MAVS NEWS:

[F Gump]

After our showing after trading for PJ and Gafford, both in the end of the regular season and in the playoffs, if we won less than 55 games, I'd be checking the season boxscore for extremely lengthy health absences for our top players. Short of that, 50 wins would be quite unacceptable, or at least gravely disappointing.

You're right.

Cuban did such a spectacular job of wrecking a top team, the talent base that Nellie built, with no clue on how to really create another, that we've forgotten what one of those talented squads with a superstar is supposed to look like. It's so hard to get a superstar and then surround him with the players to get really good, which underscores how stupid to fritter away talent that's hard to obtain.

Dirk's teams won 53 in Dirk's 3rd year, and for another decade they won at least 50, with 3 seasons in the 60's. Only winning 50 was a BAD season. For those 11 seasons, they averaged 56.4 wins a year. Really good teams WILL win games by the bucketloads.

If this team is what we think they may be, 50 will be a BAD season. In Luka's 3rd year the Mavs won 52 but Cuban blundered away a key talent (Brunson) and set them back for a bit (shades of Steve Nash!). Yet if Luka is the talent we think, and the surrounding cast is as improved now as it has seemed, the win numbers should be above 55 as you say, and maybe even threatening 60.