Are the Mavericks underrated?

Though the score right now might suggest otherwise, count Washington coach Flip Saunders among those who believe that the Mavericks are legitimate this season. Before tipoff, he talked at length about how good the Mavericks can be this season with Shawn Marion joining Dirk Nowitzki , Jason Kidd and, eventually, Josh Howard. "Dallas, no one talks about them a lot in the West, but the addition of Shawn has really added to them,'' said Saunders, one of the best in the business, by the way. "You've got Jason and Dirk being able to settle into their roles. Then you get Josh back, they've got a chance to contend with all these teams in the West. "To be successful, you've got to be lucky and hopefully, if they don't get any major injuries and they get Josh back, then there is no reason they can't compete with the Lakers and San Antonio and those teams. because they've got one of the toughest matchups in the league in Dirk. Dirk is one of the toughest guys, night in and night out, because he can play the 26 feet from basket. He can knock down threes.'' --Eddie Sefko