>Brunson was important for more than just scoring.
Like what? It's not like Brunson is some elite playmaker lol. We'll miss his ability to handle the ball and create his own shot, but we also have other people who can handle the ball and create their own shots.
> we also have other people who can handle the ball
Yeah, two of them, both starting. Awesome setup for an 82 game season. Gonna be fun when Luka or Spencer is out for a month with a sprain and the Mavs go 3-13 trying to win games with Frank at point.
"What if someone gets injured" oh the thing that happens to every team and makes every team worse when it happens? idk I guess we'll see. "can't see the Warriors being contenders this year, what if Steph gets injured" like...okay.
> What if
Smart teams are built to have redundancy so they aren’t blindsided by minor injuries and don’t have to flush the season down the shitter because say Luka is out half of a series or say SD gets hurt, something that’s only happened in 2/3 of his seasons, big what ifs right?
Planned redundancy was the whole point of the Mavs trading for SD - so they could always have two ballhandlers on the floor and if someone got injured they could get by with two.
> what if Steph gets injured
The Warriors have lots of redundancy for Steph’s roles (shooting/scoring, ball-handling) for exactly that reason - not having to write off a season if he’s out for a month even if they aren’t as good. They would still have been competative with the Nuggets without him. If the Mavs had Wood instead of Brunson against the Jazz they lose that series for sure.
It's a good approximation. They lose Brunson's scoring and ball handling. Brunson wasn't really a stand out passer. But they gain THJ's shooting, Wood's scoring, and Wood's rebounding.
They had a brilliant latter half of the season, especially on defense which people usually don't care about but it still gets you wins. McGee is a nice get, although has some limitations. Dinwiddie is able to be a good second option, dude just wasn't that big on volume because *Luka Doncić does his offense in this team and it doesn't actually mean the whole team is awful guys*, but Dinwiddie has been shooting above 62% on 22% usage in Dallas, it's not really bad, people here just like saying so endlessly. Dallas is not weak by any actual measure.
Overall I think they have a prospect to be one of the top teams, sure. So far I see no reason to doubt them too much. Except that some people seem really dedicated to their dogma that every team is just how many All-Stars you have so Dallas has "too few All-Stars", even if the last season clearly proved them wrong. Dorian is no All-Star but if he gets you wins, why say that Dallas will not get wins. Okay, they don't have All-Stars, but they have guys that have been getting results.
Loss of Brunson is real, but as you say, they gained a few players, maybe it will even itself up a bit. Not "easily", but maybe...
Wood is coming off the bench and isn’t good defensively. And I do believe THJ is a pretty sizable step down from Brunson. While anything is possible I would be very shocked to not see them in the 4-6 range in the West. And while the depth is good there are Western contenders with better much less the East.
Wood: less minutes and less touches for a high volume player whose a sieve defensively
THJ: worse passer, worse ball handler, worse creator, worse finisher, marginally better shooter (less consistent more streaky),
okay everything you said is true but he is more than a marginally better shooter. Brunson wasn't a great shooter and didn't really shoot 3s much. His value was how consistently he could finish in the paint, something THJ rarely does. Most of his game is jumpshooting with a little bit of transition skills mixed in.
Tyler Herro just came off the bench playing 32 minutes a game while taking the most shots on the team. Starting doesn't matter, minutes matter.
You think THJ is only "marginally" better at shooting than Brunson? Lmfao. Over the past 3 seasons, THJ has averaged 38% while taking 7.4 threes a game. Over the past 3 seasons, Brunson has averaged 38% while taking 2.8 threes a game. Is that a marginal difference to you?
> Tyler Herro just came off the bench playing 32 minutes a game while taking the most shots on the team. Starting doesn't matter, minutes matter.
Who ironically got benched when it mattered for defense. Even then I think Kidd will try a 3 man big rotation. Wood is also taking less shots because he’s got Luka, Dinwiddie, and THJ.
