By Sean Kennedy
The Sixers finish off their three-game road trip Monday night in Dallas, looking to put forth a better effort following a lethargic performance in Atlanta and an all-out shellacking in New Orleans. They’ll be up against a Mavericks team that underwent a bit of a roster makeover themselves this past offseason. After missing out once again on the big-name free agent they craved to pair with Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban and company went out and signed a number of mid-tier guys in an attempt to once again remain competitive in a stacked Western Conference.
The signing that garnered the most chuckles around NBA circles was the three-year, $30 million deal given to Monta Ellis. With his (largely deserved) reputation as a gunner and his declaration that he would play ‘Monta Ball’, the basketball community figured Dirk would eventually want to strangle Ellis after one-too-many ill-advised 20-footers. Instead, playing within a structured offense, Monta Ellis is getting a lot better looks at the basket and has flourished for the Mavericks thus far. With Ellis averaging 21.9 points on 47.1% shooting, and 5.0 assists, the offseason deal is looking like a real steal, and both Ellis and the Mavericks are getting the last laugh.
In addition to Ellis, Dallas also brought on the Haitian sensation, former Sixer Sam Dalembert to provide some rim protection, as well as Jose Calderon to stabilize the point guard position. With those guys fitting well into their roles, Dirk is free to quietly go about his business, shooting 45.5% from the field on his way to 19.2 points per night. He and Calderon have been been deadly from the perimeter, each shooting better than 45% on threes and averaging 2 makes per game. All of those contributions, as well as Shawn Marion doing a poor man’s version of his days as the Matrix, have the Mavericks off to a fine 6-4 start to the season.
Sporting all of that offensive efficiency, it’s no surprise that Dallas has the 4th-best offense in the league this season. Given that the Sixers have the third-worst defense, the Mavericks should have no problem scoring in this contest. They also force the third-highest percentage of opponent’s turnovers, something the Sixers will likely be more than happy to oblige with. However, one area of weakness Philadelphia could exploit is that the Mavericks do foul a lot, with the second-highest opponent’s free throw attempt rate in the league. Under Sam Hinkie’s organizational direction and Brett Brown’s tutelage, the Sixers have done a better job attacking the basket and getting to the line this season. If they’re going to stay in this game, it will be through getting easy points at the charity stripe while getting some Dallas players into foul trouble.
Michael Carter-Williams is expected to be out once again for this game. While Wroten has filled in admirably, moving him to the starting lineup further weakens what is already a thin bench. Dallas has a much deeper roster than the Sixers and with the way they’ve been scoring the ball, it would not surprise me to see another Philadelphia opponent run away with things.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
