The Mavs definitely got better simply just by looking at it like this THJ -> Klay(upgrade) Josh Green -> QG(neutral with upgrade potential) DJJ -> Naji Marshall(slight upgrade due to increased shooting floor) Starting lineup defense is definitely worse now but much more defensive support coming off the bench
@@jackdawson5490he still shot 40 percent from 3 and was effective for the lakers last season, the mavs are in a great spot to have a bench unit of Dinwiddie grimes exum Marshall and gafford, and not to mention hardy kleber and omax as even more depth and development. The mavericks are definitely contenders and dinwiddie is no typical 3rd string point guard
As an okc fan I think they 100 percent got better. Klay isn’t what he was a couple years ago but he is becoming underrated, their defense took a hit but not as big as ppl think because I think Marshall can play the DJJ role. Lively is going to get better as well. Definitely a scary team out west for sure (like the rest of the conference 😅)
People vastly underestimate how much better Washington and Gafford will be with a full off-season to fully adjust to their roles and get around what Lively is going to look like in his second year.
The Lakers are a complete disaster, lebron has used his power to get what he wants and run that franchise into the ground it’s literally a Hollywood reality show there now
Here is what people do not get. Klay isnt replacing DJJ, he is replacing THJ! MArshall will replace DJJ and Grimes will replace Green. THJ played 27 minutes on average in the reg season, DJJ 23.5 minutes, Green 26 minutes... And Thompson isnt an elite PoA defender anymore, but he will not play that role anyway. So the minutes will be a bit different. But the roles will be the same. THJ was supposed to be the 3rd scorer going into the season, but was completely unusable in the PO. Except 2 good games he was a complete no show. Thompson might not be the Thompson from 5 years ago... but he is still a clear upgrade over THJ, on offense and on defense. Not to mention we also added Dinwiddie as another guy who can play some minutes as a 2ndary playmaker, even at the 3. He will battle with Exum (defensive option) and Hardy (offensive option) for the backup guard spot behind Luka/Kyrie. Guards: Luka/Kyrie - Dinwiddie/Exum/Hardy Wings: Thompson/Washington - Marshall/Grimes Bigs: Lively - Gafford/Kleber Thats 12 legit guys who could see PO minutes, depending on how the season will go. There will be huge competition in every group for minutes. Not to mention that Dallas is extremely flexible. For example we can go ultra big (bench rotations, not starting lineups) with Luka/Marshall/Washington/Maxi/Lively, or 5 out small with Kyrie/Grimes/Thompson/Washington/Maxi, and everything in between. As a Mavs fan I am more then happy with this offseason.
I agree, for the trade deadline Nico will need to pursue someone to replace Maxi. Someone bigger than PJ or Marshall to play 5 out, that can shoot more 3s and still mobile enough to not be a liability on switches. Maxi should become like Powell as a 3rd lineup in case of injuries type of player, mainly because he became a bit too hesitant to shoot and also because he has been pretty injury prone the past few seasons.
I think they got better but honest to god their biggest issue is Kidd. Watching Luka and Kyrie iso against elite perimeter defenders and not attacking Al Horford or Porzingus was genuinely terrible.
the hope is they can move away from Iso ball a bit with klay they are never going to move away and play like golden state but luka and kyrie a 2 of the beat ISO players in the league. what dalles need to do is learn when to play Iso ball and when to just move the ball and i think Klay is going to help with that and if Dereck Lively can get a respectable 3 ball for a centre they are going to be a tough team to beat. i agree on Kidd in terms of creating a offensive plan but he's been good when it comes to defence he has done good when he has had the players
I really dont agree with this: Kidd has outcoached the "Coach of the year" TWICE in the playoffs, he just didnt have many options in the finals. Literally anything Kidd could have done theyd still lose vs the C's
bro Luka tried to ISO against both of them and got blocked 3 times... he was injoured my man and you want him to step back 3 on 6'10+ players all game when he can't get much push off the leg?... another example of the same thing was in the clippers series where usually Luka plays zubac off the court with his shooting but this time zubac even blocked Luka once...
I'd like to think they did get better. They finally got a wing who can shoot, Naji Marshall is a solid enough role player, and I'm interested to see what leap Dereck Lively will take into year 2.
I’m looking forward to Kidd deciding it’s time to try Gafford at Center and lively at power forward for short stretches during the game. The shot blocking would be incredible and the rebounding would finally get the Mavs out of the middle of the pack. Since they failed to acquire a good power forward and PJ is always gonna be undersized and less effective inside, I want to see them forcing teams to match up to them instead of the other way around.
Mavs defense was actually the best defense the Celtics faced on their run to the chip. Celtics only hit 100 pts twice and had stretches of 2-3 min without a bucket. The problem was during those droughts the Mavs couldn't capitalize which basically was a ticking time bomb by the time they start the Celtics just went on a 15-3 run which would be when Lukas defense was unfairly highlighted when his team is shooting 1/14 from 3 on wide open shots. That shit takes a lot of drained energy
It wasn’t. Celtics hit 100 every game except the one where they benched their starters in the 3rd. Not sure what you’re talking about there. The Mavs had the best defensive advantage possible: Celtics players missing open and wide open threes. The Celtics generated open looks all series long and just happened to miss more of them than their usual (by a pretty wide margin.)
@@donaldpratt2296If u wanna yap about “wide open looks missed” then celtics played no defense against the mavs either? Cause mavs simply did not capitalize on open looks Mavs genuinly played trhe best defense they could have against the celtics, eye test and breakdowns show this they handled their 5 out offense as well as anyone could have, they simply did not convert on offensive side, which is shown by non Luka mavs shooting a whopping 9% on 3’s across the first 3 games yeh man no
Glad to see alex hoops join the staff, hate what youtube did to his account. No matter how good your content is, with you tube, you live and die by the algorithm.
As a Mavs fan, since Nico becoming GM I love hearing year after year how whatever newly acquired player they’ve gotten is the best so and so player Luka’s played with in his career so far.
I’m a Curry stan, so I’ll always have love for Klay Thompson. Obviously he isn’t the Klay he used to be. But I think he will help Dallas tremendously. Nobody other than Luka could get a bucket in the Finals. Hell, even Kyrie disappeared in the Finals for the most part. I think having another guy on the perimeter that the defense has to respect will go a long way for the Mavs. But who knows. I say all of this, and Klay could look like Shaq in a Celtics jersey. 💀 Only time will tell. But I’m rooting for my boi, for sure.
@TheGarciaKidd What up TGK. Mavs definitely got better personnel now, and also the chemistry will continue to grow, and Lively will continue to improve.
Amen!💯 I have seen so many ignorant takes and a lot of over thinking when it comes to the Mavs! We have seen Luka take a healthy Clippers team to 7 games with THJ as his 2nd option! We have seen Luka take a team to the WCF with Dwight Powell as his starting center and Reggie Bullock as a starter! We have now seen him lead a team who were only all together 2 months before the playoffs started thru 3 50+ win teams without homecourt,on a sprained knee str8 to the finals! So now you give him the 2nd best shooter,& thee best catch and shooter EVER who is motivated and out for vengeance.Along with guys who like Naji whose a very good defender,3pt shooter,and playmaker. Spencer Dinwiddie who played the best ball of his career with Luka. Quintin Grimes who is a great poa defender,shooter,& playmaker. DLive who will now be in his 2nd year,and full of confidence coming off a great playoff run and finals experience his 1st year in the league. PJ Washington and Gafford will be even better and more comfortable having their 1st training camp with the Mavs. You still have Maxi who should be more comfortable after the shoulder injury,and Jaden Hardy who showed he’s not phased by big games due to his contributions in the playoffs who is now in his 3rd season! Kyrie Irving isn’t slowing down yet either. He was catching lobs with one hand last season and once again had a super efficient 50/40/90 season! This is the absolute best team in the Luka era,barring injury they have the opportunity to finish what they started
Daniel Gafford is the primary reason their defense took a huge upward swing last season, along with the development of Lively. He gave the Mavs 48 mins of elite rim protection and their entire defense became predicated on funneling guards into that rim protection. Trading him would be taking a huge defensive step back, as their defensive schemes won’t be as effective and is a very weird take to say that would be a good move. Having two elite rim protecting bigs is one of the major points of difference for Dallas vs the other top teams in the league who mostly only have one if any
Exactly. You have two really good defensive options at 5. Losing one at what cost? Too much with the success this team had last year. Time to build on it with some new pieces. Plus Gafford is insurance for Lively. Mavs improved big time!
