Dallas Mavericks Tickets

Dallas Mavericks 2008/2009 Season Preview The Dallas Mavericks followed up an incredibly disappointing first round loss to the No. 8 seed Golden State Warriors two years ago by once again failing to advance in the postseason.

The Mavericks barely managed to slip into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed but were quickly eliminated by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round.

Dallas tried to make another run at an NBA title by trading away young, promising point guard Devin Harris for veteran Jason Kidd, who was drafted by the Mavericks out of college.

It may have been a move that made them a legitimate title contender a few years ago, but the veteran has certainly lost a step or two in the past couple of seasons. He is still a great passer with incredible vision, but he was torched by Chris Paul in the first round of the playoffs. With guards like Paul and Tony Parker in the Western Conference, Dallas needs to find someone quick enough to stop their penetration to the basket.

Speaking of the playoffs, it still seems like forward Dirk Nowitzki has not recovered from the team's playoff loss to the Warriors, which has gone down as one of the biggest upsets in NBA postseason history. He shies away from taking over games in crunch time and has never been an impact player on the defensive end.

Forward Josh Howard is arguably the team's most consistent and best all-around player, but he caused problems during last year's playoffs when he admitted to smoking marijuana in the offseason. It served as a huge distraction for the Mavericks and certainly raised some eyebrows. It's now very questionable whether or not Howard is a player they want to build around when going for a future championship.

Dallas continues to play no defense whatsoever, forcing them to be perfect on every offensive possession to have any chance of outscoring their opponents. If they really want to get to the next level, the Mavericks have to learn to put in some effort on the defensive end.

The biggest news in the offseason was the firing of head coach Avery Johnson, who was considered one of the brightest in the league but was unsuccessful when it really mattered: the playoffs. Owner Mark Cuban hired Rick Carlisle, who is expected to bring a certain intensity to the defensive end of the floor.

The team has made no notable offseason roster moves to improve themselves other than selecting guard Shan Foster in the NBA Draft, and I'm not very high on him at all. He is a pretty good outside shooter but has a very one-dimensional game and will get physically abused by most guards.

The Dallas Mavericks seem like a team stuck in nuetral just spinning their wheels. As close as this team came to winning a championship just a few years ago, it may be time for a roster overhaul and letting some different players make a run at a title.

With this current group, the Mavericks will be in for another grind just to make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.