MAVS NEWS: Luka Is Hurt, But is Trudging On | DLive's Mom Passes Away| Maxi OUT

[DanSchwartzgan]

So there is something about the athleticism the Mavs bring after the trade deadline that they have either been undersized or athletically deficient (and often both) to be able to impact prior to today.  A LOT of it revolves around DJJ. With Luka and Kyrie, the 3 does not need to be an offensive force. That is where DJJ is incredibly valuable as a POA defender. When Green was on the floor as a POA defender at the 2, it appeared Dallas could go with either Maxi at the 4 OR THJ at the 3 for an offensive look with one of Luka/KI sitting. Point being that Maxi's health was of massive importance, when Williams was struggling, and the best Dallas could come up with was Grant and DJJ manning the 4/5 simultaneously and well...

Today, there were no instances of Dallas being forced to go small. PJ and Maxi covered the 4; Maxi and Gafford manned the 5 and only in limited lineups did DJJ have to play the 4 (offensively). Point being, Dallas can play DJJ like they did DFS, and Green in the Bullock role as they did in the Conference Finals run, and they still have PJ that serve as a POA defender against teams with larger wings (looking at Kawhi specifically) as well (which was Maxi's assignment). The beauty of Gafford patrolling the 5 today is knowing Lively is now able to play MORE AGGRESSIVELY because his backup is not Powell or Grant Williams going forward.

So the 5 greatly improved and is still looking for another expected boost...
The 4 has been doubly addressed and not compromised by trying to consistently cover 2 positions (4 and 5): Kleber, PJ, and some DJJ.
The 3 is either offense (THJ) Defense (DJJ) OR Luka when Kidd wants to play 2 guards with Doncic
This new depth helps with the guards because we are not forced into 3 and 4 guard lineups (unless we choose to go small by our own design, or we see a matchup we want Luka exploiting on the blocks)

I was extremely glad for today's game:

IF I could have asked for 2 players I would like to see as Mavs (going back about a year and a half) it would have been PJ and Gafford. I would never have thought getting both was remotely possible. When it happened I was the happy kid at Christmas. I have since had some of that joy diminished because people were not thrilled at either the cost or the fit and the Mavs both by fans and national media have been ripped for the deals. This is the most balanced roster Dallas has put on the floor since Caron Butler got injured... and both trades needed to happen for size AND athleticism.

Just about covers it. Any questions?