Thank you man I’m so tired of hearing the dumb stuff about the Mavs defense, how do people still not realize they were good BECAUSE of their defense. Like it was the finals how were people not watching the offense was terrible but the defense kept them somewhat alive
that's the exact reason I'm so concerned by the defense. they got to the finals, and won that single game, because of their defense. the fact that their defense was so good despite having both Kyrie and Luka out there was incredible, typically you can only afford a single weak spot on your defense if you want it to be great and they somehow managed two (some will argue that one and or both of them are actually a good defender, I'd say Kyrie is a bit below average while Luka is outright bad, even if it is because he is using energy on offense). going from a versatile wing who can do everything from guarding a perimeter player to providing weak-side rim protection to Klay Thompson, who is an average perimeter defender who provides little rim protection. it feels like last year was a really impressive house of cards, and Klay Thompson could be the push that will scatter it all. They did get better defense on the bench, yes, and I don't doubt they will be good in minutes where one of Luka, Kyrie, and Klay on the bench, but for the minutes that those 3 are on the floor together I struggle to be certain that the defense will be even close to what we saw last year. Honestly, I started this off feeling like they were almost certainly worse than last year, but as I type, I feel as if they do use him more similarly to a offensively slanted bench piece who mostly sees run when one of the stars are out (though he will start, he might get taken out 4 mins in or so) then the offensive boost they get over the game will outweigh the defense they lose in the beginning and final minutes of the game. Whether they are better or worse than last year will depend (in my opinion) on how much of the defensive identity they lose, but this was a true contender last year.
@@sclom5676 It also helped them that Boston was in generally mising more shots that their previous games. I have been saying it as well, if Klay starts and is played alot they will struggle on the defence alot.
Klay about to have his best season in years. He was forcing shots to prove he still got it, he will not be doing that here in Dallas. Bro gonna have practice shots all game long.
Klay has the least pressure of his career in Dallas. He's gone from the second option to the 3rd/4th option and we may see Klay have resurgence in Texas
Hes been 3rd or 4th option since he came back, the problem with klay is he refuses to take less than #2 shots. Even in the 2022 finals it was curry, Wiggins and Poole, then klay
Luka amd Kyrie didn't really share the floor much outside of the opening and closing minutes of the games. Luka and Kyrie would actually take turns running the offense with a mix of Bench/Starters on the floor for thr bulk of the game. Marshall will likely be seeing a lot of time at the 3 wirh Klay at the 2 whenever we have only Luka or Kyrie on the floor
Dude, that's what I'm thinking. This group can interchange the lineups a lot. I don't really see the 3 of them playing a ton together. But, you can have 2 guys that can ruin a game in at once, and let one of them rest. Just stagger their minutes, and you can keep 2 better defenders, one of our centers, and Luka, Kyrie, and/or Klay.
Dinwiddie takes a huge load of pressure off the Mavs ball handling responsibilities IMO. People thinking he won’t get much run cause of what he did on the Nets and Lakers, he will 100% be the Mavs first option off the bench for ball handling and scoring. Theres a reason he outdid his career efficiency numbers with the Mavs by like 6-7%, and that same role exists for him as when Brunson was on the team with Luka
The Mavs definetely got better. The most glaring problem last season was that the role players were extremely inconsistent in terms of taking advantage of the space Luka and Kyrie create, they simply had nobody to consistently make a shot. In the games where PJ or DJJ delivered on that front, the Mavs looked unstoppable offensively. Klay is almost the perfect addition to this team and adresses this issue. On top of that finally getting rid of THJ is definetely addition by substraction. Lively and Hardy also still have a lot of room to grow.
Great breakdown & The final move, Dinwiddie at vet minimum helps a ton IMO. Solid ball handler and offense creator, may very well allow Luka & Kyrie to get a lot more rest and stay healthy. He can run the bench unit and the Mavs won’t look hapless offensively without LuKai on the floor.
@@Jeremy-ot6pb no he isn’t?! What is this nonsense he is was 17ppg on 40% 3s just 2 years ago and has maintained similar numbers in Brooklyn, even in LA they wanted him back. He’s fine offense of the bench
i think between klay's smaller offensive role, and his mindset playing a huge part in his defensive effort, a klay defensive bump is definitely on the cards. not necessarily a postiive regression to his peak but i can see him playing significantly harder than he has for the last couple years
@@john-murraynewman-scotch6567 I would use what I get back in return. PJ Washington isn’t even a PF, I’d probably flip him also for someone who is taller, can really play the position and nail shots consistently. The mavs are small across the board…
@@john-murraynewman-scotch6567 I like pj, but he’s 6’7 not 6’9 and he shoots low 30% from 3. I was happy when they got him, thought they could better use him at the 3 and bring in a real pF. Maybe a Wendell carter(6’10ish) or Julius Randle who although, is not that tall either but he plays big, is a goon and is better all across the board.
SF Mikal Bridges PF OG Anunoby The key to win 🏆Garantie 4 Mavs POD is small ball Warriors Coach Kerr favorite player beside Curry. KERR thinks highly of POD even has him training with 🇺🇸 Team. Starting POD Infront of Klay is crazy. Fire Kerr
It became even more evident against the Celtics that the Mavs didn't have enough shooting. They are still lacking someone to play like Kleber but in his place instead. Lively will likely start shooting 3s but having a backup to do that as well and also shoot from the wings is needed. People will forget but comparing Luka against himself in the previous playoffs makes it glaring that his injury was a factor and him not being healthier made an impact on role players. It takes away the pressure when you have a guy that bails you out if needed.
They added Klay Naji & Grimes. All amazing 3poimt shooters and defenders even though klay has slightly digressed but still great roster and one of the deepest bench ITL. Also spence, great ball handler and can create shots and clutch and was a huge part of that 2022 WCF run. Also a 7’5 defensive stopper. They were just a few pieces away from beating Boston and I think they’ll be able to this time with hopefully a HEALTHY Luka and Kyrie getting over the hump. Whoever they met, I think they will beat. They should be the favorites, no doubt💯💯
Why the F is everyone saying DDJ and Klay are the trade. Klay is better than THJ, and cheaper might I add! And Naji Marshal is a very good defender plus much more versatile offensive player then DJJ!
They wont do it until next summer, but their team is missing one thing. A starting caliber wing to Guard guys like Tatum. They upgraded their depth and role players significantly, but they have to get rid of Kyrie clogging up that starting spot. You'll almost never be able to win it all with him in the starting 5 next to Luka. Move the undersized SG + whoever (Gafford) for a true wing. Orlando would never do it, but Franz Wagner + Luka + Klay, PJ, Lively - would be unstoppable.
I don't think they will be worse defensively over 48 minutes. There will be instances when the defense might be worse but the offense will be so much better with the playmaking of Naji, shooting of Klay, and sneaky underrated handles of Grimes that the slight defensive downturn won't be noticed. I also think there will be lineups where the defense is impossibly stifling. Think Luka with Naji, Grimes, PJ, and Lively. That is a NASTY defensive group that more than makes up for any deficiencies Luka might have
I think this is a great video. I’m a huge Mavs fan and thought we would make a run last season. I don’t know how much better this makes us against the Celtics for instance. Their size and shooting ability was just DIFFERENT
They way to look at it is Klay had an off year last season, but shooting 50 less 3s than Luka, he had a .5% better shooting percentage. if they get NOTHING else from him (and I think he will give them more), you're doubling the 3pt numbers from Luka and spacing the floor for Washington to get his corner 3s and Lively/Gafford to keep getting those lobs. The only weakness they had was exposed by Boston in the Finals (and that's only to teams with a forward capable of guarding their centers), but this move makes that impossible. The only weakness I see in the team now is at the PF where Washington is undersized to begin with, but they have no clear bench player capable of giving quality minutes at the position. If Prosper doesn't improve I wonder if they might move Lively to PF (since he's the better perimeter defender) for 10 minutes a game and give their version of Houston's twin towers. Not much scoring, but the rebounding/play at the rim would be off the charts. And the defense??? Crazy difficult to get a bucket in the paint against those two.
