NBA: Grading each team’s 2014-2015 season

DALLAS MAVERICKS. B-. <p>The Mavericks appear to be toiling in utter obscurity. Much like the perception of San Antonio earlier in this decade, Dallas is seen as a relatively “boring” group that churns out victories without being evaluated as a legitimate title contender, but it is hard to scoff at a team with a 50-win pace in the loaded West.</p> <p>Dirk Nowitzki clearly isn’t the same player (17.3 points per game), but he has still performed well enough in his role as the lead dog in Dallas, with Monta Ellis and and an uneven effort from Chandler Parsons in support. One of the most controversial trades of the year landed the enigmatic Rajon Rondo in Dallas, and results have been mixed, with a 25-20 record when he appears. The move was defensible in that the Mavs didn’t resemble a title contender when they pulled the trigger, but the “bump” never took place.</p> <p>Rick Carlisle is an exceptional coach and the Mavericks still have high-level talent in the form of Nowitzki, Ellis, Parsons, Rondo and Tyson Chandler. However, Dallas isn’t a title contender this season by any rational measure, and they are probably disappointed with that reality.</p>. 4th. Southwest Division, Western Conference