The Dallas Mavericks are 14-11 on the season and midway through the season Rick Carlisle's team is still figuring out how to regain their championship flair. One point of concern that has flared up is their ability to rebound, as the loss of Tyson Chandler to the Mavs frontcourt could prove to be a bigger void than they initially realized. The good folks at Mavs Moneyball did an excellent job summarizing their rebounding woes:
Rebounding: At the early stages of the season, the Mavs were the second best defensive rebounding team in terms of percentages and they dropped all their way back to their current rank, 12th. Offensive rebounding was never one of the Mavericks strength, but it looked like the departure of Tyson Chandler didn't leave that much of a hole in that area. Wrong? During the first 14 games, the Mavs only had to games in the 60s in terms of DRB%, but failed to rebound 70% of the opponents misses in 6 of the last 11. This clearly leads back to a lack of effort. Yesterday Anderson Varejao grabbed twice as much rebounds as the best player on the Mavs roster in that regard. Varejao is one of the best rebounders in the league, but this is simply off the chart.
SB Nation's Tom Ziller has the Mavericks ranked No. 13 in this week's NBA Power Rankings, should they be rankings that high, low or good where they are?
| 13. | Dallas Mavericks | 14-11 | W: PHX; L: OKC, IND, CLE | Mavs Moneyball |
| Dirk Nowitzki has looked like a shadow of the version we saw rampage through the playoffs last spring, and Dallas has slipped considerably as a result. But the front office is planning big things for the 2012 offseason, and the glow of the championship trophy is strong. So who cares, right? | ||||
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