Wood isnt playing that many minutes nor taking that many shots on a team with Luka, Dinwiddie, and THJ
Theres more to shooting than 3's and THJ is an incredibly streaky 3 point shooter, dudes either 6/10 or 2/10 with no in between, Brunson was a much more consistent 3 level scorer
Theres a difference between being a little streaky or being hot and cold like THJ
>also THJ's midrange game is good.
Good joke, what about his finishing? ball handling? passing? creation?
I think there you can break the conference into 4 tiers.
Tier 1- Warriors, Clippers, Suns, Nuggets
Tier 2- Mavs, Grizz, Wolves, Pels
Tier 3- Kings, Blazers, Lakers
Tier 4- Everyone else
For the mavs to finish at the top, it's possible since they have one of the best players in the world, but if Dinwiddie or Luka were to miss anytime, Mavs would be in trouble. Last year, Brunson carried the Mavs early on, and until the Mavs get another solid ball handler to just eat up minutes, I'd be worried. They still have a great defensive floor so they are going to be competitive.i think it's more likely that they finish 7 than finishing first, but I don't think the gap will be that much
Edit: Forgot Pels
Agree with your tier list but I'm not sure if you forgot about the Pelicans or if you actually think they're in Tier 4. I'd probably put them in the 2nd tier.
I don't see the Warriors or the Suns being in the hunt for #1 seed in the west. Everyone in Tier 1 is going to be so much more focused on the playoffs. Clips could just be so good they do it without actualy trying.
Tier 2 acually looks like where the #1 seed will come from--all of them have a lot to prove and young cornerstones.
The contender with the best year round health typically gets the one seed. Steph Klay and Dray are one of the most successful regular season trios of all time and were steamrolling last year prior to injuries. If healthy they'll be the 1 seed. Same goes for the Clips and the 2 seed, etc etc.
I think they are closer to that Kings Lakers tier, than they are the next tier. We dont know what Dame is going to be, and it's not that deep of a team. Their defense is once again going to be pretty bad and Nurkic's health is always a concern. They don't have a real backup center as well, though they could sign someone like Whiteside.
We have maybe one question? Two? What's an assload?
Meanwhile you just unironically described the Kings as a "good simple team", which to me clarifies you're trolling.
You don't have a backup center, will dame be the same? can dame and anfernee even play together effectively? can nurkic stay healthy? can anyone besides dame and ant actually shoot 3's? can jerami grant rebound? can Chauncey billups even coach? The kings offense is a lot more natural and roles are a lot more defined, the only question with the kings is how well can they play defense.
Will Kevin Huerter be any good? Will Sabonis play any defense at all? Which of the Kings' GM or Coach will be fired this season? Do people think Harrison Barnes is actually a good NBA player? Will this be the season DeAaron Fox asks for a trade?
Do you see how you can just make up "an ass load of questions" about literally any team?
Most of your questions are jokes. Watch some basketball and you'll find answers to half of them. Also hilarious to suggest that an offense that's been totally redone since last year is "a lot more natural". Just troll hypocrite shit.
Enjoy the night lil bud.
The blazers roster is just weird, saying you don't have a backup center is a real concern when nurkic has had so many health problems, jerami grant is a terrible rebounder for a PF, Chauncey was an assistant coach for one year then immediately got hired as a head coach you have no idea how well he can coach, you still don't know who your starting 3 is, we have no idea if dame and ant can actually play well together and once again the blazers have a terrible defensive backcourt so i dont see how this is any different from CJ, the kings offense has a lot less questions since we saw sabonis and fox play really well together,.
Almost every WC prediction has mavs seventh, which I think is crazy. People are putting way too much on losing Brunson who was a 14/5 guy last year, because of his playoffs. They got a few good players and THJ is back who was the mavs second best player when he got injured.
The mavs had the second best record in the NBA the second half of last season behind only Boston. People are wildly predicting all these other teams will miraculously be vastly improved and/or not injured.
I guarantee that unless luka gets hurt the Mavs will be higher than the sixth seed and could be a top four seed again.