I bet maxence-prosper could come up from their g-league team to help on defense off the bench. A great defender with length to guard 1-4 and small ball 5's
I think Klay may actually come out significantly stronger than he was the last year because he has something to prove, and he should be able to run less and get more open shots. That should help with fatigue and potentially help a bit with his defense. I'm mostly worried about Kai and Klay; with injuries and consistent high standards. Kai fell on his face vs Boston and some games vs OKC had terrible shooting. However, I think it's likely they will both perform well. DLive will likely improve with most aspects, and I suspect he will add the 3s eventually. Grimes and Naji are fantastic pieces and I absolutely expect the Mavs to get to a top 3 position in the regular season. Can't wait for the season to start!
People do forget how good the mavs played the Celtics on defense, if Luka was healthy and Kyrie didn’t fall of a cliff for some reason that is a much better series(I still think the Celtics win) but I can’t wait to watch the mavericks this season #2 in the west behind the thunder
The difference was the shooting. That’s literally it, Kyrie & Luka were both shooting horribly, and the rest of the team was even worse at like 15% on open 3s outside of game 4.
I agree with most of this video but I think the reasoning behind Klay’s piss poor shot selection isn’t as roundabout as the warriors not having good scoring options. I’d sooner put money on him simply thinking he was still the same player he was in his prime. He is not.
The cumulative point differential between the Celtics and the Mavs over the five gave series was Celtics by 18 total points. Had the Mavs hit threes and free throws at their usual percentages..........
The whole point of the Jordan Poole trade was to just get rid of his awful contract, so they could use that money starting this year for other players. This year they used that money to get De'Athony Melton, get the return package for Klay Thompson (Kyle Anderson + Buddy Hield), and STILL stay under the first apron (that they're now hard capped at due to these moves). With Poole they would have still been in salary hell and couldn't have done all this. And next year, they're gonna need that money to start resigning guys like Kuminga. They basically saved the next several years of their franchise with that trade.
They added Klay Naji & Grimes. All amazing 3poimt shooters and defenders, a great roster and one of the deepest bench ITL. Spencer is a big signing for the Mavs because of the fit and coaching the Mavs have compared to Darvin Ham. Real ones know how much he helped us get to the 2022 WCF. He can create shots and handle the rock, we can finally be comfortable resting Luka more and that lessens his load in the reg season thus preventing injuries like last season before going into the playoffs. They are just a few pieces away from beating Boston and I think they’ll be able to this time with hopefully a HEALTHY Luka and Kyrie getting over the hump. Whoever they met, they will beat. They should be the favorites in the west and definitely can win it all💯💯
GSW should've got rid of Draymond before he punced Poole. They should have even let Draymond go and kept KD if they could in 2019. Draymond Green is hurting this franchise like noone can. Triple f'in single indeed.
I live in the bay area and have seen the warriors entire run to glory but I am a DIE HARD MFFL. You l, my friend have hit the nail on the head in terms of Klay Thompson. Spot on! The only thing you might’ve missed is the fact that his numbers were lower because Kerr doesn’t coach. I give him credit for bringing the motion offense to the bay but once you know how to run a motion, and you get NBA elite players to buy in, then it’s a lock. Kerr has gotten lazy in past years and it affected Klay starting with Jordan Poole’s emergence in the offense. Klay would come off screens hands open and Pooole would look him off. This created “iso” Klay! 🤣🤣 Once Klay settled in and stopped moving he was absolute money barring the playoff game. He’s going to be great for the Mavs. In fact I predict Mavs vs Warriors WCF is the warriors get Markkanen. Mark iT down and bet on it today. You’ve earned a subscribe.
Yeah the people who pretend like the Mavs' defense wasn't good just straight up didn't watch the finals at all imo. In Game 5 they legitimately shut down the entire Celtics team for MINUTES at a time but then proceeded to brick open threes on the other end thereby gaining nothing. The Mavs' defense was fantastic, in the first game it was bad because they pulled the classic "We're the Mavs we lose game 1s" shtick but in every game after they played great overall defense. Even Luka who had the terrible game 3 defense incident came back and played INCREDIBLE defense in game 4 and then great defense in game 5. Their one and only problem was 3pt shooting, if Kyrie showed up and Luka wasn't injured I think its a close series already, if the roleplayers actually hit threes we're talking about something COMPLETELY different to what we saw. Also in my opinion Klay and Naji should be used the same way Gafford & Lively are, swap them out constantly depending on what is needed at the time, they both get high minutes and they both remain fresh for the entirety of the game, it lets an aging Klay put more effort into defense without running out of gas on offense and it lets the Mavs to adapt on the fly to the situation. I don't think Klay would have a problem with that setup at all, he wants good minutes cause he thinks hes still a great player (we'll see) but nothing I've heard regarding the Warriors situation is, to me at least, a case of "Omg Klay is an ego maniac who won't accept the system he goes to!". Imo have a starting lineup of Luka, Kyrie, Naji, Washington, Lively and swap out Gafford and Klay constantly with Lively and Naji. There's a lot they can do with the lineup to where Klays worsening defense wouldn't be a problem, meanwhile Luka could legit take another big leap in his defense considering he played overall great defense all playoffs on 1 leg.
i mean I can see the defense being fine but for that to happen klay going to have to come off the bench and naj and grimes going to have to have big roles
the whole klay replacing djj thing is being focused on way too much and blown out of proportion. djj had times where he didn’t start so it’s not like he’s the end all be all to the mavs defense. kidd has built a culture where everyone plays for each other and embraces their role, if klay subscribes to that then his minutes will more than likely be split with najee marshall circumstantially and that versatility alone immediately makes this team better than the one with thj being the designated shooter and josh green being the wing defender off the bench
I think other teams got better. Especially the Thunder who got WAY better. So I doubt they go back to the finals. I think last season was there best chance they will get. The league just had so much turnover now.
I get your point but the reason I'm optimistic is that I think Luka is still getting better and I think in a playoff series he legit can be the best player on the floor every night ...and then you have two of the clutchest players/shooters probably in modern NBA history on his team ... that's a huge confidence boost for your team ...like they will go out guns blazing if nothing else and when they're rolling they will put up some offensive nights that are historic
The Mavs whooped the Thunder with Luka being hurt. OKC got better but so did the Mavs… I’ll go with the Mavs since logic will tell you that they’re still better.
@@Joeshiesty286 the second and third best players on the Thunder were drafted two years before. And they got two players that fit better into their rotation while losing no one.
Mavs really struggled with wing 3 point shooting. Most evidently in the finals. Klay and Naji should definitely help. I’ll happily take a 3-5 point defensive hit as long as he scores 5-10 more ppg than Derrick Jones
They got better for sure. The only question is if they have got enough to lower Lukas usage rate to the point that he is not a corpse in the later rounds of the post season for once.
That's more down to injuries than anything. He had to carry a crippled roster for over half the season last year which was a much bigger factor than their roster construction. Now that the roster is even better it should only be easier for Luka to have a lighter load in the regular season. Fingers crossed everyone can stay at least mostly healthy.
They have spence now! This such a big signing for the Mavs because of the fit and coaching the Mavs have compared to Darvin Ham. Real ones know how much he helped us get to the 2022 WCF. He can create shots and handle the rock, we can finally be comfortable resting Luka more and that lessens his load in the reg season thus preventing injuries like last season before going into the playoffs!
