(07-04-2023, 04:41 AM)juanc Wrote: The Mavs just went to WCF a year ago with Bullock, DFS and Maxi beeing their 3 best defenders, I think that PJ can and will be at least a Bullock level defensive player in the right system. He is a guy that can switch all across the boar, and that fits really well in the Mavs defensive scheme.
Also I think that most of fans are forgetting the biggest addition to the Mavs defense this year, and it's Josh Green. With the jump he has made last year, and this summer he once again went to Vegas as soon as the season was over. He is a hard worker and I think we'll see a great jump from him once again.
All in all the Mavs aren't a contender this year IMO. A competitive team? Yes, but a real contender? No. But Nico and the crew were/are still making the right moves to position themselves to jump into that contention status.
The first part I agree. But that WCF also showed Mavs are quite far from real contention. Also, basically everything went well for Mavs in that run. They were shooting lights out and had no injuries. Since than, they replaced Brunson with Irving and I think this might be a step down defensively. Point I am trying to say - can Mavs be true contenders with just ok or even good defenders on the other three positions or do they need at least a couple of all-defense guys to be able to field a contender level defense?
As for last paragraph. As it is, Mavs are approximately same as last season. Even if everything goes well, can't see them higher than lets say 4th seed in the West. If things don't go as planned, I can also easily see them out of play-in. Looking forward to additional moves we are all waiting for, that will change that outlook.