It’s a small sample size. The early-season schedule has been soft. There are surely other reasons to discount the awesome statistics being produced by the Dallas Mavericks if you wish.
But the numbers are at least worth noting.
A small sample of some of the 8-3 Mavs’ most impressive stats:
The Mavs lead the league in point differential at plus-11.1 per game. The 2007-08 Boston Celtics, who won the title that season, are the last team to have a positive double-digit point differential for an entire season.
The Mavs lead the league in offensive efficiency with 115.5 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com’s statistics. The gap between the Mavs and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the second-ranked team, is roughly as large as the gap between the Cavs and the two teams tied for No. 15, the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks.
Basketball-reference.com, which uses a slightly different formula, calculates the Mavs’ offensive rating at 117.3. No team in the website’s database has had a higher offensive rating for a season.
The Mavs are committing the fewest turnovers in the league (11.0 per game), and they rank second in field goal percentage (49.2) and fourth in assists (24.5).
Two Mavs centers are shooting better than 70 percent from the floor. Reserve big man Brandan Wright leads the league in field goal percentage, hitting 75.0 percent of his shots. Starting center Tyson Chandler (70.3) ranks third.
Three Mavs rank among the league’s top 10 in player efficiency rating: No. 2 Wright (28.36), No. 6 Dirk Nowitzki (26.27) and No. 9 Chandler (24.47).
By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com