THE CRUCIFIX: Cato: Wood isn't thrilled w/ his role...Will depart in the summer

[omahen]

How would Luka’s defensive effort look if he didn’t have to be 1v9 for 40 minutes per game?

I think Luka is capable of playing a decent defense and I don't think Luka is the defensive problem of this team as shown in games he doesn't play (unless someone wants to build a case based on yesterdays win against Phoenix). I think Cato summarized Mavs defense perfectly:

Without Wood and Maxi Kleber, Dallas has played extremely small lineups in the past week. The traditional way to attack that is by putting your tallest player in the middle to let them score easy buckets at the rim. But the Mavericks rarely allow bigs to beat them that way. They collapse once the ball is tossed inside, disrupting and dislodging big men from their positioning without giving them their typical passing outlets out of a double-team.

This happened last week against the LA Clippers, and the game changed once Ty Lue benched Ivica Zubac midway through the third quarter. From that point, the Mavericks’ feisty ability to defend tall players turned into another problem they have far fewer solutions for: Playing good man defense at the point of attack. Without Zubac clogging the paint, any opposing player who could beat his man would often end up at the rim for a layup. Dallas didn’t have enough perimeter defenders who are strong enough to prevent that.

Luka Dončić’s absence, Dallas’ defense and more: Mavericks-Suns observations - The Athletic