Your argument would make sense if the changes were happening like you said. Naji is not DJJ’s replacement, klay is and we know he’s no longer a POA defender. Naji is replacing THJ, who based on volume and career numbers isn’t as good of a shooter. Their are a lot of if’s for this to be an improvement 1. Klay has to be willing to accept being a 6th man. Not sure if this will happen since it’s one of the reasons he left GS. 2. Naji has to prove he can be a solid role playing starter, take more 3’s a game, and not regress in efficiency. 3. JK and Luka have to work more motion into the offense so that they can be more strategic with drive and kicks. That’s a lot of if’s for it to be a improvement. Honestly last season was more like lightning in a bottle to me kind of like the lakers last season or the Hawks in 21. Probably the biggest thing to me is that the offense has to evolve. Luka has to be more strategic on when he wants to do drive or reduce how much he physically bullies while driving.
The mavs obviously got better, they got rid of THJ and replaced him with Klay freaking Thompson, the other adjustments are not as substantial but still upgrades. This should be a no brainer that they have gotten better.
Thank you for saying are defense wasn’t bad I’ve bee trying to say that. They held them to the same amount of points as the timberwolves. Our offense was the problem
Kidd is an elite defensive coach. He is like Belichick on defense. But there could be arguments that he is the worst offensive coach. And we saw that in the finals. Under Carlisle Luka led a historic offense but Carlisle is pretty much the opposite of Kidd. Carlisle's defense sucked. One of the worst in the league. Mazulla is an elite 2 way coach. Luka till now hasn't had elite 2 way coach like Spo, Kerr, Pop, Mazulla, Lue. Luka in Real Madrid played off ball and defense. Dont wanna believe go watch his Real Madrid days.
The biggest question mark will be the point of attack defender. Losing the guy who guards the opposing team best player every night for 30+minutes shouldn’t be under valued. Imagine Luka kyrie klay having to choose who gets to try and lock up SGA or ant. They both still got theirs in the playoffs but I remember Derrick jones giving them both some fits.
Naji Marshall would be that guy. I don't think Luka, Kyrie, and Klay share the floor much tbh. Luka and Kyrie really only played like 8 minutes together at the beginning and the end of the game. So Klay would be like the 2 Guard while Kyrie/Luka rotate at the 1 sport. Marshall would be the 3 and the one defending the SGA's and ANT's of the other teams
People are ignoring the other players the Mavs got this off season. They got Naji Marshall who I think is a better defender and offensive player than DJJ. Please just stop saying their defense got worse
@@CarnagexSena stop getting emotional bro. I never said it got worse. If naji slots in as the starter he would produce similar if not better results as DJJ. All im saying is if klay kyrie and Luka are on the floor together and not naji. The point of attack is gonna be weak. That is my comment.
@@MartinThePolarBear I honestly like naji marshal a lot and wish he got more opportunity on the pels. if he starts. I think he can definitely produce the same level of play.
@@spork339 he probably won't start the game but I'm pretty sure he'll get 25min or more. Jones Jr played pretty much that much. Only difference is Klay starts the game. It's similar to how Gafford starts the game but Lively would end up playing more if not the same minutes especially when we needed to up the defense
The Mavs made a few smart decisions over the past few years, but we've also made some STUPID mistakes with those smart decisions. This is the first season where the FO have made good decisions without a stupid decision. My only issue is that the big line-up may continue to be too inconsistent in the playoffs, which puts too much pressure on the frontcourt. Otherwise, I'm feeling confident for the season ahead! #MFFL
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
shout out to Alex! here's his channel: ruclips.net/user/alexhoops
🐐
The Mavs definitely got better simply just by looking at it like this
THJ -> Klay(upgrade)
Josh Green -> QG(neutral with upgrade potential)
DJJ -> Naji Marshall(slight upgrade due to increased shooting floor)
Starting lineup defense is definitely worse now but much more defensive support coming off the bench
and Dinwiddie
@@noahsmith4115 dinwiddie better be learning chinese
@@jackdawson5490 you obviously didn’t watch him play next to Luka…remember game 7 v Phoenix 2 years ago?
@@DunningKrugerJnr 2 years ago
@@jackdawson5490he still shot 40 percent from 3 and was effective for the lakers last season, the mavs are in a great spot to have a bench unit of Dinwiddie grimes exum Marshall and gafford, and not to mention hardy kleber and omax as even more depth and development. The mavericks are definitely contenders and dinwiddie is no typical 3rd string point guard
I think getting rid of the version of Hardaway they've had for the last 2 years is an auto win.
Agreed. Hardaway is just a bad vibe and couldn't hit water if he fell out of f***ing boat.
Also he was like getting paid 35 mil per year. I'm not sure what was worse; his game or contract
@kishorhegde7218 Actually I think it was $18 million a year.
@@dk6173 THJ was so bad that paying him 16 mil felt like 35 mil
@@kishorhegde7218 🤣🤣🤣
As an okc fan I think they 100 percent got better. Klay isn’t what he was a couple years ago but he is becoming underrated, their defense took a hit but not as big as ppl think because I think Marshall can play the DJJ role. Lively is going to get better as well. Definitely a scary team out west for sure (like the rest of the conference 😅)
A Thunder fan who respects the Mavs?!?!?!?!?
The west goes through Dallas and OKC 😤
@@Joeshiesty286 wouldn’t sleep on Denver minny and Memphis. All contenders imo
@@Joeshiesty286 OKC vs Dallas WCF we here 🔥🔥🔥
@@jonasgorea3823 Denver got worse, Minny didn’t do anything this off-season, and Memphis is an unpredictable team with injuries
Simple answer yes they did
22min for a simple answer is wild lol
Well most of us wouldn’t be watching this if the video was 3 seconds long with Rusty just saying “yes they did”
Not only the additions but the young guys who got Finals experience will most likely have a huge step forward with their game.
People vastly underestimate how much better Washington and Gafford will be with a full off-season to fully adjust to their roles and get around what Lively is going to look like in his second year.
Spencer is one of the reason why they reached the western conference finals in 2022. I think jkidd knows how to use him unlike the Lakers.
The Lakers are a complete disaster, lebron has used his power to get what he wants and run that franchise into the ground it’s literally a Hollywood reality show there now
He won a championship
Spencer was cooking. I don't care what anyone says, he will be major for Mavs
Here is what people do not get. Klay isnt replacing DJJ, he is replacing THJ! MArshall will replace DJJ and Grimes will replace Green. THJ played 27 minutes on average in the reg season, DJJ 23.5 minutes, Green 26 minutes... And Thompson isnt an elite PoA defender anymore, but he will not play that role anyway.
So the minutes will be a bit different. But the roles will be the same. THJ was supposed to be the 3rd scorer going into the season, but was completely unusable in the PO. Except 2 good games he was a complete no show. Thompson might not be the Thompson from 5 years ago... but he is still a clear upgrade over THJ, on offense and on defense.
Not to mention we also added Dinwiddie as another guy who can play some minutes as a 2ndary playmaker, even at the 3. He will battle with Exum (defensive option) and Hardy (offensive option) for the backup guard spot behind Luka/Kyrie.
Guards: Luka/Kyrie - Dinwiddie/Exum/Hardy
Wings: Thompson/Washington - Marshall/Grimes
Bigs: Lively - Gafford/Kleber
Thats 12 legit guys who could see PO minutes, depending on how the season will go. There will be huge competition in every group for minutes. Not to mention that Dallas is extremely flexible. For example we can go ultra big (bench rotations, not starting lineups) with Luka/Marshall/Washington/Maxi/Lively, or 5 out small with Kyrie/Grimes/Thompson/Washington/Maxi, and everything in between. As a Mavs fan I am more then happy with this offseason.
