The Dallas Mavericks take a 21-13 record into the All-Star break, right in the thick of the Western Conference playoff chase. The team started the season losing their first three games, looking like a team that was not ready to defend their championship. To their credit, everyone in the organization has bounced back and gotten themselves into the position they are right now. So how have the Mavericks gotten to this point?

Q: How have the Mavs been able to get to where they are at this point of the season with an overhaul to their supporting cast?BG: The credit needs to be given to the “triangle of trust.” Moving into the second half of the season, Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle have done a tremendous job with their respective roles when it comes to acclimating to the new collective bargaining agreement. Losing players such as Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler, JJ Barea and DeShawn Stevenson is a tough pill to swallow, but the front office did a tremendous job bringing in players that could help fill those voids. Carlisle has done a tremendous job getting players to buy in to the system the Mavericks have established over the three-plus years with him as the head coach. Doubt swirled amongst the fan base in regards to whether or not the front office knew what they were doing when it came to preparing to defend their title. It appears they knew exactly what they were doing and then some.

Q: What has been the biggest surprise through the first half of the season?

BG: The fact that the Mavericks have truly created a three-headed monster at the center position is a major surprise. As it was mentioned earlier, the loss of Tyson Chandler was a major hole to fill. Analysts believed that the Mavericks would revert back to their old, soft ways, but that has been far from the case. Brendan Haywood, Ian Mahinmi and Brandan Wright have done a tremendous job anchoring the Mavericks. All three centers are averaging at least 5.0 points per game. They all bring different things to the position and that allows Rick Carlisle to play a traditional lineup, one with a center on the floor at all times. Occasions have been few and far between this season where the Mavericks have gone significant periods of time where a center has not been on the floor. The fact they have been able to go that route has really established their defensive mentality. The fact that they have been able to do that despite the loss of Chandler is a major surprise.

Q: Where is the biggest room for improvement?

BG: Jason Terry’s scoring output on the road is a situation where opportunity is apparent. Terry is averaging 12.0 points per game on 33.2 percent shooting from the floor, 31.1 percent from three-point range on the road this year. That is a rather dramatic difference to his 16.9 points per game average on 51.1 percent shooting, 44.0 percent from three-point range at home this year. That is truly a baffling statistic as Terry has been known as a player that thrives when it comes to taking the challenge of delivering in an opponent’s gym. Over his career, Terry has scored 16.9 points on 45.7 percent shooting from the floor, 39.3 percent from three-point range in home games. He’s scored 15.4 points on 43.9 percent shooting, 36.7 percent from three-point range in road games over his career. With 991 games in his career, Terry, for the most part, is who he is as a basketball player. That is what makes his home-road split numbers such a perplexing situation. The numbers find a way to balance themselves out, so Terry’s road woes should be something to monitor.

Q: A major strength of last season’s squad was their depth. Has the depth on this season’s team supplanted the depth of last year’s roster?

BG: Delonte West has given the team a hybrid of JJ Barea and DeShawn Stevenson with his toughness, defense and ability to run the offense for the Mavericks. Vince Carter has supplanted the scoring role that Caron Butler gave to the Mavericks during the early portion of last season. As it was mentioned earlier, the centers have done a tremendous job replacing what the center position produced last season. You’ve seen flashes of positivity out of Yi Jianlian and out of Sean Williams in his brief stint with the team before heading to Frisco with the Texas Legends. They have been able to get to where they are while Lamar Odom is still trying to find his groove in a new system for him that requires him to do different things with different weapons around him. In a season where depth is extremely valuable, the Mavericks have found a way to improve their depth, a major strength for the team during the championship run.

Q: Do the Mavericks have what it takes to have a chance to repeat this season?

BG: The nine-game stretch to end the first half of the season, 7-2 record, gives the impression that the Mavericks are definitely poised to be a major threat in the Western Conference. Specifically, the game in Philadelphia against the Sixers was a game that featured many of the calling cards the Mavericks relied on last season. Dirk Nowitzki was dominant in the second half as he scored 24 points, equaling the total for Philadelphia’s entire team in the second half. The Mavericks had to rely on Dominique Jones in a tough situation as they were without Jason Terry, Delonte West and Rodridgue Beaubois. Dallas also showed some resiliency as they had to come back in order to secure the win on the road. The Mavericks, who trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, had not won a game during the season in which they trailed by double digits. They hadn’t won a road game in which they trailed by more than five points. After the sluggish start to the season, the Mavericks have found themselves right in the thick of the playoff chase. They have also stayed under the radar, a position that could prove to be very beneficial for the defending champions.

(Source: mavsfastbreak.com)