The Mavericks traded for 28-year old Tyson Chandler over the summer hoping that he would give them a presence both on the glass and on defense.  He has played in 16 games (all starts) for the Mavericks so far this year and he is averaging 27.9 minutes, 9.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.6 blocked shots  per game.  He is shooting 69.7% from the floor and 79.7% from the free throw line as he has been very efficient for the Mavericks so far this year.  The Mavericks have to be pleased with the play of Tyson Chandler so far this year.

22-year old rookie shooting guard Dominique Jones isn’t going to get much P.T. this year for the Mavericks. Jones has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks so far this year and he is averaging 6.0 minutes, 0.8 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. The Mavericks have a lot of guards in front of Jones on the depth chart so unless they get hit with a lot of injuries, I just don’t see him playing much this year.

32-year old power forward Dirk Nowitzki is still the best player on the Mavericks, without a doubt. He has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Mavericks so far this year and he is averaging 36.1 minutes, 23.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He is shooting an amazing 54.3% from the floor this year but he’s only 2 of 11 (18.2%) from three point range. Jason Kidd & Jason Terry have been shooting most of the three pointers for the Mavericks so far this year. At some point though I see the Big German starting to take three point shots again this year.

The Mavericks won a very tough game on the road last night. Dirk Nowitzki was outstanding as he led the way for the Mavericks last night with 35 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Jason Terry was also solid last night with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. Caron Butler pitched in with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal last night. The Mavericks are now 3-1 on the year.

33-year old Jason Terry has moved into the starting lineup at shooting guard this year for the Mavericks and he’s playing well. Terry has started 3 games for the Mavericks so far this year and he is averaging 34.7 minutes, 16.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Terry is also shooting a scorching 52.4% from the floor so far this year. I think Terry helps the Mavericks more in the starting lineup than coming off of the bench because Jason Kidd is capable of guarding the shooting guard on the opposing team with Terry covering the point guard.

The Mavericks played great defense yesterday as they held the Clippers to 34.1% shooting from the floor. Caron Butler led a very balanced attack for the Mavs yesterday with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Dirk Nowitzki (16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocked shots), Jason Terry (15 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists) and Jason Kidd (13 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals) also had very solid games for the Mavericks yesterday. Shawn Marion (12 points) and Brendan Haywood (10 points) also helped out offensively for the Mavericks yesterday. The Mavericks are now 2-1 on the year.