I agree, for the trade deadline Nico will need to pursue someone to replace Maxi. Someone bigger than PJ or Marshall to play 5 out, that can shoot more 3s and still mobile enough to not be a liability on switches. Maxi should become like Powell as a 3rd lineup in case of injuries type of player, mainly because he became a bit too hesitant to shoot and also because he has been pretty injury prone the past few seasons.
The main factor is going to be the number of legs that Luka is having towards the end of the season, last playoffs was 1.5.
He did play too many minutes at times. Adding Dinnie and Klay should give him more rest on the offensive end.
@@fringe_minority The man was bleeding from both his knees in the playoffs. Some form of basketball stigmata.
Basketball Jesus confirmed.
I think they got better but honest to god their biggest issue is Kidd. Watching Luka and Kyrie iso against elite perimeter defenders and not attacking Al Horford or Porzingus was genuinely terrible.
the hope is they can move away from Iso ball a bit with klay they are never going to move away and play like golden state but luka and kyrie a 2 of the beat ISO players in the league. what dalles need to do is learn when to play Iso ball and when to just move the ball and i think Klay is going to help with that and if Dereck Lively can get a respectable 3 ball for a centre they are going to be a tough team to beat. i agree on Kidd in terms of creating a offensive plan but he's been good when it comes to defence he has done good when he has had the players
luka can't play off ball what else should they run
I really dont agree with this: Kidd has outcoached the "Coach of the year" TWICE in the playoffs, he just didnt have many options in the finals. Literally anything Kidd could have done theyd still lose vs the C's
bro Luka tried to ISO against both of them and got blocked 3 times... he was injoured my man and you want him to step back 3 on 6'10+ players all game when he can't get much push off the leg?... another example of the same thing was in the clippers series where usually Luka plays zubac off the court with his shooting but this time zubac even blocked Luka once...
There was nothing we could do vs the Celtics we only had iso ball because they countered everything else
I'd like to think they did get better. They finally got a wing who can shoot, Naji Marshall is a solid enough role player, and I'm interested to see what leap Dereck Lively will take into year 2.
After that finals loss it was impossible to be excited for next season. But now looking forward to hopefully another great run
I’m looking forward to Kidd deciding it’s time to try Gafford at Center and lively at power forward for short stretches during the game. The shot blocking would be incredible and the rebounding would finally get the Mavs out of the middle of the pack. Since they failed to acquire a good power forward and PJ is always gonna be undersized and less effective inside, I want to see them forcing teams to match up to them instead of the other way around.
Mavs defense was actually the best defense the Celtics faced on their run to the chip. Celtics only hit 100 pts twice and had stretches of 2-3 min without a bucket. The problem was during those droughts the Mavs couldn't capitalize which basically was a ticking time bomb by the time they start the Celtics just went on a 15-3 run which would be when Lukas defense was unfairly highlighted when his team is shooting 1/14 from 3 on wide open shots. That shit takes a lot of drained energy
It wasn’t. Celtics hit 100 every game except the one where they benched their starters in the 3rd. Not sure what you’re talking about there.
The Mavs had the best defensive advantage possible: Celtics players missing open and wide open threes. The Celtics generated open looks all series long and just happened to miss more of them than their usual (by a pretty wide margin.)
@@donaldpratt2296If u wanna yap about “wide open looks missed” then celtics played no defense against the mavs either? Cause mavs simply did not capitalize on open looks
Mavs genuinly played trhe best defense they could have against the celtics, eye test and breakdowns show this
they handled their 5 out offense as well as anyone could have, they simply did not convert on offensive side, which is shown by non Luka mavs shooting a whopping 9% on 3’s across the first 3 games
yeh man no
@@remmborn8154 oh, the above the break threes the Celtics defense was designed to allow? Shocking they couldn’t hit those.
Glad to see alex hoops join the staff, hate what youtube did to his account. No matter how good your content is, with you tube, you live and die by the algorithm.
Just a heads up, I’m still gonna be uploading. Algorithm is back to pushing my content (for now), no plans of stopping anytime soon
Facts, same thing happened to Mojo 99
As a Mavs fan, since Nico becoming GM I love hearing year after year how whatever newly acquired player they’ve gotten is the best so and so player Luka’s played with in his career so far.
I’m a Curry stan, so I’ll always have love for Klay Thompson. Obviously he isn’t the Klay he used to be. But I think he will help Dallas tremendously. Nobody other than Luka could get a bucket in the Finals. Hell, even Kyrie disappeared in the Finals for the most part. I think having another guy on the perimeter that the defense has to respect will go a long way for the Mavs. But who knows. I say all of this, and Klay could look like Shaq in a Celtics jersey. 💀 Only time will tell. But I’m rooting for my boi, for sure.
Finally someone said something SMART about the mavs
@@Oscar-b5b4x damn they deleting my comments lmao
@TheGarciaKidd What up TGK. Mavs definitely got better personnel now, and also the chemistry will continue to grow, and Lively will continue to improve.
@@imdbtruth they did. I'm sleep tho
@@TheGarciaKiddRUclips🤷♂️
Amen!💯
I have seen so many ignorant takes and a lot of over thinking when it comes to the Mavs! We have seen Luka take a healthy Clippers team to 7 games with THJ as his 2nd option!
We have seen Luka take a team to the WCF with Dwight Powell as his starting center and Reggie Bullock as a starter!
We have now seen him lead a team who were only all together 2 months before the playoffs started thru 3 50+ win teams without homecourt,on a sprained knee str8 to the finals!
So now you give him the 2nd best shooter,& thee best catch and shooter EVER who is motivated and out for vengeance.Along with guys who like Naji whose a very good defender,3pt shooter,and playmaker. Spencer Dinwiddie who played the best ball of his career with Luka. Quintin Grimes who is a great poa defender,shooter,& playmaker. DLive who will now be in his 2nd year,and full of confidence coming off a great playoff run and finals experience his 1st year in the league. PJ Washington and Gafford will be even better and more comfortable having their 1st training camp with the Mavs. You still have Maxi who should be more comfortable after the shoulder injury,and Jaden Hardy who showed he’s not phased by big games due to his contributions in the playoffs who is now in his 3rd season!
Kyrie Irving isn’t slowing down yet either. He was catching lobs with one hand last season and once again had a super efficient 50/40/90 season!
This is the absolute best team in the Luka era,barring injury they have the opportunity to finish what they started
Daniel Gafford is the primary reason their defense took a huge upward swing last season, along with the development of Lively. He gave the Mavs 48 mins of elite rim protection and their entire defense became predicated on funneling guards into that rim protection. Trading him would be taking a huge defensive step back, as their defensive schemes won’t be as effective and is a very weird take to say that would be a good move. Having two elite rim protecting bigs is one of the major points of difference for Dallas vs the other top teams in the league who mostly only have one if any
Exactly. You have two really good defensive options at 5. Losing one at what cost? Too much with the success this team had last year. Time to build on it with some new pieces. Plus Gafford is insurance for Lively. Mavs improved big time!
Looks like rusty has been hitting the gym
And still can't dunk😂
Gay
@@11Pharcydehe's pretty short, I'm like 90% sure he's under 6'3.
Getting rust off
@@alexhennigh5242piss off dude
Thank you man I’m so tired of hearing the dumb stuff about the Mavs defense, how do people still not realize they were good BECAUSE of their defense. Like it was the finals how were people not watching the offense was terrible but the defense kept them somewhat alive
Check me out for Mavs content fam
it was the lack of three point shooting that hurt us
that's the exact reason I'm so concerned by the defense. they got to the finals, and won that single game, because of their defense. the fact that their defense was so good despite having both Kyrie and Luka out there was incredible, typically you can only afford a single weak spot on your defense if you want it to be great and they somehow managed two (some will argue that one and or both of them are actually a good defender, I'd say Kyrie is a bit below average while Luka is outright bad, even if it is because he is using energy on offense). going from a versatile wing who can do everything from guarding a perimeter player to providing weak-side rim protection to Klay Thompson, who is an average perimeter defender who provides little rim protection. it feels like last year was a really impressive house of cards, and Klay Thompson could be the push that will scatter it all. They did get better defense on the bench, yes, and I don't doubt they will be good in minutes where one of Luka, Kyrie, and Klay on the bench, but for the minutes that those 3 are on the floor together I struggle to be certain that the defense will be even close to what we saw last year.
