The Mavs kept their entire core roster intact — the league’s deepest and most talented — and are ready to take another run at a title. They’re subscribers of the theory that last year’s first-round upset loss to the Warriors was the case of a difficult matchup and a red-hot opponent.

But just how scarred and fragile is this group? Well, the team’s leader, Dirk Nowitzki, also the reigning NBA MVP and whose subpar performance earned him most of the blame for last year’s early exit, spent five summer weeks backpacking in Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti “exploring the sense of life.”

Forget about life. The Mavs hope Nowitzki’s exploration includes a few more crunch-time baskets in May and June.

“When You’re Alone”
The Los Angeles Lakers won’t trade Kobe Bryant, yet they have essentially wasted three seasons of Bryant’s prime by failing to surround him with anywhere close to a supporting cast that could win a postseason series or two.

They did re-sign Chris Mihm and Luke Walton and sign Derek Fisher. Wow — might as well go ahead and print the Finals’ T-shirts.

There simply isn’t enough talent on the roster to enable Los Angeles to push into the West’s upper-half of postseason teams. That means fighting for a remaining spot and somehow avoiding the Spurs, Suns or Mavs in the first round, which simply can’t be done and would result in another quick loss.

The best part of the Lakers’ season will either be training camp in Hawaii or watching Bryant go for 100 points, unless … enigmas Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum start delivering night after night, or at least often enough that opponents continue to offer all-stars in trade. Whether or not the Lakers finally pull the trigger on one of those deals is another story.

“Point Blank”
Wonder if Tim Donaghy is taking over/under bets on the amount of elapsed time in Saturday’s first preseason game before a referee’s call is questioned and linked to his scandal?

NBA commissioner David Stern’s worst nightmare won’t go away easily.

Given the situation regarding Donaghy, who pleaded guilty to two felony charges in connection with wagering on games that he worked as a referee, league refs certainly won’t blend into the background this year.

From fans’ signs and heckling, quick-witted highlight-show anchors, and the usual dozen replay angles, expect every call to be under intense scrutiny, even more so than usual.

Elsewhere, Joey Crawford was recently reinstated after a five-month suspension that was levied in part because he reportedly challenged Tim Duncan to a fight. Crawford, of course, will be under strict watch to determine if he indeed has improved his professional conduct. Stern, meanwhile, will be under pressure to institute a set of rigorous standards regarding referee evaluations. Expect a long year for the zebras.

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