I'm out on the 2023-24 season ....

[Scott41theMavs]

I certainly understand the sentiment that people don't enjoy the heliocentric style of basketball but put me in the minority camp that believes you can win a championship this way with the right defense and shooters around the heliocentric player.  The Harden Rockets team was a Chris Paul hamstring and a crazy cold stretch from 3 away from beating THE GREATEST ROSTER EVER ASSEMBLED.  I always feel people point to that team as proof it doesn't work when in reality I would argue the opposite, it's just that no one was beating that Warriors team.  I also love watching Luka pick apart defenses, I've never seen anyone like him do it with such ease (my biggest complaint is that he takes his foot off the gas way too much).  There isn't a player in the league better making half court decisions outside of maybe jokic (and mayyyyyybe haliburton but it's a stretch) so why would I not just spam that over and over and over.  He's picked apart every single defense thrown at him.  We lose games when our defense can't hold up and our shooters can't do their job, not because of Luka heliocentric play.  I've also never understood this idea that heliocentric means others don't get involved.  Luka (and Harden) racked up crazy assist numbers because they're constantly getting others involved and making the right pass.  Yes it's mostly spot up shooting but players like shooting so....I don't see the problem.  I've never heard any teammates complain (might be missing something here), just the media, most love playing with guys like that.  I feel like the complaint is really we want Luka to play off ball more and have someone else initiate which I disagree with because he's the best in the world at it.  We need to keep the pace up though, that's been incredibly helpful in terms of getting some other folks like Green and Exum involved, that's my one big critique and he's certainly trying this year.

This roster doesn't need to reinvent the wheel in my opinion, we just need more talent around our top 2.

After we lost Brunson we basically had 1 player who was good enough to start on a championship roster (and maybe DFS).

After we traded for Kyrie we had 2.

After we drafted Lively we have 3.

We're trending in the right direction, we just have to keep making smart decisions like we did this offseason (although I agree with F Gump that GWill has been a big disappointment).

"Not getting others involved" - Luka expects the other four to be in the right place for his passes, which precludes them doing a damn thing that's basketball-creative. That tends to lower players' future salaries, and is not a fun way to play. It crushingly limits whom the Mavs can attract to play with him.