A year ago, the Mavericks had one of the best offenses in NBA history, led by MVP candidate and First Team All-NBA guard Luka Doncic. Dallas led the league with a 115.9 offensive rating, and while the team was only the seventh seed in the West, there was a sense that it would build on its 43-32 record in 2020/21 and solidify itself as a contender.
Instead, the Mavs have gotten off to a disappointing start in ’20/21. Hampered by some health issues and additional absences related to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Dallas currently ranks 13th in the West with an 8-13 record, and is in the midst of a six-game losing streak.
The Mavericks’ defense is posting similar numbers to the ones it did a year ago, but the offense has taken a major step back. Dallas’ 109.0 offensive rating is 21st in the NBA, and the club has been the worst three-point shooting team in the league so far — its 32.8% mark from beyond the arc is dead last by a full percentage point.
Outside of Tim Hardaway Jr., who is converting 39.0% of his 7.7 three-point attempts per game, the Mavs’ top long-distance shooters simply aren’t making enough shots. Doncic (29.3%), Kristaps Porzingis (30.2%), Dorian Finney-Smith (32.3%), and Josh Richardson (28.6%) launch a combined 24 threes per game and are all making well below their career rates — all but Finney-Smith have posted career-worst percentages so far.
While it’s safe to assume that the Mavs’ fortunes will reverse to some extent if some of those shots start falling, there are still reasons to be concerned about the club. Porzingis, who is coming off another knee procedure, may not be capable of being the second star who can take some of the pressure off of Doncic, and the rest of the supporting cast is somewhat hit and miss.
As the Mavs look to break out of their slump against Atlanta tonight and Golden State tomorrow, we want to get your thoughts on their outlook. Is it just a matter of time until they regain the form that made them the NBA’s best offense a year ago? Are there any adjustments they need to make to their lineup, rotation, or game plan? Are roster changes necessary, or should the team wait until the offseason – when it will have a significant chunk of cap room open – to make any major moves?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your two cents on Dallas’ recent struggles and what they mean going forward!
Need to hit shots
Need Cohesive
Trade for another passer
Knicks own Mavs unprotected pick
Need to have their players available
Tuesday night was the first time they had their 5 starters available at the same time
Porzingis looks cooked, & Doncic looks overwhelmed. Since the acquisition of Porzingis, both Powell & PZGS have been injury laden for the Mavs.
Not sure what to do about Porzingis, I’m not filled in on what his medical history is with that particular knee, and what damage occurred last time, prognosis, etc. Hopefully it’s an Oladipo type injury that just needs a lot of rehab to return to full strength.
Not going to get a lot for Porzingis trading him at the moment. Mavs are gonna have to grind it out this season. Value for him will be hard to come by. Good news is the Knicks finally fleeced another team in a trade. Turning point?
Mavs wish they had those picks back I’ll bet!
Dallas got lucky all 3 GSW centers are out for the next 2 games. Nobody over 6’7″ on the warriors team. You got to take advantage of the other teams injuries if you don’t its a big fail.
I think everyone just jumped the gun on Dallas. They look like they have a great future led by Luka, but until they replace Porzingis with someone that can stay on the floor for more than half the games, they will be lottery bound. Dallas with Luka right now is very reminiscent of the Orlando Magic when they were led by Tracy McGrady with KP playing the Grant Hill role. The Magic looked great on paper, but never could get everyone healthy.
Hard to say for sure until the starting 5 plays more than one game together
Last year they looked like a future contender which is more than that Orlando team ever could say
It’s possible Curry for Richardson will be a game changer for them? But I think we need to get to at least the midway point before seriously speculating
This is another case of someone giving them too much credit. They were the 7 seed that lost in the first round. It’s not like they upset the Clippers and took the Nuggets to the brink in the 2nd round.
