Dallas was a massive disappointment last season. They had lost in the Western Conference finals the previous year against the eventual champions Golden State while surprisingly having a top 10 defensive unit and with Luka Doncic leading once again an efficient unit on the offense. So, there were a lot of expectations about what the Mavs would be able to do last season but they flopped so hard that they even decided to tank and not even attempt to go to the play-in to get a playoff spot.
The Mavs’ defense fell apart and it only got worse when they traded for Kyrie Irving and gave up their best defensive player in Dorian Finney-Smith. With Kyrie in Dallas, they were one of the best offenses in the league, but their already poor defense only became even worse.
2023/24 OUTLOOK:
With Doncic and Irving ready to lead the team’s offense, Dallas attempted to improve the team’s defense during the offseason by signing some defensive talent. They got Grant Williams from the Celtics, a player who can guard multiple positions and who has been competent against the best offensive players in the league. In the draft, they selected Dereck Lively II, who is projected to be the team’s starting Center and his calling card is to be a defensive anchor and a rim roller.
They also drafted Olivier-Maxence Prosper, a player the Mavs expect him to assume the role DFS used to have in the team’s rotation. Besides these two young players, Dallas also has Josh Green who got a bigger role in the rotation after the Kyrie trade last season and definitely showed that he deserves a spot in the team’s roster.
It will be very hard for Dallas to be a good defensive team this season given how many young and inexperienced players they have. However, Sacramento managed to be very competitive last season by having the best offense in the league and a poor defense. This is what Dallas should attempt to do this year. As long as Kyrie remains focused throughout the entire season, they have a shot at that.
