Mavericks’ title odds improve greatly with acquisition of Rajon Rondo
After an impressive offseason that netted Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler among others, Bovada gave the Dallas Mavericks 18/1 odds to win the 2015 NBA championship, which were the fifth-best odds in the Western Conference. The Mavs are an impressive 19-8 thanks to a historically efficient offense, and those odds got a bit better during the strong first quarter of the season.
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Despite the excellent start, Dallas wasn’t satisfied. Even with a league-leading offense, the Mavs were still weak at the point-guard position, especially considering how many elite point guards reside in the Western Conference. With that in mind, Dallas went out and made a splash by acquiring Rajon Rondo.
Rondo had been the subject of trade rumors for years, and after a 9-14 start, Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge finally felt it was time to pull the trigger. The result was Rondo and Dwight Powell heading to Dallas for Brandan Wright, Jameer Nelson, Jae Crowder , a heavily protected first-round pick in 2015 and a 2016 second-round pick.
Almost immediately, the Mavs’ odds to win the championship took a major jump. The trade rumors alone moved Dallas from 16/1 to 10/1 to win it all, according to Sportsbook.com, and the trade itself bumped the odds to 8/1. Bovada is giving the Mavs even better odds now to win it all at 15/2, behind only the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors in the West.
Vegas certainly believes in the power of Rondo, and now we’ll find out if that translates on the court. The enigmatic point guard has been both good and bad this season, and there are no guarantees that he fits in with his new teammates, although it seems like it should be a good match.
On one hand, Rondo’s elite passing ability should create plenty of great looks for the likes of Parsons, Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis. Rondo is leading the league in assists at 10.8 per game, and that may go up considering the immense talent of his teammates and the system he’ll be playing in under Rick Carlisle.
On the other hand, Rondo’s shooting could be an issue. The point guard is shooting just 40.5 percent overall and 25.0 percent from three. Even worse, he’s shooting an embarrassing 33.3 percent from the free throw line. Ellis isn’t that good of an outside shooter either, so having two limited threats from behind the three-point line starting in the backcourt is something Dallas will have to deal with.
Losing Wright also leaves the Mavs thin in the frontcourt behind Chandler. Perhaps Powell will get an opportunity to be the backup center, but the more likely scenario is that there’s a follow-up move on the way to add frontcourt depth. Jermaine O’Neal currently lives in Dallas and is still out of a job, and Tim Cato of Mavs Moneyball says O’Neal is the next target.
Whatever misgivings there are about this trade, there’s little doubt that the Mavs have become more formidable with the addition of Rondo. The Western Conference playoffs just got even more fun.
