Mavs 99, Clippers 109

[mavsluvr]

What you can’t say after last night is that the Mavericks didn’t play hard. They wanted it. More consistent efforts like that one and they’ll improve pretty quickly, imo.

There are surely still ways this group can improve -- better chemistry, KP solidifying his defensive role and maybe finding better ways to use him offensively, some of the bad three-point shooters regressing to the mean, consistently playing hard, etc. 


But I really wonder if they don't hit a hard ceiling with this roster by the end of the season. 

One example. If you're going to be an elite team, you can't have your 3-and-D guys out there turning the ball over. But when you're very short on playmaking, you end up with guys like Kleber and Doe-Doe trying to dribble and make ambitious passes, resulting in turnovers, scrambled plays and poor shots. Not to pick on them, but the high-level teams are featuring the likes of LeBron, Kawhi, Durant, Butler, Davis, etc., in the front court, while the Mavs are trying to compete starting DFS and Maxi. 

That's just an example. We could go on with them, but the point is that the Clippers exposed holes in the roster that may not be fillable with the current personnel, no matter how much want-to they exhibit. Not sure whether you are saying something different, or not. I would love to be wrong.