Mavericks: The Smoking Cuban Staff Reacts to ESPN’s NBA Forecast

The Mavericks are predicted by ESPN to win 41 games next season. Too few? Too many? Our staff reacts.

ESPN released its annual NBA Forecast for the Western Conference Tuesday, predicting that the Dallas Mavericks would squeak into the postseason, but with a somewhat surprising 41 wins.

41 wins for this Mavericks squad might not be an outlandish prognostication, but that a .500 record would qualify them for postseason play in what will again be a deep, and talented western conference surely raised some eyebrows.

We here at The Smoking Cuban react to the prediction.

Isaac Harris: Of the top 10 teams in the West, the Mavs are the hardest to predict. They just have the most question marks. Being an optimist, I say the prediction is too low. Give me the Mavs at 48-50 wins this year.

Feb 7, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews (2) during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeated the Trail Blazers 111-101 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Kohl Rast: Being as realistic as possible for the Mavericks team this year, I still think that we will finish with more than 41 wins. Last year, the 8th seed in the playoffs won 45 games and the 7th seed won 50.

I see the Mavericks in the 44-46 win range and thanks to a down year from Portland more than likely, I could see the Mavs taking the 7 seed as well.

Jason Lee: If the Mavs could go 41-41 with Chris Kaman and OJ Mayo then this year’s Mavs squad is projected a little low.

45 wins is still reachable and although don’t I see Wes Matthews coming back soon, he’ll be ready come December. Devin Harris and Justin Anderson will fill his shoes just fine in the meantime.

And we have this guy, at center, in his eighth season out of Nevada, number 34, my boyyy, JAVALE MCCGEEEEE!!!

Andrew Tobolowsky: 41 is Dirk’s number. IT IS A SIGN!

Daniel Devine: 41 seems either right or maybe a little too low. The addition of Deron Williams helps alleviate some of the apocalyptic terror that surrounded the team post-DeAndre Jordan so it’s not all doom and gloom as it may have been.

A healthy Chandler Parsons, Wes Matthews, and Deron Williams is a nice cast of characters next to Dirk, but they are also all guys coming off injuries so that may be a bit much to count on but .500 should be doable for this squad even out West.

The playoffs is a tougher stretch just because of the deep competition out West. You could easily swap OKC and Portland in and out of the Playoff mix, but Dallas will still have to compete with teams like Sacramento and Phoenix for that 8th spot.

Jay Knodell: A lot of it depends on the recoveries of Chandler Parsons and Wesley Matthews obviously, but 41 just seems a bit low to me and I think the Mavericks could definitely approach 45 wins next season.

Deron Williams won’t be an All-Star, but he’s going to be a much better fit in Dallas than Rajon Rondo was and he’s still a much better player than Jameer Nelson. The offense has the potential to be downright scary for opposing teams, and if the defense can be close to average the Mavericks could very well sneak into postseason play for a short appearance. 41 wins won’t be enough to do that, though.

What do you think?

Next: Will a Mavs Center average 7 rebounds?

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