Predicting the Mavericks' floor and ceiling for 2023-24 season

Last Thursday, the Dallas Mavericks released their full 82-game schedule.

The Mavs begin play on October 25, with a bout against the new-look San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs may have been the offseason's biggest winner, as they nabbed a generational prospect with the first overall selection in the draft.

Other than opening night, Dallas has quite a few notable games. Denver on November 3 begins the In-Season Tournament; in Phoenix on Christmas will surely be entertaining; a trip to Boston in early March will be a dogfight, and back-to-back games against the up-start Kings in late March will likely have playoff implications.

Over the past two seasons, Dallas has epitomized duality. They won 50 games in the regular season and entered the playoffs as a four-seed in 2022. A year later, they lost more games than they won and completely missed the playoffs.

In the 2022 Playoffs, the Mavs reached the Western Conference Finals. Dallas defeated Utah in the first round, without having Luka Doncic for most of the series.

In the second round, the Mavs defeated the Suns who held the best record in the NBA. Dallas was outmatched by the eventual champion Warriors in the Western Conference Finals but still stole game four from the Warriors to avoid a sweep.

The Mavericks began the 2022-23 season as a projected playoff team. Although the loss of Jalen Brunson was a big blow, the Mavs returned most of their Western Conference runner-up roster.

The season started unremarkable, as the Mavs entered December with an even .500 record. After the first two months, the season began to turn around. By the trade deadline, the Mavs had a 31-26 record and looked ready to make a run before the playoffs.

Things took a turn for the worse as Dallas finished the season 7-18 en route to missing the Play-In Tournament. The only positive of this downturn was Dallas retaining their first-round draft pick.

Throughout the offseason, the Mavs have made it a point to address their poor defense and weak supporting cast. Rather than in previous years when Dallas favored trades and veterans in free agency, the Mavs seemingly prioritized youth and development.

What comes next for Dallas? Despite an offseason with an infusion of youth and defense, those across the league are skeptical of the Mavericks. Does Dallas have enough talent to repeat their surprising 2022 season? Or will the Mavs once again falter in the regular season?

Here we'll take a look at the Mavericks floor and their ceiling. What would an exceptional season look like? And what would a mediocre season look like in Dallas?