Dallas Mavericks Year End Grades
The Dallas Mavericks capped off another great season with an amazing playoff run and brought home their first championship to Dallas. It goes without saying that it took an entire team effort to win the Championship, but the point is to explore as individuals and what kind of season each of the Mavs had from start to finish.
JJ Barea– Barea, who becomes a free agent in July, may have had the best season of his career. Although he takes a back seat to Jason Terry as the first guard off the bench he still manages to produce. Despite managing to start only two games, he played in 20 minutes a game and still averaged 9.5 points. He also had a great postseason and played best in the games that mattered. Final Grade= A-
Rodrigue Beaubois– After a great rookie season, Beaubois was named the starter at shooting guard to start the season. He wasn’t playing terribly, but he wasn’t putting up the same numbers he had the year before. After a breaking his foot in august with the French national team, he was not able to play until the middle of February. He then went on to sprain the same ankle on April 13th and did not return to action the rest of the season. Final Grade= C+
Corey Brewer– After a buyout from the Knicks, the Mavericks signed Brewer on March 4 to serve as a replacement for the injured Caron Butler. Although he played sparingly after he came to the Mavs, he played some solid defense, and I believe he should have played more than Peja Stojakovic in some instances when head coach Rick Carlisle needed defense over offense. Final Grade= C-
Caron Butler– Butler, the starting small forward at the beginning of the year was having a pretty good season in his second with the Mavs, averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds. After playing in only 29 games Butler torn his patella tendon and was lost for the rest of the season. Final Grade= B-
Brian Cardinal– In his first year in Dallas, the 11 year vet played sparingly, about 11 minutes a game. He played well in his limited time and played great in the Finals as a role player. Final Grade= B-
Tyson Chandler– Another of the many newly acquired Mavericks, Chandler had a great rebound season after struggling in Charlotte. He shot an unbelievable 65% from the floor and almost averaged a double double over the entire season. He added toughness and a physical presence that the Mavs had lacked in previous seasons where they were plagued by early postseason exits. Final Grade= A-
Brendan Haywood– Even though he took a back seat to Chandler this season, Haywood still didn’t play the way that many hoped. What came into the season as possibility being an even 1-2 punch quickly turned into one starter and his back up. Final Grade= C+
Dominique Jones– In his rookie season it was a little difficult for Jones to find a spot to play and when he did he was not very effective. In February he broke his foot and was out for the rest of the year, effectively making the entire season a loss. Final Grade= D
Jason Kidd– We may be tempted to look at his playoffs where he finally won his first championship and played great but Kidd had a very down season numbers wise even though his leadership and basketball IQ can not be replaced. He is crucial to the Mavs success, but he is on the downward slope of his career. Final Grade= B
Ian Mahinmi– In all honesty Mahinmi lacked any coordination skills and therefore could never find a way to get on the court and played very sparingly throughout the year and the playoffs. He has a lot of developing to do! Final Grade D+
Shawn Marion– Marion one-upped his numbers from the year before even though he wasn’t the starter at the beginning of the year. In my opinion he was the Mavs most valuable player in the playoffs with the exception of Dirk. Final Grade= A-
Dirk Nowitzki– Dirk was Dirk. Played great game in and game out and hardly had an off night. He always had great numbers as he did again this year but finally in his career he was able to accomplish the goal of winning the NBA Championship. His legacy will be forever reshaped by his first title. Final Grade= A
DeShawn Stevenson– Although he was technically the starter at shooting guard for the Mavs for most of the season, he only averaged about 16 minutes a game. He is the guy you want on your team but you would hate to play against. Defensive toughness and physicality make Stevenson the perfect role player. Final Grade= B-
Peja Stojakovic– Acquired late in the season, Peja was solely used to be a spot up shooter and nothing else. His defense leaves a lot to be desired and lacks a lot of athleticism to compete on either end of the floor. On the other hand, many were skeptical of the Peja acquisition, but he was a serviceable reserve down the stretch for Rick Carlisle. Final Grade= C
Jason Terry– The Jet is getting older and is still finding ways to play great basketball even if his athletic talents are slowly going away. He played a great well rounded game and really showed up in clutch time and in the playoffs when it really mattered. Final Grade= A-
Rick Carlisle– Can’t even stress how good of a job Carlisle did with this team. The Mavs were far from the most talented team in the league, and Carlisle ran an offense that worked for every player and was truly fun to watch. Final Grade= A+
Mark Cuban– No matter how much the Commisioner hated to see Cuban win the championship, he found a way to do it. He took a lot of heat for not making a big deal at the trade deadline but none of that matters when you win the ship. Final Grade= A