The Dallas Mavericks are a great unit on paper, especially since they added Kyrie Irving to their roster. However, they failed to make it to the playoffs last season due to their defensive woes.
NBA Analyst Stephen A Smith is also not sure how the Mavs’ defence will hold up in the upcoming season. They were below par defensively and it was one of the primary reasons that they didn’t reach the playoffs.
They lack the presence of a big man and someone who will earn the offensive and the defensive boards in crucial plays. It is hard to believe that the Mavericks were not even in contention for the play-in tournament.
Ahead of the new season, Smith slammed the Mavericks for their defence. Sharing his thoughts on his podcast ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show’, he previewed the NBA season and minced no words when it came to the Mavericks.
Once again, Smith is unsure about their defensive capabilities and feels that they may miss out on the playoffs. “Dallas… I don’t even know if they make the playoffs with Kyrie and Luka. Offensively, nobody can stop them, defensively, who are they gonna stop? I don’t know if they gonna make the playoffs,” he said.
While it is true that the Mavericks are far from a good defensive setup, they have made some efforts during the off-season. They have added Grant Williams from the Boston Celtics, who adds defensive steel. The likes of Dante Exum and Derrick Jones Jr. are also on the roster and can help the cause.
Dallas Mavericks were in for Kyrie Irving, knowing that it would be a win-now strategy. They understood the consequences and added him to the roster to take the scoring burden from Luka Doncic’s shoulder and also wanted to add a player who could help them win the title with his experience and panache. It was a deal that sorted out their offence but majorly weakened their defence.
While they have the shooters to trouble any good defensive unit, they don’t have the defenders to keep the opposition shooters at bay. So it will be interesting to see how things turn up for Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.
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