Honestly, I started this off feeling like they were almost certainly worse than last year, but as I type, I feel as if they do use him more similarly to a offensively slanted bench piece who mostly sees run when one of the stars are out (though he will start, he might get taken out 4 mins in or so) then the offensive boost they get over the game will outweigh the defense they lose in the beginning and final minutes of the game. Whether they are better or worse than last year will depend (in my opinion) on how much of the defensive identity they lose, but this was a true contender last year.
@@sclom5676 It also helped them that Boston was in generally mising more shots that their previous games.
I have been saying it as well, if Klay starts and is played alot they will struggle on the defence alot.
I feel like klay could go crazy on the Mavs, well see
Klay about to have his best season in years. He was forcing shots to prove he still got it, he will not be doing that here in Dallas. Bro gonna have practice shots all game long.
Klay has the least pressure of his career in Dallas. He's gone from the second option to the 3rd/4th option and we may see Klay have resurgence in Texas
Hes been 3rd or 4th option since he came back, the problem with klay is he refuses to take less than #2 shots. Even in the 2022 finals it was curry, Wiggins and Poole, then klay
He played behind steph curry and KD lmao
@@matthewadkins79732022 was a different game, he was still rusty. In 22-23 he was excellent.
You do know this guy has 13 seasons right? You might want to actually look at him before you say things like this.
@@matthewadkins7973 Poole and Wiggins and even steph at this point aren't Kyrie and Luka
Luka amd Kyrie didn't really share the floor much outside of the opening and closing minutes of the games. Luka and Kyrie would actually take turns running the offense with a mix of Bench/Starters on the floor for thr bulk of the game. Marshall will likely be seeing a lot of time at the 3 wirh Klay at the 2 whenever we have only Luka or Kyrie on the floor
Dude, that's what I'm thinking. This group can interchange the lineups a lot. I don't really see the 3 of them playing a ton together. But, you can have 2 guys that can ruin a game in at once, and let one of them rest. Just stagger their minutes, and you can keep 2 better defenders, one of our centers, and Luka, Kyrie, and/or Klay.
Dinwiddie takes a huge load of pressure off the Mavs ball handling responsibilities IMO. People thinking he won’t get much run cause of what he did on the Nets and Lakers, he will 100% be the Mavs first option off the bench for ball handling and scoring. Theres a reason he outdid his career efficiency numbers with the Mavs by like 6-7%, and that same role exists for him as when Brunson was on the team with Luka
The Mavs definetely got better. The most glaring problem last season was that the role players were extremely inconsistent in terms of taking advantage of the space Luka and Kyrie create, they simply had nobody to consistently make a shot. In the games where PJ or DJJ delivered on that front, the Mavs looked unstoppable offensively. Klay is almost the perfect addition to this team and adresses this issue.
On top of that finally getting rid of THJ is definetely addition by substraction. Lively and Hardy also still have a lot of room to grow.
Great breakdown & The final move, Dinwiddie at vet minimum helps a ton IMO. Solid ball handler and offense creator, may very well allow Luka & Kyrie to get a lot more rest and stay healthy. He can run the bench unit and the Mavs won’t look hapless offensively without LuKai on the floor.
dinwiddie is a terrible player
@@Jeremy-ot6pb no he isn’t?! What is this nonsense he is was 17ppg on 40% 3s just 2 years ago and has maintained similar numbers in Brooklyn, even in LA they wanted him back. He’s fine offense of the bench
@@Jeremy-ot6pbDinwiddie plays great witht he Mavs system, ham didnt know how use him.
Mavs also got Dinwiddie back! He can provide extra ball handling and creation to let Luka and Kai rest.
Scoring also. He can be a bucket
i think between klay's smaller offensive role, and his mindset playing a huge part in his defensive effort, a klay defensive bump is definitely on the cards. not necessarily a postiive regression to his peak but i can see him playing significantly harder than he has for the last couple years
Why did you want the Mavs to trade Gafford? This video lost all credibility when you whipped that one out. Lively and Powell as the C duo???
I would have traded gafford too, he’s one dimensional and they already have lively. I’d dump Powell, gaf and kleber to strengthen up that bench
@@ab85main73 then what do you do if/when Lively misses 20 games?
@@john-murraynewman-scotch6567 I would use what I get back in return. PJ Washington isn’t even a PF, I’d probably flip him also for someone who is taller, can really play the position and nail shots consistently. The mavs are small across the board…
@@ab85main73 PJ is 6'9 lol. Who tf are you going to bring in who's taller/better with Dallas's current trade pieces?
@@john-murraynewman-scotch6567
I like pj, but he’s 6’7 not 6’9 and he shoots low 30% from 3. I was happy when they got him, thought they could better use him at the 3 and bring in a real pF. Maybe a Wendell carter(6’10ish) or Julius Randle who although, is not that tall either but he plays big, is a goon and is better all across the board.
Klay just need to be defensively competent in the playoffs and we're all good to go.
SF Mikal Bridges
PF OG Anunoby
The key to win 🏆Garantie 4 Mavs
POD is small ball Warriors Coach Kerr favorite player beside Curry. KERR thinks highly of POD even has him training with 🇺🇸 Team. Starting POD Infront of Klay is crazy. Fire Kerr
If Brandon Podz has the same season Klay had last year they will offer him a max deal. The Klay disrespect is crazy.
think about it
So glad to see Alex hoops getting recognized
I really like his videos
They absolutely got better. I dont understand how anyone could think otherwise.
Klay’s future isn’t in his own hands, it’s in Derick Lively’s. The more attention Lively can draw, the better Klay is going to be able to perform.
Rusty‘s commentary and style with Alex‘s additions and research is a great change!!
It became even more evident against the Celtics that the Mavs didn't have enough shooting. They are still lacking someone to play like Kleber but in his place instead. Lively will likely start shooting 3s but having a backup to do that as well and also shoot from the wings is needed. People will forget but comparing Luka against himself in the previous playoffs makes it glaring that his injury was a factor and him not being healthier made an impact on role players. It takes away the pressure when you have a guy that bails you out if needed.
Wow welcome back. You look good rusty.
Hot take: Klay has never play with a playmaker like Luka
Cp3
@@dellingtonarts3487 shit forgot about cp3
@@ftruers2544 its gonna be different with luka though
@@dellingtonarts3487 exactly, gravity is way higher
This was a very balanced take. I like that you went deeper than the surface level takes.
Alex Hoops is legit.
Midwiddie averaged about 17ppg as a Maverick and in Game 7 against the Suns dropped 30 points. He's definitely serviceable even in the playoffs.
Averaged almost 11 ppg last season. Dude has something left in the tank for sure 👍
@@parkerC1990s Yea with the Lakers, with Dallas he averaged more both seasons.
Kidd is blessed to have 2 of the best guard combos Luka and Irving, probably top 3 all time.
I think so. But I still think they should've focus on making a stronger front court.
They added Klay Naji & Grimes. All amazing 3poimt shooters and defenders even though klay has slightly digressed but still great roster and one of the deepest bench ITL. Also spence, great ball handler and can create shots and clutch and was a huge part of that 2022 WCF run. Also a 7’5 defensive stopper. They were just a few pieces away from beating Boston and I think they’ll be able to this time with hopefully a HEALTHY Luka and Kyrie getting over the hump. Whoever they met, I think they will beat. They should be the favorites, no doubt💯💯
Think about this roster
Luka, Kyrie , Klay , pj , lively
Backups : dinwiddie , grimes, naji, maxi, Gafford ,
Other options: Hardy , Exum, Powell
Great video, Rusty!
