2010-11 Season Previews: Dallas Mavericks

Mark Cuban: Just living the dream.

The NBA Season is fast upon us, so its time for the Pick and Scroll to begin previewing each team. We're going to go in order from worst previous record to best. We've reached the Mavericks, that perennial 50+ win team (10 seasons in a row now).  They have plenty of talent, but is it enough to win the West and the contenders in the East?

2009-10 Record: 55-27
Additions: Tyson Chandler (Trade), Alexis Ajinca (Trade), Dominique Jones (Draft), Ian Mahinimi (FA), Brian Cardinal (FA), Steve Novak (FA)
Subtractions: Erick Dampier, Matt Carroll, Eduardo Najera, Tim Thomas

Unsung Heroes: Southwest Division

Players are often described as being "overrated" or "underrated".  In the NBA, this often translates to overrated players being players that are good, but vastly overpaid for their abilities, or who get more media exposure than some other players, while underrated often means a player who is making a pittance for his current production (funnily enough, underrated players tend to become labeled overrated when they get new, bigger contracts).

I do think there are some underrated players though, players that aren't as widely known for their roles on their team, who don't often get mentioned for their contributions but are indeed integral parts of their team.

Over the next week or so, I'll be looking at each team to find one "underrated" player for each team in the league.  Tuesday, we looked at the Atlantic Divsion, Wednesday the Central, and yesterday the Southeast. After the jump, we leave the East Coast and travel to the Southwest.