ESPNDallas.com columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor and MavsOutsider.com editor-in-chief Bryan Gutierrez will join me each week to run a three-man weave on a few questions on the minds of Mavs fans.
1. What will the Mavs’ record be, and which teams will finish above them in the West?
Gutierrez: Game one against the Spurs didn’t change any preconceived thoughts I had about the Mavericks. They’re going to be a beast on offense, extremely deep, and have room to grow defensively. Provided that they stay healthy, I can see a 55-27 record in the West, earning them the fourth seed and home-court advantage in the first round. The top three seeds, in no particular order: are the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers.
MacMahon: The Mavs will be fighting for the fourth seed behind the Spurs, Thunder and Clippers. Dallas was an elite offensive team that upgraded in that department during the offseason. If the Mavs can be decent defensively, they’ll really be dangerous. It took 54 wins for a West team to get home-court advantage in the first round. The Mavs will hit that number, but it might not be enough to open the playoffs at the American Airlines Center.
Taylor: 56-28, finishing behind San Antonio, the Clippers and Oklahoma City.
2. Rank the five best players on the Mavs.
Gutierrez: Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis, Chandler Parsons, Tyson Chandler, and Devin Harris. Nowitzki and Ellis should be self-explanatory. I lean more toward Parsons over Chandler due to his versatility on offense and potential as a defender. In terms of importance to the team, Chandler means more than Parsons, but the talent favors the young forward. I selected Harris because of the potential to be the best two-way point guard on the roster.
MacMahon: Nowitzki, Parsons, Ellis, Chandler, Harris. Nowitzki is a no-brainer as a future Hall of Famer who is still playing at an All-Star level. Parsons over Ellis is a tough call, especially considering that I had a courtside seat in San Antonio, where Ellis lit it up and Parsons stunk it up. But Parsons is a much more versatile player who is an ascending talent and should bloom in Rick Carlisle’s system.
Taylor: Dirk is still the Mavs' best player, followed closely by Ellis, Parsons, Jameer Nelson and Chandler.
3. Who will be the leading scorer?
Gutierrez: I originally thought about the safe answer in Nowitzki, but I’m going to go ahead and shift course by saying it will be Ellis. There will be plenty of times over the course of the season where Nowitzki will just be used as a decoy or Rick Carlisle will use his “gravity” to suck in the opposition. Chandler Parsons is going to benefit from this, but Ellis will likely reap the rewards most. Nowitzki will get his, but Ellis should take another step up this season and be the team’s leading scorer.
MacMahon: Mark Cuban said he doesn’t think any Maverick will average 20 points per game this season due to Dallas’ depth and balance, but I disagree. The big German will put up 20-plus for the 13th time in 14 seasons. His shots might go down a bit, but I’ll bet the quality of his looks increases, especially from 3-point range. Expect Ellis to match his scoring average from last season (19.0) and Parsons to chip in 17 or 18 points per game.
Taylor: Ellis will lead the Mavs in scoring this season because any time the Mavs are blowing a team out or getting blown out, Nowitzki will take a seat on the bench and save his legs for another day.