The Dallas Mavericks have roughly the same team that they had last season, but with a new coach at the helm, expect big changes. Rick Carlisle is promising to let the offense be faster paced than it was under Avery Johnson. He’s also going to make the defense more of a gambling unit than a bend-but-don’t-break unit.
All told, these changes should have positive effects on may of the players on the roster in terms of their fantasy basketball status. Dirk Nowitzki should see his scoring average rise and should also see more three-pointers. If his numbers would go down anywhere, …read more

During the first round of the playoffs, Josh Howard admitted to smoking marijuana during the offseason when he was on Michael Irvin’s radio show. In a recent interview with Dan Patrick, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admitted he has tried marijuana in the past.
While Cuban didn’t give Howard a clean pass, he did make it seem like the Mavs weren’t going to punish Howard. It also doesn’t sound like Dallas will look to trade Howard in the offseason.
Howard’s play struggled down the stretch of the season and especially into the playoffs. Some rumors around the team point …read more

Rick Carlisle has been hired by Mark Cuban to coach the Dallas Mavericks and was signed to a four-year contract. Carlisle replaces the fired Avery Johnson and comes to the Mavs after coaching stops with the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers.
In terms of fantasy basketball, this news doesn’t immediately affect the fantasy value of the Mavs players one way or another. Carlisle has at times in his coaching career gone with a slow-paced offense, which would hurt fantasy value. However, Carlisle has talked about changing that philosophy. Basically, we’ll have to wait and see how …read more

Shortly after the Dallas Mavericks were eliminated from the 2008 NBA playoffs by the New Orleans Hornets, rumors surfaced that Avery Johnson will be fired. Johnson, the head coach of the Mavericks, is just a couple years removed from leading Dallas to the NBA Finals.
However, since that appearance in the Finals, everything has been downhill for Johnson and the Mavs. After getting up 2-0 in the Finals, the Miami Heat came back and won four straight games to claim the NBA championship. Last season, the Mavericks fell to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of …read more

With Dirk Nowitzki out injured and the Dallas Mavericks suddenly fighting for their playoff lives, a lot of the blame has gone to Avery Johnson. Less than two years ago, Johnson was leading the Mavs to the brink of a championship. Now, it seems like most Maverick fans want him run out of town.
While firing Johnson at this point of the season would be surprising, even for Mark Cuban, there’s a chance of that happening. If Nowitzki’s injury causes a major slide, Cuban might make a coaching change to see if that would help.
If Johnson is fired, the player who …read more