Plus, that Orlando team were thought of as the team to take over from Jordan. People forget because of his injuries, but Grant Hill was the face of the NBA for about 2-3 years. Orlando getting Hill and McGrady was, at the time, was basically the same as Miami getting LeBron and Bosh. The face of the NBA (and probable best player) along with a good player from Toronto went to Florida. Of course Orlando didn’t have a Dwyane Wade there, they had Darrell Armstrong, but it was still a very big deal at the time.
Bo Outlaw and Pat Garrity too!
In general, McGrady was more like Gilbert Arenas than LeBron Some very good years but ultimately just unrealized expectations based mainly on a lot of potential talent on offense.
I was comping McGrady to Bosh, not LeBron. Although he probably wasn’t even Bosh at the time. McGrady was barely 21 when he went to Orlando because Toronto just didn’t know what they had. I was comping Grant Hill to LeBron because they were both arguably the best player in the game at the time they signed as free agents. Well, Shaq was probably the best player, but Hill was the best wing.
Agreed the potential was there for ORL but Hill never saw the court … or by the time he did he wasnt the same dude (which may be the case with KP but we’ll see)
And yes they lost in the 1st round but having a 20 yr old who averaged what 29/9/9 in his second year? I think most people would agree last year that Dallas was on the up and up
I’ll give you that point, but you could just as easily see it as they were playing above their heads last year. But at the time, I agree it looked like they were not as bad as they have been this year.
It also once again it kind of comps with Tracy McGrady’s stats in Orlando. McGrady had 26/8/5 as a 21 year old his first year there. The assists would have likely been higher, but he was even more of a one man team than Luka.
what about penny and his lost potential?
I think Penny was gone to Phoenix by then. But I was never a big Hardaway fan in the first place. I think he was a product of being Shaq’s teammate and being a part of some really good commercials with Lil Penny. Take that away and you have Stephon Marbury without the bad attitude.
indeed
We knew the offense would take a step back with the Curry for Richardson trade, so it’s a shame the defense hasn’t improved to make up for that.
Positive regression should be coming for our shooting so we should still be able to claw our way into a low playoff spot but it’s becoming abundantly clear that KP is not the 2nd star that will take us over the top. Not sure what’s the best way to move on from him and get another star without taking too big a hit value-wise but it needs to happen somehow if we want a shot at a championship.
Good news is DAL will have cap room
Bad news is Giannis aint leaving MIL
And flipping KP+picks for someone like Beal is probably a long shot
if u dump KP the team isnt going anywhere to even a playoffs appearance lol….. still got a handful of 5s in willie stein, powell(whos injury prone as well), and ofc marjanovic.
u can trade richardson and picks for someone like aaron gordon or thaddeus young someone who can be KP’s frontcourt buddy
porzingis should be a low post presence offensive strategy
Simply said by Doncic looks overwhelmed and KP is struggling with injuries and fitness.
That said they are 8-13 and still can definitely turn it around. They have been hit by some injuries which is hard and they are a young team.
I think they should join the Kelly Oubre race, although he’s been awful shooting the ball this season, his career numbers indicate that it shouldn’t last. Plus I’d search the market for a more fit, healthy and reliable centre. Maybe Nemanja Bjelicia and Hassan Whiteside from the kings, with Bjelicia adding some more shooting and spacing.
Something like:
Mavs: Kelly Oubre, Whiteside, Bjelicia
Warriors: Josh Richardson and Justin James and a second round pick from the Kings
Kings: Dwight Powell Josh Green and a protected first round pick from the Mavs.
Then your left with
1. Doncic. Brunson. Terry
2. Hardaway Jr. Burke
3. Oubre. Finney-Smith. Iwundu
4. KP. Bjelicia. Johnson
5. Whiteside. Cayley-Stein. Kleber
As you can see you have a lot more size now, and some more shooting and spacing. You also have lots of expunged contracts. Oubre (14.5 mil) Hardaway (19mil) Johnson (16mil) Marjanovic (3mil) that gives you around 50mil. Which means hopefully at the end of the season you can chase a star FA like Kawhi Leonard.
