DAL OFFSEASON: Trade & FA | Mavs "mostly done...but you never know."

[SleepingHero]

I think the Mavs are A LOT closer than we all think.

1 consistent starter, and 1 consistent bench piece.

Once again, I don't get you here. When KP is healthy, we have three worthy starters - Luka, KP, and DFS as the dirtyworker. Everyone else on roster is binarily a bench-level player (assuming THJ has got to go). That means they need two starters.

Mavs just took 2 games off the Clips and were competitive in 5 out of the 6 games with this incomplete roster. One could argue that they could've been up 3-2 had the refs called it differently in game 1.  And that's with KP missing 4 out of the 6 games. 

For the Mavs to have beaten arguably the title favorites, they just needed a consistent 3rd scorer, something THJ was not. And a consistent bench player. Something Burke showed flashes of in some games. And in those games the Mavs either blew out the Clips or won in a close showdown.  This team would look entirely different with just filling those 2 roles and having Kleber, DFS, Burke all take a backseat. 

Mavs were incredibly shorthanded this series. No Brunson, no KP, Powell (even with his faults) was out too. And then add in no shows Wright, and Jackson.5 players right there. Factor in THJ's unpredictability and it's no wonder why the Mavs lost. Don't even get me started on Kleber's shooting...

YET despite all of those things, Mavs still looked like they hung with the title favorites. Literally the worst matchup. A lot of that falls on Luka's brilliance, but you also have to give it up to Seth, DFS, Burke, Boban, and even Kleber's defense at times. 

So considering the circumstances, that is why I believe the Mavs are close. Mavs have 2 for sure starters/stars in Luka and KP. and 3 above average to meh players depending on the night in Kleber, DFS, and Curry.