8 Dallas Mavericks that fans were wrong about this season

The Dallas Mavericks are sitting at 8-2 on the season and are playing much better than initially expected.

Luka Doncic is leading the way for Dallas, but several of the Mavericks' role players are stepping up in a big way as well.

8 Dallas Mavericks that fans were wrong about this season

Dereck Lively II has been vital for Dallas' success and Tim Hardaway Jr. is making his case to be in the running for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

With Dallas having so much success, there have also been some players that fans doubted and overrated this summer. It's impossible to know how a player is going to fit before he plays a game, but there were some players that fans were completely wrong about.

Here are eight Dallas Mavericks that fans were wrong about this season.

8. Dwight Powell

Dwight Powell was Dallas' longtime starting center before they drafted Dereck Lively II, but even after drafting Lively II, some fans thought that Powell would still start.

Powell is yet to start a game this season, and fans were dead wrong about Powell's starting tenure to continue. Through 10 games (nine games played), Powell is averaging 6.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. He is making an impact off the bench, and his defense has been much better than in years past.

Powell played 24 or more minutes in back-to-back games due to Lively II being in foul trouble at the end of last week and then missing a game, showing that he can step up when needed. But he's obviously nowhere near the player that Lively II is.

Fans were wrong about Powell because they thought that head coach Jason Kidd would start him over Lively II, but that was likely due to Kidd always insisting on starting him in the past.

It doesn't look like Lively II will be coming off the bench anytime soon, and Powell has finally found a role that suits him better (coming off the bench rather than starting).