Why the F is everyone saying DDJ and Klay are the trade. Klay is better than THJ, and cheaper might I add! And Naji Marshal is a very good defender plus much more versatile offensive player then DJJ!
Rusty bro I’m not gon hold you I wanna see these videos on the patreon that I’m paying for
10:50 as soon as u said 10% I got a discord notification that said “Yikes” 💀😭
I think the Naji Marshall & Grimes move made them alot more dangerous
They wont do it until next summer, but their team is missing one thing. A starting caliber wing to Guard guys like Tatum. They upgraded their depth and role players significantly, but they have to get rid of Kyrie clogging up that starting spot. You'll almost never be able to win it all with him in the starting 5 next to Luka. Move the undersized SG + whoever (Gafford) for a true wing. Orlando would never do it, but Franz Wagner + Luka + Klay, PJ, Lively - would be unstoppable.
I don't think they will be worse defensively over 48 minutes. There will be instances when the defense might be worse but the offense will be so much better with the playmaking of Naji, shooting of Klay, and sneaky underrated handles of Grimes that the slight defensive downturn won't be noticed. I also think there will be lineups where the defense is impossibly stifling. Think Luka with Naji, Grimes, PJ, and Lively. That is a NASTY defensive group that more than makes up for any deficiencies Luka might have
I think this is a great video. I’m a huge Mavs fan and thought we would make a run last season. I don’t know how much better this makes us against the Celtics for instance. Their size and shooting ability was just DIFFERENT
That's cool we. Got size and shooting now to
They way to look at it is Klay had an off year last season, but shooting 50 less 3s than Luka, he had a .5% better shooting percentage. if they get NOTHING else from him (and I think he will give them more), you're doubling the 3pt numbers from Luka and spacing the floor for Washington to get his corner 3s and Lively/Gafford to keep getting those lobs. The only weakness they had was exposed by Boston in the Finals (and that's only to teams with a forward capable of guarding their centers), but this move makes that impossible. The only weakness I see in the team now is at the PF where Washington is undersized to begin with, but they have no clear bench player capable of giving quality minutes at the position. If Prosper doesn't improve I wonder if they might move Lively to PF (since he's the better perimeter defender) for 10 minutes a game and give their version of Houston's twin towers. Not much scoring, but the rebounding/play at the rim would be off the charts. And the defense??? Crazy difficult to get a bucket in the paint against those two.
I bet maxence-prosper could come up from their g-league team to help on defense off the bench. A great defender with length to guard 1-4 and small ball 5's
I think Klay may actually come out significantly stronger than he was the last year because he has something to prove, and he should be able to run less and get more open shots. That should help with fatigue and potentially help a bit with his defense.
I'm mostly worried about Kai and Klay; with injuries and consistent high standards. Kai fell on his face vs Boston and some games vs OKC had terrible shooting. However, I think it's likely they will both perform well.
DLive will likely improve with most aspects, and I suspect he will add the 3s eventually. Grimes and Naji are fantastic pieces and I absolutely expect the Mavs to get to a top 3 position in the regular season.
Can't wait for the season to start!
People do forget how good the mavs played the Celtics on defense, if Luka was healthy and Kyrie didn’t fall of a cliff for some reason that is a much better series(I still think the Celtics win) but I can’t wait to watch the mavericks this season #2 in the west behind the thunder
The difference was the shooting. That’s literally it, Kyrie & Luka were both shooting horribly, and the rest of the team was even worse at like 15% on open 3s outside of game 4.
Yeah bro definitely got better with Spencer & Klay!!! They were solid defensive better ppl sleeping on Klay
1000% got better. And Dinwiddie played his best basketball on the Mavs. He's going to fill some valuable minutes
Love AlexHoops cool to see him join one of my other favorite groups
Mavs got back the GOAT aka Spencer Dinwdiddie. Nobody can stop them now.
People will say he’s terrible but he was insanely good on the Mavs
@@sponch7193he just has to be a bench PG now too and he’ll do that well
I agree with most of this video but I think the reasoning behind Klay’s piss poor shot selection isn’t as roundabout as the warriors not having good scoring options.
I’d sooner put money on him simply thinking he was still the same player he was in his prime. He is not.
The cumulative point differential between the Celtics and the Mavs over the five gave series was Celtics by 18 total points. Had the Mavs hit threes and free throws at their usual percentages..........
I think lively is definetly not a bad playmaker and he will fs get better at it
The whole point of the Jordan Poole trade was to just get rid of his awful contract, so they could use that money starting this year for other players. This year they used that money to get De'Athony Melton, get the return package for Klay Thompson (Kyle Anderson + Buddy Hield), and STILL stay under the first apron (that they're now hard capped at due to these moves). With Poole they would have still been in salary hell and couldn't have done all this. And next year, they're gonna need that money to start resigning guys like Kuminga.
They basically saved the next several years of their franchise with that trade.
60% healthy luka in the bloodbath west playoffs vs a mickey mouse celtic run 😂😂😂😂
They added Klay Naji & Grimes. All amazing 3poimt shooters and defenders, a great roster and one of the deepest bench ITL. Spencer is a big signing for the Mavs because of the fit and coaching the Mavs have compared to Darvin Ham. Real ones know how much he helped us get to the 2022 WCF. He can create shots and handle the rock, we can finally be comfortable resting Luka more and that lessens his load in the reg season thus preventing injuries like last season before going into the playoffs. They are just a few pieces away from beating Boston and I think they’ll be able to this time with hopefully a HEALTHY Luka and Kyrie getting over the hump. Whoever they met, they will beat. They should be the favorites in the west and definitely can win it all💯💯
GSW should've got rid of Draymond before he punced Poole. They should have even let Draymond go and kept KD if they could in 2019. Draymond Green is hurting this franchise like noone can. Triple f'in single indeed.
Yes bro Added Grimes and Klay for green and djj
I live in the bay area and have seen the warriors entire run to glory but I am a DIE HARD MFFL. You l, my friend have hit the nail on the head in terms of Klay Thompson. Spot on! The only thing you might’ve missed is the fact that his numbers were lower because Kerr doesn’t coach. I give him credit for bringing the motion offense to the bay but once you know how to run a motion, and you get NBA elite players to buy in, then it’s a lock. Kerr has gotten lazy in past years and it affected Klay starting with Jordan Poole’s emergence in the offense. Klay would come off screens hands open and Pooole would look him off. This created “iso” Klay! 🤣🤣 Once Klay settled in and stopped moving he was absolute money barring the playoff game. He’s going to be great for the Mavs. In fact I predict Mavs vs Warriors WCF is the warriors get Markkanen. Mark iT down and bet on it today.
You’ve earned a subscribe.
The Mavs will be better after the trade deadline
Yeah the people who pretend like the Mavs' defense wasn't good just straight up didn't watch the finals at all imo.
In Game 5 they legitimately shut down the entire Celtics team for MINUTES at a time but then proceeded to brick open threes on the other end thereby gaining nothing.
The Mavs' defense was fantastic, in the first game it was bad because they pulled the classic "We're the Mavs we lose game 1s" shtick but in every game after they played great overall defense.
Even Luka who had the terrible game 3 defense incident came back and played INCREDIBLE defense in game 4 and then great defense in game 5.
Their one and only problem was 3pt shooting, if Kyrie showed up and Luka wasn't injured I think its a close series already, if the roleplayers actually hit threes we're talking about something COMPLETELY different to what we saw.
Also in my opinion Klay and Naji should be used the same way Gafford & Lively are, swap them out constantly depending on what is needed at the time, they both get high minutes and they both remain fresh for the entirety of the game, it lets an aging Klay put more effort into defense without running out of gas on offense and it lets the Mavs to adapt on the fly to the situation.
I don't think Klay would have a problem with that setup at all, he wants good minutes cause he thinks hes still a great player (we'll see) but nothing I've heard regarding the Warriors situation is, to me at least, a case of "Omg Klay is an ego maniac who won't accept the system he goes to!".
