11-10-2024, 03:27 PM
Luka had a rough start in first couple of games, but he is back to his "normal" TS in last five games. He didn't deliver an out of the world performance yet, but he has been far from bad. Other than the game against Indiana, he is also playing very solid defense. Mavs are (significantly) better with him on the court than off.
Mavs as a team have 6th best defense in the league so far, which is a great sign, imho. Despite losing (letting go) their arguably best defender, they still have good defense, which is a great sign, if they are able to keep it up. Their offense is 12th best, still solid. Mavs are shooting threes below league average at the moment, which is likely main reason driving their offense down. I would expect that to improve. Their net rating is 8th best in the league. I would say they are doing just fine. They lost a couple of tight games, but nothing to worry about, imho.
Mavs are still taking very good care of the ball, consequently not allowing many points from turnovers. Defensive rebounding is the one thing that is currently standing out on the negative side, as Mavs are just 20th in the league.
As for slow start against Phoenix, we also need to take into account that Phoenix was shooting 61 % from three (on 13 attempts) in the first quarter. That included 2 threes from Nurkic, who is 34 % from three this season and was 29 % last one. Once Phoenix shooting normalized, Mavs were back in the game. This was all with missing two of their top6 guys against a team with a hot start to the season.
Mavs as a team have 6th best defense in the league so far, which is a great sign, imho. Despite losing (letting go) their arguably best defender, they still have good defense, which is a great sign, if they are able to keep it up. Their offense is 12th best, still solid. Mavs are shooting threes below league average at the moment, which is likely main reason driving their offense down. I would expect that to improve. Their net rating is 8th best in the league. I would say they are doing just fine. They lost a couple of tight games, but nothing to worry about, imho.
Mavs are still taking very good care of the ball, consequently not allowing many points from turnovers. Defensive rebounding is the one thing that is currently standing out on the negative side, as Mavs are just 20th in the league.
As for slow start against Phoenix, we also need to take into account that Phoenix was shooting 61 % from three (on 13 attempts) in the first quarter. That included 2 threes from Nurkic, who is 34 % from three this season and was 29 % last one. Once Phoenix shooting normalized, Mavs were back in the game. This was all with missing two of their top6 guys against a team with a hot start to the season.
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