MAVS NEWS:

[audiosway]

Klay is replacing DJJ in the starting (and finishing) lineup.  The OP was questioning how we are going to guard the POA in those lineups.  Naji won't be in those lineups.

Is Klay an 80 on defense?  The Warriors were a lot better on defense when he was off the court (with a rookie replacing him).  I don't expect much more than average.  That would be better than THJ, but probably not ideal next to Luka and Kyrie.

I am cautiously optimistic about the Naji signing, but there is not a lot of evidence to suggest he is a better defender than DJJ.  He played less than 20 minutes a game off the bench on a middling team while DJJ was starting on a finals team going against the opponents best offensive player.  Naji playmaking includes a lot of turnovers and his shooting is based on a fairly small sample.  I hope he turns out to be better than DJJ, but that would be more projection than description.

I think we got better in the offseason, but there are question marks with all the new guys, and the biggest question mark is fit.  This team fit really well last season.  I hope we can say the same for next season.

Here are the nuts and bolts of it though. Go look at the numbers. Kidd wanted THJ to start but just couldn't justify it because he was so bad on defense. THJ started 12 games and played in 79 of the 82. He averaged 27 mpg. DJJ only averaged 23.5 mpg for the season.

Klay is coming in to do what THJ couldn't which was to start and finish games without the safety net of DJJ.

Naji is a better defender, shooter, and playmaker than DJJ. The only reason he played 20 mpg is because he was behind Herb Jones and the plethora of wings NO has. Grimes is also a stud defender.

And yes, Klay is still a very good defender. I have a video of his defensive highlights from the 21-22 season. Last season the Warriors were a mess. CP3 completely destroyed the flow of the team and how they have always played. CP3 is a mid shooter. He is the exact kind of player that throws off the system they run. 

Klay was also not happy due to the FO not showing that they wanted to keep him. Then, there is Kerr benching him because the front office is retooling the team and wants to see what they have before paying these young guys. As far as the ones saying the Warriors had better defensive numbers with Klay off the floor need to consider that the Mavs numbers on offense were better with Luka OFF the floor last year. I don't remember which numbers it was but during the finals they flashed it on the screen.

Numbers are great for sports with a large starting lineup like Football or Baseball. They don't always show the truth though in basketball since it's just 5 players on the floor at a time.

He is still the same player that he was in the 21-22 season only he's more comfortable now since that was his first year back from injury.

In this video he is guarding everyone from Kawhi, Maxey, Luka, Westbrook, Donovan Mitchell, etc.



What you are dealing with right now is a combination of bad info and the appearance of him not being engaged and miserable. The talking heads are upset that he chose Dallas over the Lakers. The Lakers are a better story for them and more clicks. They will all come across as "shocked" when Klay performs in Dallas. They will all say they didn't see it coming.

You guys seem to quickly forget how good Kidd was on defense at 37 and how good Marion was at 35 still. I'm not saying Klay is on the level of Matrix. But, to say he can't defend anymore is very misguided.

Here is another video from this past season. It's just snippets of his play but he is guarding all types of players at times and guarding them well. He can guard in the post, perimeter, etc. He isn't done like people are saying. He's not prime Klay anymore but he will be a massive upgrade to THJ.