Playoff Series Imponderables

[mavsluvr]

I think this is basically the story of the series. The Clippers won 4 of the last five games and the Mavs house of cards came crashing down once Lue figured out how to attack Dallas by going small. 

I oversimplified by pointing directly at KP's inability to defend the paint as the turning point. That was certainly a problem but it may not have been lethal if the Mavs' perimeter defenders did a better job of keeping the Clips out of the paint to begin with. 

The Mavs overall defense just wasn't good enough ... but let's not forget, the series went to 7 games and the Mavs certainly could've won, despite the talent gap.

Lets call Kawhi and Luka a wash 

Reggie Jackson and THJ were pretty close 

Batum and DFS were pretty close

Morris fairly well matched what the Mavs got from KP

Unfortunately, things turn south when you realize the Mavs were playing Boban & WCS big minutes and we still haven't discussed the Clippers second best player: Paul George.

So in the end, a bunch of people on this board are going to call for the Mavs to trade everyone and rebuild the whole thing this this summer. It's tempting. But you can also make the case that they're really only 1-2 players away.

Help Wanted: a center who can defend the paint and a good 2nd fiddle guard/forward

Just to clarify, when you group these pairs together, I think you are positing a sort of talent ledger for both teams, and showing to what degree the Mavs fall short. As opposed to saying that particular paired players neutralized each other in the series. And suggesting that the Mavs may be a Paul George-level player short in the talent department, as well as identifying the two positions where you see the biggest holes.