Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks: A Tale of Two Teams
The Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Cowboys are sitting atop their respective divisions and are in the playoff picture in their respective leagues. However, both teams’ pre-season expectations have been incorrect and for various reasons.
It is currently December and the Dallas Cowboys are in week 15 of the regular season. The Cowboys are currently leading the NFC East. The Cowboys are currently the 4th seed in the NFC. It is currently December and the Dallas Mavericks are in week 9 of the regular season. The Mavericks are leading the Southwest Division. The Mavericks are currently the 3rd seed in the Western Conference.
At a time where both teams seemingly have their most talented roster in years, they both are in playoff contention and will see home-field or home-court advantage at some point in the playoffs. Surely things are good right?
Oh yeah, I just conveniently left out the Cowboys are 6-7 while the Mavericks are 17-7. (Awfully coincidental that both teams have the same amount of losses on the season and their last win was against a Detroit sports franchise)
However, coming into the season the expectations for each team were quite different. The team currently sitting with a .462 winning percentage was supposed to be the team with .695 (nice) winning percentage. Likewise, the team with the .695 winning percentage was supposed to be closer to the .462 mark.
Both teams went into the new season having very similar offseasons. The Dallas Cowboys found several bargain buys at positions of need while re-signing several of their superstars. The Dallas Mavericks similarly re-signed their All-Star while also finding important bargain buys.
For even more similarity, the Cowboys and Mavericks had very similar drafts. Both teams did not draft until the second round as a result of trading their first round pick for an All-Star player, they drafted players for the future, and both teams traded back from their positions. (Obviously the NFL and NBA drafts have their set of differences but it’s awfully coincidental how both teams conducted similar operations.)
Entering training camp and preseason, both teams showed they had depth and the necessary talent to get to the playoffs. Even if the Cowboys were expected to dominate their way to the divisional round while the Mavericks were expected to hover around .500, both teams were expected to make it together.
Instead the roles have been reversed.
So how did we get here?
Good question.
The Cowboys season has been filled with poor execution, insufficient game plans, stubborness, quit, drama, and to a lesser extent injuries. Meanwhile, the Mavericks have been quite the opposite showcasing intelligent play, meaningful coaching, great talent management, and elite team chemistry. It’s not to say the Cowboys haven’t had their bright moments, but those moments have been scarce in the last few games.
We’ll look at just how each season has started and where each team got it right and wrong.