Mavericks not given much of a chance to be in West elite

Although not many outside of their locker room are expecting much from the Dallas Mavericks this season, they respectfully beg to disagree.

With the Western Conference loaded again, the Mavs will likely struggle just to advance to the playoffs for the 15th time in the last 16 years.

“The West is a beast,” owner Mark Cuban said. “If we were in the East we would be looked at as a top three or four team.”

Some key off-season acquisitions who will help the Mavs deal with the powerhouses in the West include point guard Deron Williams, shooting guard Wesley Matthews, rookie forward Justin Anderson, forward Jeremy Evans and centers JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia and Salah Mejri. Guard John Jenkins also was a nice pickup who led the Mavs in scoring in six of their seven preseason games.

Add those to holdovers Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons, Devin Harris, J.J. Barea, Raymond Felton, Charlie Villanueva and Dwight Powell, and the Mavs believe they’re a team — when healthy — that can fly under the radar. But with Parsons and McGee recovering from injuries, the Mavs still aren’t sure when they’ll have their entire starting lineup on the court for the first time.

Thus, with the Mavs set to open the regular season Wednesday night in Phoenix, their fans will have to exercise some patience.

“I don’t know if you can be patient in the West,” said Donnie Nelson, the team’s president of basketball operations. “But I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.

“We’re deep, we’re veteran, we’ve got guys that know how to win and so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Williams (strained right calf) and Matthews (left Achilles tendon surgery) showed some bright signs when they played in their only preseason game Friday against the Chicago Bulls. Coupled with the 37-year old Nowitzki and the eventual return of Parsons, the Mavs are banking on that foursome giving them a huge jolt.

“We’ve got a lot of new young guys and they’re going to be fun to watch,” Cuban said. “Plus, watching Dirk and Chandler and Wes and Deron, that’s going to be money right there. That’s a heckuva top four.”

There is no timetable for Parsons’ return. But he knows when healthy, the Mavs could wreck a lot of teams’ championship hopes.

“We’re spending a lot of time together developing that chemistry off the court that I think will really help by the time we get around to playing.”

Because Rajon Rondo and Monta Ellis — two guys who dominated the ball last season — are no longer with the Mavs, Parsons may find himself featured more in a point-forward capacity. And that’s fine with him.

“I think our team will be really good with a different look with me at point, especially with Wesley and Deron on the wings, two guys that can really shoot the ball,” Parsons said. “It’s going to really open up the spacing and open up the floor.

“I think that’s what I do best as a player. I can make plays for others, I can see the floor very well, I have a high basketball IQ, I can handle the ball very well for my size, and I’m going to make good decisions.”

Good decisions that the Mavs hope can help them at least get out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since they won the NBA championship in 2011. But that won’t come until Parsons has completely rehabbed from his right knee surgery.

“That’s why you have to have a deep team in this day and age,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “You’re going to have to absorb some injuries, and you’re going to have to deal with foul trouble, guys are going to get the flu once in a while, all kinds of things are going to happen during the course of an NBA season.

“But I like the roster. We’ll roll with the guys that are available and eventually we’re going to get everybody back.”

This story was originally published October 25, 2015 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Mavericks not given much of a chance to be in West elite."