The Mavs are fun to watch. It doesn’t hurt that they’re good, too.
I get it. It’s been awhile. The 2023-2024 season’s been over since June, and the Olympic games ended over a month ago. We’re in the preseason now but official basketball isn’t for another month. With the overall detachment from basketball, it’s fair to forget what did happen: the Dallas Mavericks made the NBA finals last season. It also stands to reason that something else may have been overlooked – the Mavs are better now. And they were already pretty damn good before.
With that in mind, here’s a few things that will make watching the Mavs even more thrilling.
Dereck Lively’s Growth
I think it was safe to say that NO ONE expected Lively to do what he did this year. When he was drafted, we all just assumed that he would be a long term project, and even his ceiling that year wouldn’t make an immediate, positive impact.
That mistake shouldn’t be made this season.
Dereck Lively made so much progress with working out his “rookie” mistakes – 3-second violations, illegal screens, and such. He also played his roles of rebounding, contesting in the post, and alley-ooping to perfection. He also didn’t have the playoff jitters we’ve grown accustomed to with most players – he became the best version of himself and elevated this team to another level. If the stats don’t speak to you, hopefully, 11 minutes of the eye test watching his highlights can put his skill in words I can’t.
There’s no reason that the roles he can play this season can’t increase! With a season under him and a little bit of experience, this is the perfect time for him to expand beyond what he’s already good at. No one is expecting a field goal percentage of 40% from 3, but it’s reasonable that he develops a more offensive-minded postgame. He may take what’s already relatively quick feet and get 10x better at perimeter defense. Imagine the blocking and contesting prowess of Lively, AND being unable to offset that by taking back to the 3-point line. He’s only a rookie, and his potential is as high as he’s willing to go. Mark my words: he will unearth more of that potential this season, and become an even bigger threat to other teams as he figures out what he can do and learn to do.
Klay Thompson!
Most people remember the guy’s last game in a Warriors uniform when he went out with a pretty quiet whimper. Makes sense – I mean, recency bias is a thing. However, this dude was the second leading scorer for a CHAMPIONSHIP just 2 years before! And this happened AFTER his 2 career-altering injuries. At the very least, he’s proven he can shrug off the injuries and his age to have solid, consistent games. Neither that one game nor his injuries should be a problem, as Luka Doncic will generate more open, catch-and-shoot situations for Klay than he ever received back in the Bay.
Another thing to note was his stats during the Steph-KD era. When there were 2 scorers ahead of him in the hierarchy for the first time, he averaged a career-high in PPG (22.3). The next season? He had his most efficient 3-point shooting percentage of his entire career (44.0%). He’s always been good, but he’s been better with two scorers taking the pressure off him. Luka and Kyrie will be those two scorers. He’ll have less responsibilities on his plate, and combined with the open shots generated in Dallas, he won’t be exerting himself nearly as much. He won’t get injured, he’ll play his role of knocking down those threes to the highest level, and maybe use his leftover energy to play some sorely needed perimeter defense. This leads me to my next point…
Luka’s Defense
I know we saw the stat line when he played the Clippers in the playoffs – the 2-17 shooting by the Clippers when guarded by Luka stat line. In fact, throughout the playoffs, Luka exerted himself on the defensive side of the ball far more than we’re used to seeing from him. Not to say he was an inherently bad defender before then, but this was the best defense we’ve seen from him.
Again, why would that trend stop now? He’s gotten better at some part of basketball every single season since his rookie year, and I don’t think that trend will plateau this year. He is going to carry at least some, if not all, of that defensive consistency over to the 24-25 season. Adding in the fact that the team didn’t get worse over the off-season, there’s no reason that Luka wouldn’t have enough energy to take that next step as a defender.
Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
No one’s expecting two-way prowess with the likes of Kawhi, but unlike most offensive-minded superstars, we’ve seen Luka put a lot of effort into defense at times. With the way the roster is built now, the stage is set for Luka to do what Luka does – get better.
Let me be clear: The Mavs aren’t limited by these 3 factors. Spencer Dinwiddie joining the team (again), Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes coming in (for Derrick Jones Jr. and Josh Green respectively), the chemistry of the team (how the new guys fare with the old), and Jason Kidd’s tactics (…) are all things that are bound to improve, helping the Mavericks even more. The aforementioned 3 positive elements, however, have the biggest upside for the Mavs this season, and will make or break (hopefully make) the season.
So, go Mavs!