Life is full of ironies. Girl you like loves you, but only as a friend. You own a sleek sports car with all the bells and whistles, but without a functioning engine. Your own a high-end wallet. An empty one. No cards, no cash. Nada.
This season's Mavs are another strange case. The squad finds itself in the top five in league defense as of this article's writing, despite presumably giving up perimeter D in losing Derrick Jones Jr. and Josh Green and acquiring Klay Thompson. Offensively, they've been average, with an offensive rating of around 114. That comes in spite of Luka, Ky, Klay, and the ultra-efficient Lively/Gafford duo.
So what gives?
In the few games I have seen this year, I've noticed that Doncic has actually bogged down a number of offensive sets. He is a gifted scorer, but he also tends to take bad shots. He creates opportunities for his teammates with his incredible court vision, but also tends to lose focus especially when he doesn't get calls. He chews out refs over the smallest things sometimes. Because of all this, there are instances when the other Mavs are caught ball watching. Shot clocks are run down a little more than one would like. When all else fails, the offense becomes one dimensional. Give the ball to Luka. Or Kai. Iso to death.
Then there's the injury bug. PJ Washington, DLive, and Maxi Kleber have been hurt, and this hasn't done favors for the Mavs' perimeter D. Their top five ranking is a bit of a mirage, with closer inspection showing Dallas having a tough time containing midrange forays by versatile bigs (Durant, Myles Turner) or athletic wings (Jalen Green, Bradley Beal, Tyrese Haliburton). PJ Washington - not Gafford nor Lively - leads the team in blocks at 1.6 per game. Luka's never been a lockdown defender, but his body language hasn't screamed "engaged" so far.
Now at 5 wins and 4 defeats in a ridiculously competitive Western Conference, the Mavs need an awful lot more consistency to keep their heads above water. They have depth and they have perhaps the most dynamic backcourt duo in the league, but it almost feels as if they are still feeling each other out. It's early in the season, but it's never a bad thing to get early wins in preparation for when you're black and blue during the latter parts of the regular season.
Also, I've never been the biggest fan of ultra isoball. Usage rates need to be balanced out as much as possible.
Sports is full of ironies, and with his year's Dallas Mavericks thus far, the clarity that comes with consistency has stood them up more than once. Only time will tell whether this "date" will end well, or with regret.
MC
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