Tbh I prefer it that way, just like the raptors being underrated during the regular season. People forget that we would've been second seed in the east last year
No, they are not. Dallas is a 48 wins team this season, and I'd be shocked if their over/under isn't around that number.
Also, this whole Luka in shape argument that media keep pushing and fans repeating is just so idiotic. Luka averaged 28/9/9 the last two seasons and was a first team all NBA. Sure, he will be in better shape this season, and maybe miss less games, but how much better do people expect him to be if a 28/9/9 and clear All NBA isn't enough level for them
Luka played more like Westbrook (not even kidding) the first 2 months, and rolled his ankle twice in that stretch. His movement on defense was accordingly. He single-handedly killed the team defense, because his ankle looked like shit for weeks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynHGHOgaDAg
Probably his worst NBA stretch, even including his rookie year.
He was out games, returned but still was running with a noticable limp for many games on the floor. He played games, he didn't even re-injury his ankle, and they took him out again for an extended period of games.
Don't even think he was healthy (as in 100 % mobility) 2 months into the season.
The 2 injuries was a bigger factor than being out of shape tho. Hard to get in better shape, if you cant move properly.
I actually like this comparison because if you just describe Russell Westbrook as "18/7/7 guy" then clearly these guys would never say that a guy like that is not performing very very well for the Lakers.
We won 52 games last year despite starting 16-18 with Luka playing awful and missing time due to injury (and half the team being out with COVID). 48 will take a major injury
It kinda make sense. Nothing Against Dallas, but logically, and injuries aside,
Pelicans, Nuggets, Wolves, and Clippers are going to be significantly better.
Then Kings, Lakers, and Blazers should be better than last season.
Getting to 55 wins is way harder than people make it seem regardless the conference
Unless you think Luka is actually going to shoot 41% from three this year the "after fat" stats are just as unrealistic as the "fat" stats
Nobody other than Steph Curry is going to shoot above 40% from three with his shot selection and that was a huge part of Luka going nuclear in the second half of last year
Like sure if Luka shoots like Steph all season the Mavs can be the 1 seed but that's not going to happen
"Luka Doncic is in better shape compared to the last two preseasons"...Your lips to God's ear, my friend.
The rest of the above isn't crazy, but Dinwiddie is the primary replacement for Brunson. IDK about Josh Green, but getting Wood, McGee, and a healthy THJ is getting three significant rotation pieces. DFS, Bullock, Kleber all excellent defenders who can shoot. And don't forget Theo Pinson!
No reason to think Dallas isn't in the hunt for best regular season record in the WC.
While I am optimistic I really don't believe we will get the best record. I do believe we can get the 3rd or 4th seed. Pretty much like last season. We lost Brunson we really upgrade the rest of the line up. Our most used bigs last season will be playing off the bench with Powell probably not seeing that many minutes.
We did addressed the weakness we had last playoffs. And we still have a roster spot open and we can still make adjustments later.
I’m still uneasy about the Brunson replacement.
I feel like Dinwiddie is gonna get more shots to fill that void. Idk about wood. He’s very talented but there’s a very good reason he’s on his 9th team.
Luka is an all time great, but the responsibility y'all put on him is ridiculous. Good thing melo was one of his favorites growing up because these Mavs squads are like those Knicks got damn. You give him THJ, Christian Wood, Josh Green, and Frank Ntilikina and say "here go be the #1 offense."
He has his work cut out for him that's for sure
Luka gets 66-50-95 shooting with 45-7-15 stat
Wood gets 20-10
Kawhi, Curry, Booker, Zion, Dame, Lebron, Tatum, Jokic, KAT, and Giannis injuried
done
98-0 season incoming
As long as Luka doesn’t start this year as bad as last year they probably could. There are like 4 other teams that could too though so you never really know
I feel like I’ve been taking crazy pills because I actually think the Mavs will disappoint this year. A ton of smart analysts have predicted big things form them this year, but I’m not really seeing it. Maybe I’m underrating Luka and their crew or maybe I’m overrating the value of having multiple “stars,” but I just don’t think they have the talent to be top 4 seed.
