NBA: Distinguishing The 2014-15 Contenders And Pretenders

May 2, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward

(41) shoots over San Antonio Spurs guard

(right) during the game against the San Antonio Spurs in game six of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Dallas won 113-111. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Mavericks – Pretenders

There were only two teams to give the NBA champs problems last season, and those teams were the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks were the only team to take the Spurs to a seven-game series. And the reason for that is depth. They’ll have even more depth now with the additions of Chandler Parsons, Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler, Richard Jefferson, and Jameer Nelson. They have a great nucleus, but I still don’t think they have enough to dethrone the NBA champs.

On paper, the roster looks great. I am a firm believer that they overachieved a bit last season only making the NBA playoffs by one game. This roster is filled with injury-prone players and that may cause some issues for the playoffs. Reaching the postseason won’t be an easy task, but I do think they will do that at the very least. In fact, they may even have a top-5 record in the West, but they can’t beat the Spurs in a series and are still pretenders to me. They are still very thin inside and could potentially get killed by bigger teams like the Spurs, Clippers, and Warriors. The key for this team, just like any other team, will be for them to stay healthy.

PROJECTED STARTERS (with 2013-14 NBA statistics)

PG: Jameer Nelson — 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists a game
SG: Monta Ellis — 19.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals a game
SF: Chandler Parsons — 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists a game
PF: Dirk Nowitzki — 21.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game
C: Tyson Chandler — 8.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks a game