Yes, Mavs struggled against small ball all year. Good thing there are a lot of ways to attack small ball. Obviously KP has to return to form as a defender. If he just plays defense like he did in New York this team will be much better. If he also learns how to punish small players on the offensive end, like Dirk learned to do, it will make it virtually impossible for other teams to play small ball against Dallas.
But there's another option that doesn't even involve KP and that's upgrading Kleber.
Say you do nothing but add DeRozan to the mix. Then all of the sudden you have a Doncic - THJ - DeRozan - DFS - Porzingis lineup that is much more formidable for teams to defend. DeRozan would feast in the paint without a shotblocker ... Mavs might just simply outscore teams with offensive force.
But there's another option that doesn't even involve KP and that's upgrading Kleber.
Say you do nothing but add DeRozan to the mix. Then all of the sudden you have a Doncic - THJ - DeRozan - DFS - Porzingis lineup that is much more formidable for teams to defend. DeRozan would feast in the paint without a shotblocker ... Mavs might just simply outscore teams with offensive force.