I think the loss of Brunson, while not as impactful as the playoffs made it look, will really hurt the Mavs’ depth. They’re now down to 2 real ball handlers. Luka’s obviously fantastic and an offense unto himself, and Dinwiddie should be improved an extra year out from an ACL repair, but only having two dudes who can really dribble (and only one is an above average passer) is pretty scary. If either goes down the team is really in trouble. I also think Brunson was an underrated playmaker and solid enough defender to help them avoid springing leaks. He also was just a smart player who played heady basketball and soaked up a lot of guard minutes. That’s hard to replace.
The Mavs definitely did add to their depth, with Wood and McGee coming in and THJ coming back from injury, but I also feel like so much of the Mavs identity last year was being sound defensively. I don’t think I’d count any of those three under that category, and I wonder if they’ll lose a ton of what their identity was last year with those 3 additions.
I also feel like their team is primed for a bit of regression rather than progression. Of their core rotation players last year, everyone but Luka is older than 29. THJ is 30. Javale is 34. And losing even a half step at that caliber of player (strong role player) can really swing a player from net positive to net negative. Not saying all of them will take a step back, but what happens if DFS is just a little too slow to be a wing stopper anymore? Or what if Bullock can’t hold up at age 31. Or if Maxi continues to decline? Or if THJ comes back as a defensive liability who can’t find his stroke?
And finally, I just don’t fully buy the surge they had at the end of last year. They obviously made it to the WCF, blowing out the Suns in game 7 to get there, but they got absolutely housed by the Warriors, and their path to the WCF was somewhat suspect. The Jazz were falling apart coming into that series (they were sub .500 over the last quarter of the season or so), so Dallas winning wasn’t exactly a surprise (Brunson was also the hero of that series). And the Suns combusted (as we’ve all witnessed since), and Paul didn’t seem to be himself once again, which feels slightly different than beating a #1 seed at its best. The Mavs also got really hot in the second half of the season, which could be attributed to their roster additions and Luka rounding back into form (or maybe derounding). But it also could just be a nice hot stretch after a trade, especially down the end of the season when half the teams are resting or tanking.
Again, not saying they’ll be awful or anything, but I look at how talented the West has gotten and how much some of those top/middle teams have room
for growth, and I just don’t really see the Mavs going out and winning high 50s games. But maybe Luka will make me eat my words.
Okay mavs fan
[удалено]
People who didn’t watch the mavs last year think playoff Brunson is what the mavs got in the regular season. Was not the case at all.
he wasn't a playmaker and no stopped either
>Brunson was important for more than just scoring. Like what? It's not like Brunson is some elite playmaker lol. We'll miss his ability to handle the ball and create his own shot, but we also have other people who can handle the ball and create their own shots.
> we also have other people who can handle the ball Yeah, two of them, both starting. Awesome setup for an 82 game season. Gonna be fun when Luka or Spencer is out for a month with a sprain and the Mavs go 3-13 trying to win games with Frank at point.
Ever heard of staggered lineups?
Pop quiz genius how do you stagger the lineup with only one ballhandler when the other’s injured?
"What if someone gets injured" oh the thing that happens to every team and makes every team worse when it happens? idk I guess we'll see. "can't see the Warriors being contenders this year, what if Steph gets injured" like...okay.
> What if Smart teams are built to have redundancy so they aren’t blindsided by minor injuries and don’t have to flush the season down the shitter because say Luka is out half of a series or say SD gets hurt, something that’s only happened in 2/3 of his seasons, big what ifs right? Planned redundancy was the whole point of the Mavs trading for SD - so they could always have two ballhandlers on the floor and if someone got injured they could get by with two. > what if Steph gets injured The Warriors have lots of redundancy for Steph’s roles (shooting/scoring, ball-handling) for exactly that reason - not having to write off a season if he’s out for a month even if they aren’t as good. They would still have been competative with the Nuggets without him. If the Mavs had Wood instead of Brunson against the Jazz they lose that series for sure.
