2021-2022 MAVS NEWS: 4th in West | WCF loss [ARCHIVED]

[fifteenth]

I think this team lacks talent and it would be a mistake thinking they are legit after a stretch of good games.

The above is what we've been saying for a couple of years. And it's the premise that the rest of your argument is built from. And to this premise, my thought is, maybe. But since we started saying that (the team lacks talent) we've had a few developments that are at least worth taking a look at.

• Two of our top four (Brunson and Dorian) have shown a good bit of improvement, so much so, that our talk about the need for a secondary creator has died down and Brunson and Dorian have proven to be two of the top few players on the team because of their outstanding play and consistency.
  
• KP, after his first healthy off season as a Mav, and possibly because of his buy in to Kidd's system, is looking like he MIGHT could live up to his "2nd star" status.
  
• Kidd's defensive system, and how the whole team has bought in and is executing, has changed the equation. Once upon a time we bemoaned our lack of 2-way players and figured we'd have to turn over portions of the roster to ever have a playoff worthy defense. Now we're looking more like a team with a good number of two-way players!
  

I'm not saying definitively that our top 4 are now on par with other contenders, or that KP is finally who he was supposed to be, and he'll be that reliably going forward or that Kidd's magical transformation of the defense will result in a championship level defense. It's too early to say these things, definitively.

BUT, I am saying, that the way the team is playing deserves consideration. It should be part of the calculus. Fantasy trades are fun and all. But I'm more interested in what the team is thinking. I'd imagine that the the improvement of the team is at least part of the equation.

I think lack of talent and flaws in roster construction will be exposed in playoffs.

Maybe. Talent is important, but typically, playoff experience is important as well. I wouldn't assume that the team we're watching right now is set up to suffer the same fate as the the teams of the previos two years. Similarly, I wouldn't assume that Brunson is doomed to be a playoff failure. 

So, they should be looking to improve the team.

Yes! They should always look to improve the team. But they should also pay attention to what's happening with the current roster. It may be they don't want to disrupt the upward trajectory that we're seeing at the trade deadline, but rather, assess after the playoffs and make changes in the offseason. 

but it would be nice to see Mavs to pull off something substantial after very bad three offseasons and two TDL.

I don't care about this. The new regime should try to make great moves at every opportunity. But it's not in order to make up for past mistakes. Moves should only be made for the purpose of improving the team, not to make us feel better about the past.