Imo have a starting lineup of Luka, Kyrie, Naji, Washington, Lively and swap out Gafford and Klay constantly with Lively and Naji.
There's a lot they can do with the lineup to where Klays worsening defense wouldn't be a problem, meanwhile Luka could legit take another big leap in his defense considering he played overall great defense all playoffs on 1 leg.
i mean I can see the defense being fine but for that to happen klay going to have to come off the bench and naj and grimes going to have to have big roles
Rusty buckets trying to get into the friend group hall of fame
You look like Ivica Zubac with a receding hairline
31 is nasty work
Yes, mavs top 3 in west in my opinion.
the whole klay replacing djj thing is being focused on way too much and blown out of proportion. djj had times where he didn’t start so it’s not like he’s the end all be all to the mavs defense. kidd has built a culture where everyone plays for each other and embraces their role, if klay subscribes to that then his minutes will more than likely be split with najee marshall circumstantially and that versatility alone immediately makes this team better than the one with thj being the designated shooter and josh green being the wing defender off the bench
Du played 20 minutes. Naji will play 25+ minutes 😂
Mavs went from PJ Washington being their third best player to PJ Washington being their third best player
I think other teams got better. Especially the Thunder who got WAY better. So I doubt they go back to the finals. I think last season was there best chance they will get. The league just had so much turnover now.
I get your point but the reason I'm optimistic is that I think Luka is still getting better and I think in a playoff series he legit can be the best player on the floor every night ...and then you have two of the clutchest players/shooters probably in modern NBA history on his team ... that's a huge confidence boost for your team ...like they will go out guns blazing if nothing else and when they're rolling they will put up some offensive nights that are historic
The Mavs whooped the Thunder with Luka being hurt. OKC got better but so did the Mavs…
I’ll go with the Mavs since logic will tell you that they’re still better.
@@Joeshiesty286 the second and third best players on the Thunder were drafted two years before. And they got two players that fit better into their rotation while losing no one.
Mavs really struggled with wing 3 point shooting. Most evidently in the finals. Klay and Naji should definitely help. I’ll happily take a 3-5 point defensive hit as long as he scores 5-10 more ppg than Derrick Jones
ceiling higher, floor lower kinda move
They got better for sure. The only question is if they have got enough to lower Lukas usage rate to the point that he is not a corpse in the later rounds of the post season for once.
U realized Luka played the whlle llya offs on 3 different injuries, his knees where literally bleeding the whole play offs
@@tchellovalente2373 yeah, thats what happens when you play 40 mins every game with an absurd ofensive burden.
That's more down to injuries than anything. He had to carry a crippled roster for over half the season last year which was a much bigger factor than their roster construction. Now that the roster is even better it should only be easier for Luka to have a lighter load in the regular season. Fingers crossed everyone can stay at least mostly healthy.
They have spence now! This such a big signing for the Mavs because of the fit and coaching the Mavs have compared to Darvin Ham. Real ones know how much he helped us get to the 2022 WCF. He can create shots and handle the rock, we can finally be comfortable resting Luka more and that lessens his load in the reg season thus preventing injuries like last season before going into the playoffs!
Wait... Wasn't Alex Hoops the channel editor before? Did he come back or am I thinking of someone else.
Your argument would make sense if the changes were happening like you said. Naji is not DJJ’s replacement, klay is and we know he’s no longer a POA defender. Naji is replacing THJ, who based on volume and career numbers isn’t as good of a shooter. Their are a lot of if’s for this to be an improvement
1. Klay has to be willing to accept being a 6th man. Not sure if this will happen since it’s one of the reasons he left GS.
2. Naji has to prove he can be a solid role playing starter, take more 3’s a game, and not regress in efficiency.
3. JK and Luka have to work more motion into the offense so that they can be more strategic with drive and kicks.
That’s a lot of if’s for it to be a improvement. Honestly last season was more like lightning in a bottle to me kind of like the lakers last season or the Hawks in 21. Probably the biggest thing to me is that the offense has to evolve. Luka has to be more strategic on when he wants to do drive or reduce how much he physically bullies while driving.
Lol. As a warriors fan, yes y'all got better.
The mavs obviously got better, they got rid of THJ and replaced him with Klay freaking Thompson, the other adjustments are not as substantial but still upgrades. This should be a no brainer that they have gotten better.
Thank you for saying are defense wasn’t bad I’ve bee trying to say that. They held them to the same amount of points as the timberwolves. Our offense was the problem
dallas mavericks 2024-2025 roster:
PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Kyrie Irving
SF: Klay Thompson
PF. PJ Washington
C: Derrick Lively
PG: Spencer Dinwiddie
SG: Quentin Grimes
SF: Naji Marshall
PF: Maxi Kleber
C: Daniel Gafford
PG: Dante Exum
SG: Jaden Hardy
SF: Olivier-Maxence Prosper
PF: Alex Fudge
C: Dwight Powell
Kidd is an elite defensive coach. He is like Belichick on defense. But there could be arguments that he is the worst offensive coach. And we saw that in the finals. Under Carlisle Luka led a historic offense but Carlisle is pretty much the opposite of Kidd. Carlisle's defense sucked. One of the worst in the league. Mazulla is an elite 2 way coach. Luka till now hasn't had elite 2 way coach like Spo, Kerr, Pop, Mazulla, Lue. Luka in Real Madrid played off ball and defense. Dont wanna believe go watch his Real Madrid days.
Yay for Alex joining!
Nico Harrison is the only thing giving me hope for the future. The man hasn't missed yet.
Yeah, all the stupid decisions that have been made are all Cuban's involvement and fixing Donnie's screw ups...
He has by signing Grant Williams but immediately made up for it by trading Williams and getting pj washington and Daniel gafford later in the season.
Kidd is going to let Klay show the NBA who he is mark my words!!! The chains ⛓️ are off my guy. Play your kind of ball #31 😉 🏀🏀🏀
The biggest question mark will be the point of attack defender. Losing the guy who guards the opposing team best player every night for 30+minutes shouldn’t be under valued. Imagine Luka kyrie klay having to choose who gets to try and lock up SGA or ant. They both still got theirs in the playoffs but I remember Derrick jones giving them both some fits.
Naji Marshall would be that guy. I don't think Luka, Kyrie, and Klay share the floor much tbh. Luka and Kyrie really only played like 8 minutes together at the beginning and the end of the game. So Klay would be like the 2 Guard while Kyrie/Luka rotate at the 1 sport. Marshall would be the 3 and the one defending the SGA's and ANT's of the other teams
People are ignoring the other players the Mavs got this off season. They got Naji Marshall who I think is a better defender and offensive player than DJJ. Please just stop saying their defense got worse
@@CarnagexSena stop getting emotional bro. I never said it got worse. If naji slots in as the starter he would produce similar if not better results as DJJ. All im saying is if klay kyrie and Luka are on the floor together and not naji. The point of attack is gonna be weak. That is my comment.
@@MartinThePolarBear I honestly like naji marshal a lot and wish he got more opportunity on the pels. if he starts. I think he can definitely produce the same level of play.
@@spork339 he probably won't start the game but I'm pretty sure he'll get 25min or more. Jones Jr played pretty much that much. Only difference is Klay starts the game. It's similar to how Gafford starts the game but Lively would end up playing more if not the same minutes especially when we needed to up the defense
If Thompson signed with the Lakers these so called issues would not be issues
Bro, your left ear 👀
Mavericks had one chance last season and they blew it pretty big. They will never run to the finals w this group again
Blew it?’ lol zero people had the Mavs making the finals last season ya bum. They will be fine.
The Mavs made a few smart decisions over the past few years, but we've also made some STUPID mistakes with those smart decisions. This is the first season where the FO have made good decisions without a stupid decision. My only issue is that the big line-up may continue to be too inconsistent in the playoffs, which puts too much pressure on the frontcourt. Otherwise, I'm feeling confident for the season ahead! #MFFL
What do u think about Matas?
We are one step closer to the podcast crew all being 1 fire channel and I’m here for it