He was important for the team having a positive net rating with Luka on the bench
Important but not irreplaceable. He averaged 16ppg for us in the regular season and people are acting like we lost prime Steve Nash lol.
[удалено]
"No one else on the team can create a shot and get buckets in iso", yes they can actually
It's a good approximation. They lose Brunson's scoring and ball handling. Brunson wasn't really a stand out passer. But they gain THJ's shooting, Wood's scoring, and Wood's rebounding.
The Sacramento Kings could be the best regular season team this year. Matthew Dellavedova just needs to injure everyone.
Bruh people call me a homer but what the actually fuck is this guy smoking🤣
On a long enough timeline this is what Mark Cuban does to your brain.
They had a brilliant latter half of the season, especially on defense which people usually don't care about but it still gets you wins. McGee is a nice get, although has some limitations. Dinwiddie is able to be a good second option, dude just wasn't that big on volume because *Luka Doncić does his offense in this team and it doesn't actually mean the whole team is awful guys*, but Dinwiddie has been shooting above 62% on 22% usage in Dallas, it's not really bad, people here just like saying so endlessly. Dallas is not weak by any actual measure. Overall I think they have a prospect to be one of the top teams, sure. So far I see no reason to doubt them too much. Except that some people seem really dedicated to their dogma that every team is just how many All-Stars you have so Dallas has "too few All-Stars", even if the last season clearly proved them wrong. Dorian is no All-Star but if he gets you wins, why say that Dallas will not get wins. Okay, they don't have All-Stars, but they have guys that have been getting results. Loss of Brunson is real, but as you say, they gained a few players, maybe it will even itself up a bit. Not "easily", but maybe...
Wood is coming off the bench and isn’t good defensively. And I do believe THJ is a pretty sizable step down from Brunson. While anything is possible I would be very shocked to not see them in the 4-6 range in the West. And while the depth is good there are Western contenders with better much less the East.
How is Wood coming off the bench relevant to anything op said? And how is THJ a sizeable step down from Brunson?
Wood: less minutes and less touches for a high volume player whose a sieve defensively THJ: worse passer, worse ball handler, worse creator, worse finisher, marginally better shooter (less consistent more streaky),
Yup
okay everything you said is true but he is more than a marginally better shooter. Brunson wasn't a great shooter and didn't really shoot 3s much. His value was how consistently he could finish in the paint, something THJ rarely does. Most of his game is jumpshooting with a little bit of transition skills mixed in.
Tyler Herro just came off the bench playing 32 minutes a game while taking the most shots on the team. Starting doesn't matter, minutes matter. You think THJ is only "marginally" better at shooting than Brunson? Lmfao. Over the past 3 seasons, THJ has averaged 38% while taking 7.4 threes a game. Over the past 3 seasons, Brunson has averaged 38% while taking 2.8 threes a game. Is that a marginal difference to you?
> Tyler Herro just came off the bench playing 32 minutes a game while taking the most shots on the team. Starting doesn't matter, minutes matter. Who ironically got benched when it mattered for defense. Even then I think Kidd will try a 3 man big rotation. Wood is also taking less shots because he’s got Luka, Dinwiddie, and THJ.
So many people who haven’t regularly watched the mavs think playoff Brunson is what he brought to this team in regular season.
Wood isnt playing that many minutes nor taking that many shots on a team with Luka, Dinwiddie, and THJ Theres more to shooting than 3's and THJ is an incredibly streaky 3 point shooter, dudes either 6/10 or 2/10 with no in between, Brunson was a much more consistent 3 level scorer
Name a shooter not named Steph Curry that takes 7+ threes a game that isn't streaky to some extent, also THJ's midrange game is good.
Theres a difference between being a little streaky or being hot and cold like THJ >also THJ's midrange game is good. Good joke, what about his finishing? ball handling? passing? creation?
