Are the Dallas Mavericks a Paper Tiger?

The Dallas Mavericks currently sit at 26-12, good for fifth place in the western conference, and are half a game behind Houston for the division lead. They have a starting lineup that rivals any other around the league in talent. They are second in the league in scoring with 108.8 points per game.

And they’re 7-4 since acquiring Rajon Rondo even with back-to-back losses.

Sounds pretty good, right? Well despite all of this the Mavericks are a paper tiger.

The roster as constituted, as good as it may look on paper, won’t compete for the western conference title this season. It’s not fun to write, and probably less fun to read as a Maverick fan, but it’s true.

The Mavericks’ most recent defeat, a 120-100 drubbing in Los Angeles at the hands of the Clippers, only underlined Dallas’ shortcomings against the western conference elite.

More from The Smoking Cuban

I sound like a broken record at this point, but it was the same old story.

The Mavericks were out-rebounded. Again. They’ve been out-rebounded in seven of their last ten games and rank 28^th in the league in opponent rebounds. Tyson Chandler is third in the league in rebounds, but Dirk Nowitzki is second on the team with fewer than six a game.

Seven of the top ten rebounding teams reside in the western conference. Unless the Mavericks improve in that area it’ll be rough sledding getting through three playoff series in the wild, wild, west.

The Clippers also shot 42% from three-point land. After their woes on the glass, opponent three-point shooting has been the Mavericks’ biggest flaw.

Jan 10, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) blocks a shot by Dallas Mavericks forward Charlie Villanueva (3) in the second half of the game at Staples Center. Clippers won 120-100. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas is 27^th in the league in opponent three-point percentage at 38%. Seven of the top three-point shooting squads are out west, too, though Dallas is one of them.

Dallas has been better since Rondo arrived against outside shooters. Opponent percentage is down from 39% in 27 games to 35% in 11. But that includes Brooklyn’s 3-25 performance, one that was influenced less by Dallas’ defense than Brooklyn’s ineptitude.

Throw that one out and the Mavericks are still giving up over 37% in ten games with Rondo.

The Mavericks can score the ball with the best of them, but it’s not enough to conceal their deficiencies against the top teams of the NBA.