(06-02-2024, 01:30 AM)Dundalis Wrote: Dallas players are young and not going anywhere, but neither are Boston's guys, and they already have the best roster in the league. Unless you lost in devastating fashion to where it became psychological, you'd feel very comfortable running it back and getting back to the Finals pretty comfortably again.
Dallas still has a clear overall talent deficit just within the west alone, and will have a way way tougher time getting back to the Finals moving forward than the Celtics will. I know there's huge expectation for the Celtics to win a title, but it's a way easier road for them to get more chances if they don't win it than it is for the Mavs. If the Mavs do lose, I'm not looking at the West and the improvements other teams will definitely make and feeling particularly comfortable about our ability to get back here, especially if we aren't making improvements also and end up sitting on our hands a bit.
Does Dallas have that big of a talent deficit? Luka is not just better than Tatum, he is significantly better. Best player on the team is the most important comparison for the NBA playoffs. I would also say Kyrie is better than Jrue and I like our center rotation better than theirs when you take into account age and health. Brown and White are clearly better than PJ and DJJ but our bench is probably deeper.
As for long term, Jrue is 2 years older than Kyrie, Horford is about to turn 38 and KP is a constant injury risk. Meanwhile Lively is 20. I would argue without significant changes we are likely to improve next season and Boston will have some concerns, especially at the center rotation.
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