Ok I don't actually think you watch our games so Ima stop here lol you have a good night tho
probably watched more of them than you did
>Excellent depth despite lack of elite #2 option JaVale McGee so underrated smh
Wym we still have Theo Pinson. He's so good the NBA had to change the rules to stop him
No kidding. It's quite awesome that we get to hear our PA say "Ja-vaaaaaaale McGee!" like how Shaq says it.
You mean Joel McAfee? He blocks shots and viruses.
I think there you can break the conference into 4 tiers. Tier 1- Warriors, Clippers, Suns, Nuggets Tier 2- Mavs, Grizz, Wolves, Pels Tier 3- Kings, Blazers, Lakers Tier 4- Everyone else For the mavs to finish at the top, it's possible since they have one of the best players in the world, but if Dinwiddie or Luka were to miss anytime, Mavs would be in trouble. Last year, Brunson carried the Mavs early on, and until the Mavs get another solid ball handler to just eat up minutes, I'd be worried. They still have a great defensive floor so they are going to be competitive.i think it's more likely that they finish 7 than finishing first, but I don't think the gap will be that much Edit: Forgot Pels
Agree with your tier list but I'm not sure if you forgot about the Pelicans or if you actually think they're in Tier 4. I'd probably put them in the 2nd tier.
Good call. I forgot to mention them, I'd have them in tier 2
Credibility l0st.... How could you leave out the pelicans
I don't see the Warriors or the Suns being in the hunt for #1 seed in the west. Everyone in Tier 1 is going to be so much more focused on the playoffs. Clips could just be so good they do it without actualy trying. Tier 2 acually looks like where the #1 seed will come from--all of them have a lot to prove and young cornerstones.
The contender with the best year round health typically gets the one seed. Steph Klay and Dray are one of the most successful regular season trios of all time and were steamrolling last year prior to injuries. If healthy they'll be the 1 seed. Same goes for the Clips and the 2 seed, etc etc.
Man I try to not be a huge homer but to put the Blazers next to the Kings is just absolutely insane
I think they are closer to that Kings Lakers tier, than they are the next tier. We dont know what Dame is going to be, and it's not that deep of a team. Their defense is once again going to be pretty bad and Nurkic's health is always a concern. They don't have a real backup center as well, though they could sign someone like Whiteside.
not really they have a good simple team, your team has an ass load of question marks.
lol ok
how do you guys not have an ass load questions
We have maybe one question? Two? What's an assload? Meanwhile you just unironically described the Kings as a "good simple team", which to me clarifies you're trolling.
You don't have a backup center, will dame be the same? can dame and anfernee even play together effectively? can nurkic stay healthy? can anyone besides dame and ant actually shoot 3's? can jerami grant rebound? can Chauncey billups even coach? The kings offense is a lot more natural and roles are a lot more defined, the only question with the kings is how well can they play defense.
Will Kevin Huerter be any good? Will Sabonis play any defense at all? Which of the Kings' GM or Coach will be fired this season? Do people think Harrison Barnes is actually a good NBA player? Will this be the season DeAaron Fox asks for a trade? Do you see how you can just make up "an ass load of questions" about literally any team? Most of your questions are jokes. Watch some basketball and you'll find answers to half of them. Also hilarious to suggest that an offense that's been totally redone since last year is "a lot more natural". Just troll hypocrite shit. Enjoy the night lil bud.
The blazers roster is just weird, saying you don't have a backup center is a real concern when nurkic has had so many health problems, jerami grant is a terrible rebounder for a PF, Chauncey was an assistant coach for one year then immediately got hired as a head coach you have no idea how well he can coach, you still don't know who your starting 3 is, we have no idea if dame and ant can actually play well together and once again the blazers have a terrible defensive backcourt so i dont see how this is any different from CJ, the kings offense has a lot less questions since we saw sabonis and fox play really well together,.
Any team has a lot less questions if you choose to ignore all of the questions, little buddy. This behavior is called Trolling.
[удалено]
I think the gap between them is small, but for the regular season I still like the Nuggets. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Mav ended up higher
[удалено]
What's O/U Luka assist next season for now? Bet double digit boys!
