Roundtable: Who Will Me the Most Important Opponent for the Mavs?

OKC, Utah, New Orleans

“Let’s work through this by process of elimination. Everyone in the East is beatable, so they’re out. We’ll have to cut our losses against Golden State and the Spurs, so they’re out. The Clippers, Blazers, Grizzlies, and probably Houston are playoff locks and will be good measuring sticks to determine seeding come playoff time, but it’s too early to worry about that so they’re out. Sacramento is a raging dumpster fire, so they’re out. The Suns, Wolves, Lakers, and Nuggets are a year or more away, so they’re out too.

That leaves OKC, Utah and New Orleans. Off all of the teams gunning for our playoff spot, these three are the most worrisome. The Pelicans are going to be healthier this year (probably?) and Anthony Davis is both inhuman and terrifying. Utah made big moves in the off-season, bringing in George Hill, Joe Johnson, and Boris Diaw to finally give Gordon Hayward some help. They also have a top-notch defense, headlined by Rudy Gobert, which will give everyone in the league fits.

I have no idea what’s going to happen with OKC, but my prediction is that Russ is going to drag them as far as he can take them by the skin of his teeth. Oladipo is a good pickup, and they still have that monster Adams-Kanter front line.

Billy Donovan is a wizard, and they will be in the mix. If the Mavs can get the tiebreakers against these guys and take care of business everywhere else, they’ll be golden come playoff time.”

–Shawn James

Next: San Antonio Spurs