Rule out Denver just for discussion purposes, maybe Murray or Jokic gets hurt. Who comes out of the west?

To me it seems like every other team currently falls into one of four categories:

  1. Playing Well But Is Young and/or Inexperienced (Rockets, Thunder, Wolves)

  2. Have Talent But Are Kind Of A Mess (Lakers, Suns, Clippers, Kings, Warriors)

  3. Suck (Spurs, Blazers, Pelicans, Jazz, Grizzlies)

  4. Mavericks (Mavs)

The biggest question is which of the messes can turn it around or stay healthy, and are any of the young teams ready to break through?

Am I just a biased Mavs fan, or is this a fair way to break down the conference currently?

Really excited to see how Dallas matches up with groups 1 & 2. I’m not scared of any of them, but the Wolves are an especially tough matchup.

  • AnnualNature4352BEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    the wolves arent anywhere near as inexperienced as the rockes or thunder. Mike connely is the PG and Rudy is out there.

    kings have just had fox out for 5 out of 9 games

    id say the mavs would group with those 2

  • ormipBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I think we’re playing well and have a chance if we’re not counting Denver, but don’t underestimate the Wolves. They are playing very well and aren’t as inexperienced as you say. Gobert, KAT, Conley have all been to the playoffs multiple times, Ant and Jaden have also already played at least once.

    OKC will be very good soon, but definitely are a young/inexperienced team atm. It’s also possible Lakers/Suns/Warriors figure it out and start playing better this year.

    I think we still need a backup big and another wing player to be a true contender, we will be able to rival the Nuggets if we can do that, and we have 3 FRP and 30M in expiring salaries + MLE to make it happen during next offseason.

    • No-Abbreviations4188BEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      yeah at the moment the Wolves are the clear other best team in the west other than Denver, which doesn’t bode well considering Kat has been playing so poorly and yet they’re playing so well.

  • jdmay101BEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Mavs could VERY easily wind up in column 2 again before the season is over. Give it some time before rushing to judgment on these things. Same gos for anointing the Wolves after a good week.

    I think if it’s not the Nuggets, the Mavs will be in a battle with the Suns and Lakers to get out of the west… and I don’t hate our chances.

    • TuckEverlasting89OPBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Yeah you’re right. Especially because we were in that group last year with a pretty similar roster. Vibes are always good when you’re winning, but how will our vibes be after playing a long stretch of the leagues better teams? I really think guys like Grant, Lively, & Seth are great additions to our locker room vibes, and losing guys like Christian Wood and Javale McGee make me encouraged that our improved chemistry is for real.

      I also don’t hate our chances against the Lakers or Suns, even if they’re fully healthy (big if).

  • stevenashty18BEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    This sub is straight crazy, and I’m here for it…

    Play a good game and win - MAVS CHAMPIONS!

    Lose and play bad - WE GOTTA MAKE A TRADE NOW! WE ARE TRASH!

    It is easier to watch basketball if you don’t set too high of expectations, especially 10 games in fellas… Just enjoy the ride, trust in Nico, pray for health and don’t overreact. Just my thoughts…

  • Dirks_KneeBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    So…what your saying is you think the west in general is bad?

    I don’t think categorizing the Wolves as young/inexperienced when they are starting Conley, Gobert, and KAT. And teams rarely stay bad forever so while relatively young, I think 1 of the Thunder or Rockets will end up very competitive this year and the other still a decent team. Same with point 2, there’s no question in my mind that at least 2 of those teams is going to click and go on runs and do some damage in the playoffs.

    So more or less, Denver at the top. I think the 2nd tier is 2 of Wolves/Thunder/Rockets and 2 of Warriors, Suns, Kings.

    So where do the Mavs fit in? We’re off to a hot start and a huge part of that is Lively looking way better than I expected and being on fire from 3…but that 3P% is going to drop a bit and despite the wins the roster/strategy issues are obvious in the way we start games allowing opponents to jump to quick leads and defensive rebounding especially when Lively isn’t on the floor. I think over the course of the season we’re still probably bottom half of the west but way better than my preseason thoughts that we’d be a play in team.

    No team is perfect…but if the Mavs can make an adjustment (or trade) to beef up D rebounding and improve transition D…sky’s the limit.

  • nutsygeniusBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    The Wolves, only because they are clamping everybody right now. Though, I’d like to see their 2nd half numbers versus ours. lol