2021-2022 AROUND the NBA: GSW Champs [ARCHIVED]

[F Gump]

This is the dilemma. The current roster can win 50+ games but they can't win a title. At some point you're going to have to cash in the Kleber-DFS-Bullock types. Probably Brunson too, unless he develops enough to earn some All Defense votes.

Can't?? I don't share your proclamation of doom. Or your solution of the best way to get there.

Certainly the Mavs fell short this year. But so did every team except 1. "Didn't" doesn't mean "can't" in the world of athletic competition. And the Mavs proved they are on the upper level, which means that (like with other teams) a bit better play or just a few breaks here and there might be all they need to turn "didn't" the last time into "did" in the future.

As for how to improve, I don't think your solution is the right one.

IMO the Mavs' biggest issue was more about QUANTITY of playoff-playable bodies, than about quality of their top players. The few they had were exhausted, but no one to relieve them. Consolidating 2 or 3 into 1 would be moving in the exact wrong direction. Arguably LAL had the top 1, top pair, and top trio of NBA talent, yet they weren't even close because they had to sacrifice any quantity of solid role players in order to make the top guys fit. You can't sacrifice your rotation top to bottom in favor of just having a very few primary stars.

Ideally you have 2-3 stars who will drive your success by making others better, and 6-7 solid role players around them. For the former, the Mavs have Luka whose usage counts for more than 1 in impact, and perhaps Brunson, but only 4 or so solid role players (Kleber, DFS, Bullock, SD). Each solid role player added, until they get a total of 8-9 playoff-playable guys overall, will be enough to elevate this team's potential, and they were already close even though they are so lacking in numbers. They are right there - I don't think it was a fluke, but more a case of a team who learned quickly how to play at a higher level, working on a learning curve that is part of the process, and showed scary good potential for being a champ in the future.