Because this team is and will be better than people think.

We finished 41-41 a few seasons ago with O.J. Mayo, the corpse of Shawn Marion, Chris fucking Kaman, Darren Collison, MIKE JAMES started some games, and Dirk missed 27 games..we finished like 4 games out of the playoffs. This team is better than that one.

The West, while still good, did not rapidly improve from last year. The talent pool stayed the same. Some players switched teams, but most of the big moves happened in the Eastern Conference. This Mavs team is as talented and good as last years, where we won 50 games.

And people say we lost Tyson, our defense will suck..we had Tyson against Houston in the playoffs. It doesn't matter if you have Hakeem in the paint, if your perimeter guards allow any ball handler into the paint 70 times a game, the interior defense is going to take a big hit. That's why having Wes is so important. And D-Will, while he's not great at defense, is still capable of showing strength and bumping guys up before they get to the paint.

Health. I admit, the health aspect is the biggest reason this Mavs team would do poorly..but i don't think it'll sink this team. Probably a very optimistic dude. But our training staff is one of the best in the league. Other than Wes and Parsons, injuries for everyone else will be manageable with proper rest and smart substitution packages. And Parsons and Wes are young and are showing they are recovering extremely well from their injures.

Lastly, when you have Carlisle as your coach, you're not gonna tank. He can take a 25 win team and make them a 40 win team. This team is every bit as good as last year's team..My opinion obviously, but that's why I don't think we will or should tank.