Game 26: Dallas Mavericks (16-9) vs. Golden State Warriors (14-10) | 7:30pm CST

[KillerLeft]

hard determine what is great offense or just playing against the GS offense.   I just have bad flashbacks against GSW in the past and Boston last playoffs.    If you give those teams open looks it is a killer.   OKC same thing this year.  Maybe I am wrong, I just want to see them tighter on making threes more difficult.

Ok, that's the thing...I agree with that. 

But, Kidd seems to have built a system based on giving up threes, at least BEFORE giving up the paint. Hence, the presence of two high-profile shot blockers and the way their defense responds to drives. That just seems to be how the Mavericks have chosen to proceed. I think you kind of have to give up something most nights - these NBA teams and players are just too good. 

I think prioritizing taking open 3's away would probably need to start with not playing Gafford, and you'd lose all the benefits that come with him playing. Plus, then we'd be in this thread reading about how badly "the Mavs need a rim protector. It's like a layup line out there." I think they're kind of screwed no matter what they do. Personally, I'd play a Kleber type who could move his feet at the 5 and guard in space behind Lively, and taking away those open 3's would be among my primary reasons for doing so, but I recognize that I'd have to live with guys beating Luka, Kyrie and others for easy shots in the paint at times. It's a trade off, and what Kidd has done HAS resulted in a much better defensive culture here than the team he inherited. 

I don't think the Mavs have a great defense, but I think they're going out there every night TRYING to have a great defense. Over time, that will pay off, I think. Meanwhile,  Golden State DOES have a great defense - did anyone feel the impact of that last night? It didn't matter, because the Mavs destroyed it pretty easily. The truth is that in the current NBA, you kind of need your offense to be better than your defense. If you can't score, you can't compete (this is why the OKC game worried me a bit).