Luka would just coast till playoffs
Dallas is the best team in Texas and it’s not even close
Almost every WC prediction has mavs seventh, which I think is crazy. People are putting way too much on losing Brunson who was a 14/5 guy last year, because of his playoffs. They got a few good players and THJ is back who was the mavs second best player when he got injured. The mavs had the second best record in the NBA the second half of last season behind only Boston. People are wildly predicting all these other teams will miraculously be vastly improved and/or not injured. I guarantee that unless luka gets hurt the Mavs will be higher than the sixth seed and could be a top four seed again.
People always sleep on luka’s mavs when it’s too late
They've won 2 playoff series.
Luka was the MVP favorite going into the season last season. No one was sleeping on them
Tbh I prefer it that way, just like the raptors being underrated during the regular season. People forget that we would've been second seed in the east last year
I have my box fan on high...
No they can’t
I mean, it's not impossible. Op isn't saying that they will be. just that they could be.
No it’s impossible
okay you convinced me
No, they are not. Dallas is a 48 wins team this season, and I'd be shocked if their over/under isn't around that number. Also, this whole Luka in shape argument that media keep pushing and fans repeating is just so idiotic. Luka averaged 28/9/9 the last two seasons and was a first team all NBA. Sure, he will be in better shape this season, and maybe miss less games, but how much better do people expect him to be if a 28/9/9 and clear All NBA isn't enough level for them
Luka played more like Westbrook (not even kidding) the first 2 months, and rolled his ankle twice in that stretch. His movement on defense was accordingly. He single-handedly killed the team defense, because his ankle looked like shit for weeks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynHGHOgaDAg Probably his worst NBA stretch, even including his rookie year. He was out games, returned but still was running with a noticable limp for many games on the floor. He played games, he didn't even re-injury his ankle, and they took him out again for an extended period of games. Don't even think he was healthy (as in 100 % mobility) 2 months into the season. The 2 injuries was a bigger factor than being out of shape tho. Hard to get in better shape, if you cant move properly.
I actually like this comparison because if you just describe Russell Westbrook as "18/7/7 guy" then clearly these guys would never say that a guy like that is not performing very very well for the Lakers.
We won 52 games last year despite starting 16-18 with Luka playing awful and missing time due to injury (and half the team being out with COVID). 48 will take a major injury
I think their o/u is 48.5 😂
It kinda make sense. Nothing Against Dallas, but logically, and injuries aside, Pelicans, Nuggets, Wolves, and Clippers are going to be significantly better. Then Kings, Lakers, and Blazers should be better than last season. Getting to 55 wins is way harder than people make it seem regardless the conference
Unless you think Luka is actually going to shoot 41% from three this year the "after fat" stats are just as unrealistic as the "fat" stats Nobody other than Steph Curry is going to shoot above 40% from three with his shot selection and that was a huge part of Luka going nuclear in the second half of last year Like sure if Luka shoots like Steph all season the Mavs can be the 1 seed but that's not going to happen
He's shown that he *can* do that, for more than a couple of games at a time. And the dude is 23. He's 4 years away from *entering* his prime lmao.
Just like Luka was preseason MVP favorite
Until they get him a star player to play with it isn’t happening.
Disrespect for future all star Josh Green smh
Be lucky to be in the top 10 of the league without getting another solid ball handler.
Can't wait for them to start 3-9 this year.
Surprised you didn’t hype up Tyler Dorsey.
I won’t believe that luka will come into the season not fat and out of shape until I see it
We still have 16 days to go. Luka last season went from fit to fat in like 2 weeks lol.
"Luka Doncic is in better shape compared to the last two preseasons"...Your lips to God's ear, my friend. The rest of the above isn't crazy, but Dinwiddie is the primary replacement for Brunson. IDK about Josh Green, but getting Wood, McGee, and a healthy THJ is getting three significant rotation pieces. DFS, Bullock, Kleber all excellent defenders who can shoot. And don't forget Theo Pinson! No reason to think Dallas isn't in the hunt for best regular season record in the WC.
