Sometimes you need to go to the money guys to get some perspective on your team. Fans are simply too close to the pain of losses and the thrill of wins to have anything remotely close to an objective view of how good (or bad) their team is. A lot of times the national press can do a good job of giving local fans some objectivity, but to really find the harsh truth, you need to go to Vegas and the guys who will actually lose cold hard cash if a team performs differently than expected.
So what are the objective money guys in Vegas saying? Well, it's been widely reported that the Mavs are one of the favorites to win the NBA championship, and today covers.com posted some more Mavs expectations:
Expect the Mavs to play angry all season.
Owner Mark Cuban decided to spend his summer dancing rather than shuffling this roster - a clear sign that management thinks it can win with this group... It's a wise move.
And the key conclusion?
The books have the Mavs as a 4-to-1 favorite to win the championship and list their season win total at 57 ½ - the highest on the board. Sixty-seven wins probably won't be duplicated but 60-to-63 seems like a good bet. I'll cautiously take the over.