07-25-2026, 08:19 PM
The W/L question will be determined by how competitive their starters are, imo. Are they good enough to outdo opponents?
Kyrie
Max
Flagg
PJW
Gafford
3 of those are "solid starter" at best, but certainly not dominant. But how good will Flagg and Kyrie be? Good enough to make a difference? Perhaps.
We tend to forget, but when he was hurt, Kyrie was playing great (while Luka was injured for a long time) so that Mavs were winning about half the time, and the starting lineup was basically the same Kyrie, PJW, Gafford, with the other 2 being Klay and Dinwiddie.
Would replacing Klay and Dinwiddie with Max and Flagg make them worse than that .500-or-so lineup from before, or better?
Max (and Klay) should definitely be good enough to match Klay's contribution that year.
That leaves Flagg (and whether he can be as good as Dinwiddie).
My point is that the Mavs relative success is likely to be driven by how improved and good Flagg will be. I see him as the hinge point. His career track record has been that he is a super-fast learner when he plays at a higher level, and it doesnt take him long to level up to being one of the best. If that continues, there will be another jump this season, in which case I think the rest of the crew are good enough to result in a lot of winning, and be a big surprise.
Kyrie
Max
Flagg
PJW
Gafford
3 of those are "solid starter" at best, but certainly not dominant. But how good will Flagg and Kyrie be? Good enough to make a difference? Perhaps.
We tend to forget, but when he was hurt, Kyrie was playing great (while Luka was injured for a long time) so that Mavs were winning about half the time, and the starting lineup was basically the same Kyrie, PJW, Gafford, with the other 2 being Klay and Dinwiddie.
Would replacing Klay and Dinwiddie with Max and Flagg make them worse than that .500-or-so lineup from before, or better?
Max (and Klay) should definitely be good enough to match Klay's contribution that year.
That leaves Flagg (and whether he can be as good as Dinwiddie).
My point is that the Mavs relative success is likely to be driven by how improved and good Flagg will be. I see him as the hinge point. His career track record has been that he is a super-fast learner when he plays at a higher level, and it doesnt take him long to level up to being one of the best. If that continues, there will be another jump this season, in which case I think the rest of the crew are good enough to result in a lot of winning, and be a big surprise.
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