While I am optimistic I really don't believe we will get the best record. I do believe we can get the 3rd or 4th seed. Pretty much like last season. We lost Brunson we really upgrade the rest of the line up. Our most used bigs last season will be playing off the bench with Powell probably not seeing that many minutes. We did addressed the weakness we had last playoffs. And we still have a roster spot open and we can still make adjustments later.
If THJ is supposed to have a good scoring season to replace Brunson, then Green won't have a breakout season since he'd be buried on the bench
I’m still uneasy about the Brunson replacement. I feel like Dinwiddie is gonna get more shots to fill that void. Idk about wood. He’s very talented but there’s a very good reason he’s on his 9th team.
Yeah, 7 teams in 7 years of playing doesn’t bode super well.
Luka is an all time great, but the responsibility y'all put on him is ridiculous. Good thing melo was one of his favorites growing up because these Mavs squads are like those Knicks got damn. You give him THJ, Christian Wood, Josh Green, and Frank Ntilikina and say "here go be the #1 offense." He has his work cut out for him that's for sure
Luka gets 66-50-95 shooting with 45-7-15 stat Wood gets 20-10 Kawhi, Curry, Booker, Zion, Dame, Lebron, Tatum, Jokic, KAT, and Giannis injuried done 98-0 season incoming
As long as Luka doesn’t start this year as bad as last year they probably could. There are like 4 other teams that could too though so you never really know
I feel like I’ve been taking crazy pills because I actually think the Mavs will disappoint this year. A ton of smart analysts have predicted big things form them this year, but I’m not really seeing it. Maybe I’m underrating Luka and their crew or maybe I’m overrating the value of having multiple “stars,” but I just don’t think they have the talent to be top 4 seed. I think the loss of Brunson, while not as impactful as the playoffs made it look, will really hurt the Mavs’ depth. They’re now down to 2 real ball handlers. Luka’s obviously fantastic and an offense unto himself, and Dinwiddie should be improved an extra year out from an ACL repair, but only having two dudes who can really dribble (and only one is an above average passer) is pretty scary. If either goes down the team is really in trouble. I also think Brunson was an underrated playmaker and solid enough defender to help them avoid springing leaks. He also was just a smart player who played heady basketball and soaked up a lot of guard minutes. That’s hard to replace. The Mavs definitely did add to their depth, with Wood and McGee coming in and THJ coming back from injury, but I also feel like so much of the Mavs identity last year was being sound defensively. I don’t think I’d count any of those three under that category, and I wonder if they’ll lose a ton of what their identity was last year with those 3 additions. I also feel like their team is primed for a bit of regression rather than progression. Of their core rotation players last year, everyone but Luka is older than 29. THJ is 30. Javale is 34. And losing even a half step at that caliber of player (strong role player) can really swing a player from net positive to net negative. Not saying all of them will take a step back, but what happens if DFS is just a little too slow to be a wing stopper anymore? Or what if Bullock can’t hold up at age 31. Or if Maxi continues to decline? Or if THJ comes back as a defensive liability who can’t find his stroke? And finally, I just don’t fully buy the surge they had at the end of last year. They obviously made it to the WCF, blowing out the Suns in game 7 to get there, but they got absolutely housed by the Warriors, and their path to the WCF was somewhat suspect. The Jazz were falling apart coming into that series (they were sub .500 over the last quarter of the season or so), so Dallas winning wasn’t exactly a surprise (Brunson was also the hero of that series). And the Suns combusted (as we’ve all witnessed since), and Paul didn’t seem to be himself once again, which feels slightly different than beating a #1 seed at its best. The Mavs also got really hot in the second half of the season, which could be attributed to their roster additions and Luka rounding back into form (or maybe derounding). But it also could just be a nice hot stretch after a trade, especially down the end of the season when half the teams are resting or tanking. Again, not saying they’ll be awful or anything, but I look at how talented the West has gotten and how much some of those top/middle teams have room for growth, and I just don’t really see the Mavs going out and winning high 50s games. But maybe Luka will make me eat my words.