2021-2022 ROSTER TALK: [ARCHIVED]

[F Gump]

We have talked about it, the highly-respected Itzok F wrote about it, and now Hollinger is coming to the same conclusion on roster building to bring a title these days, which speaks to whether the Mavs bigger need is for a 2nd star, or for several good players who will give them better 2-way depth:

"In the switch-heavy, supermax-paying, 3-point spacing NBA of 2022, a team’s postseason success is driven more by the strength of its weakest link and less by the greatness of its best player.

Let’s not overstate this: Stars matter and are always going to carry the mail to a certain extent. They often define the terms of who else is playable. You’re not a “switchable” big if you can’t switch onto a Curry or Doncić in a playoff series. You’re not a playmaker if you can’t playmake against the Marcus Smarts and Draymond Greens on the other side. You’re not a shooter if you can’t shoot with Robert Williams or Jaren Jackson flying out in your face.

But the NBA is changing. The rise of switching defenses, spacing schemes and high traps has made the game more “weak-link” dependent than arguably any time in its history. Switching leans on the idea that a team’s worst defender can still hold his own better than a scrambling help-and-recover approach … but that means the worst defender still needs to be good enough to check the other steam’s superstar."