The last season has been both good and bad for the Dallas Mavericks. With the help of the sweet-shooting seven-footer Dirk Nowitzki, they went into the NBA playoffs as the team with the best record. The team though bowed down on the first round of the playoffs to the eight-seeded Golden State Warriors.

The upset which have put questions on Nowitzki winning the Most Valuable Player though may not have affected the way bookmakers see the team. Bookmakers are still favoring the Dallas mavericks to win that elusive championship. It is expected that the combination of their star player in Nowitzki will be complemented by the team's solid bench consisted of solid performers and role players who can contribute on any given night. Coach Avery Johnson is still on board and his leadership is something that should never be doubted.

Under Johnson's tutelage, the Mavs has a chance to beat their Western Conference nemesis in the San Antonio Spurs anchored on Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. The line on the Dallas Mavericks to win the 2007-2008 NBA Championship is +400. That shows that even with the embarrassing exit from the playoffs last season, Dallas is still considered as a powerhouse. Johnson who is known for taking every component of the team and tweaking it until it works right no doubt has studied the way they lost to the Warriors last season. What that means is Dallas can be expected to come out hungry this season.

Devin Harris and Jason Terry are still on board for the Mavs and the two can be expected to contribute a lot to the team's drive for the championship. Devin Harris is a legitimate pass-first point guard who can become the Mavs court general this season. His active role as a "true" point guard in the Jason Kidd and Steve Nash fashion will free Terry to become the pure shooter that he is. Josh Howard is already contributing a lot of numbers for the team. With another season in the NBA under Howard's belt, expect him to bring more energy and points into the game as well as intangibles like hassle and defense.

Other teams which bookmakers favor to win the championship this upcoming season is the San Antonio Spurs who won the gold last season over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Odds for the Spurs are at +350. The Phoenix Suns who may have secured the services of the Matrix Shawn Marion for the time being is also given odds similar to Mavs.

In the Eastern Conference the only team to get close to the Mavs in the eyes of sports bookmakers is the Boston Celtics. With the acquisition of sweet-shooting baby face assassin Ray Allen on draft night and the subsequent trade for all-star performer NBA phenom Kevin Garnett has certainly made believers out of many that the green of the Celtics will reign once again in the East. Garnett and Allen will be joining Boston Celtics' key player Paul Pierce. Sports fans can already bet on their favored teams online. There are even sites which gives away free bets to online bettors.