01-23-2024, 12:48 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-23-2024, 01:13 PM by KillerLeft.)
@FGump, I think part of the disconnect here stems from the idea you have expressed many times, which is that the Mavericks tanked for much longer last season than just the last couple of games. I never really bought that. I think they were really that bad.
From that perspective, that they were really that bad, this team is hugely and noticeably improved from last year, at least from the END of last year. Frankly, they are better than I expected them to be, and that is coming from someone who LOVED the off-season.
I think you raise a fair point about Luka not really demonstrating that he is the foundation of a great team. He absolutely has some limitations that are going to be challenging to build around, and no, it doesn’t seem like the Mavericks have figured out how to build around him based on the snapshot of today.
What’s really disappointing to me is that the way the team was designed to play during the Western Conference finals year was kind of it, in my opinion. Carlisle designed that team, even if Kidd was the one standing there his first year. Since then, Kidd has systemically changed many parts of the team’s DNA. The Mavericks seem to care very little about spacing these days. As a result, their offensive efficiency is plummeting year after year, and yet we are still acting like they have a good offense. They very obviously do not. Their defensive philosophy has changed from a modern one (which was ineffective) to an outmoded one (which is equally ineffective). I do like the trend of valuing athletic ability. It’s nice to have some better athletes on the roster for a change, but in the end that’s not worth enough.
What I would love to see, personally, is a coach like Carlisle teamed up with whoever was making decisions on the roster this past off-season. The moral of the story is that I think they are closer than you do. But, I do agree they are not going to have a happy ending to this season. Just not sure it was ever reasonable to expect one.
From that perspective, that they were really that bad, this team is hugely and noticeably improved from last year, at least from the END of last year. Frankly, they are better than I expected them to be, and that is coming from someone who LOVED the off-season.
I think you raise a fair point about Luka not really demonstrating that he is the foundation of a great team. He absolutely has some limitations that are going to be challenging to build around, and no, it doesn’t seem like the Mavericks have figured out how to build around him based on the snapshot of today.
What’s really disappointing to me is that the way the team was designed to play during the Western Conference finals year was kind of it, in my opinion. Carlisle designed that team, even if Kidd was the one standing there his first year. Since then, Kidd has systemically changed many parts of the team’s DNA. The Mavericks seem to care very little about spacing these days. As a result, their offensive efficiency is plummeting year after year, and yet we are still acting like they have a good offense. They very obviously do not. Their defensive philosophy has changed from a modern one (which was ineffective) to an outmoded one (which is equally ineffective). I do like the trend of valuing athletic ability. It’s nice to have some better athletes on the roster for a change, but in the end that’s not worth enough.
What I would love to see, personally, is a coach like Carlisle teamed up with whoever was making decisions on the roster this past off-season. The moral of the story is that I think they are closer than you do. But, I do agree they are not going to have a happy ending to this season. Just not sure it was ever reasonable to expect one.
![[-]](https://www.mavsboard.com/images/collapse.png)