagger to their immensely talented roster, they could win it all in 2007-08, if not, expect another disheartening, premature postseason exit for the Mavericks.

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Official Team Site: Mavericks.com