27/9/9 and pretty good for a guy who looks overwhelmed, idk
Bjelica could be a good fit but I doubt they give up on Richardson this early (esp bc Oubre is playing poorly)
I think the real problem w/ this team is the upside of KP. He needs to notch it up a level if this team is going to really compete at the highest level.
I like your proposals mostly always but it almost seems like every team gets worse here
Q Since your a Philly fan I think —
Kuzma for Thybull – whatcha think straight up……….Think Kuz fits well with Ben/Joel
Lakers have great team D but they really dont got that ‘1 stopper” type of guy…….. Havent seen Thybull much this year but he had the looks of that type of guy last year…. I dont think Kuzma is a bad player by any means I just think LAL isnt the best spot for him ; Feel Philly is his best fit (on paper at least) in all the NBA
Yeah Philly fan, and thanks. But yeah I like that idea. However I think with Lakers extending kuzma they see more value in keeping him and using him as a trade piece for a bigger player.
For example I could see them doing something like Kuzma, THT and something for Victor Oladipo and Cousins or something similar.
True that could be a route –
My thinking was they unload Kuzmas contract in order to take care of Schroeder THT and Caruso instead moving forward –
Thybull a lot cheaper long term but the salaries match this year for a straight 1-1…..
Feels like the Lakers should make 1 consolidation trade this year bc I doubt they can hold Schroeder-Kuz-Tht-Caruso next year without letting 1 walk for nothing….. And they still need a C on the side as well somehow
This trade would help imo while adding Thybull for cheaaappppp……hows the Bull playing this year btw seems Maxey kinda took a lotta shine off him
I dont really see a BIG trade for Lal but Ive been wrong before
Bull has been solid defensively, I like him but as someone who wants to see us get a ring I don’t think he’s worth keeping really. I can’t see him developing enough on offence to warrant lots of minutes and even as a great defender in this league you have to offer a little more to get good minutes. We have had Maxey been excellent, Korkmaz is really impactful with his threes and plus Green and Curry we just haven’t exactly needed him.
Even if the Sixers joined in with the Lakers trade.
Lakers: Victor Oladipo, DeMarcus Cousins
Rockets: Kyle Kuzma, THT, Thybulle, Tony Bradley and a second round pick (LA)
Sixers: PJ Tucker
Yes this guys the Rockets abit but they would be getting back 4 young players and a pick to go with John Wall and Wood.
Lakers get the 3rd star they want who’s good at both ends and Sixers get another championship winning piece.
I’d love Tucker for his defence and shooting, he could be a solid bench vet with Dwight.
I actually think that would be a GREAT return for the Rockets!
Stretch 4 w Kuz, defense w Bull and upside with THT who Im huge fan of and a pick – All young and relatively cheap
Cousins would def help and VO is nice – Dont know if the Lakers would want to push so many chips in for a half year (we prolly couldnt resign) but I like the offer and it makes sense –
I actually think Philly is getting the short end a liitle here
Philly looks awesome btw, Green looks better on D then he ever did in LA and Tobias Harris looks like a totally different animal this year
Love a team thats plays D and keeps the Turnovers down in the playoffs
you gotta be kidding me star FA in kwahi nah that aint possible. then u gotta give up KP and some other assets for that lmao. and also the kings r gunna have to get someone from the warriros if they’re gunna do a three team swap, then the kings r prob gunna ask for kieber or something to replace belicja
Your mustn’t know how Fa works. You don’t need to give up KP and other assets if your going for Kawhi. Like I said they should have 50mil in cap space and the max Kawhi can get I believe is something like 38mil. He has an opt out on his contract at the end of the season it is possible he wants out and possible that the Mavs have the money.
Kawhi would honestly be the perfect fit in Dallas. Cuban is a great owner for a quiet star like Kawhi, he would have a MVP level point guard and he would have a very versatile big in KP. Not to mention if he takes 38 and the Mavs have 50 then that leaves about 12 mil to continue building. Not saying your going to get a star but you could definitely add some valuable role players. Maybe bring back Hardaway as a 4th option, floor spacer. Plus Kawhi being back in West, Not that it’s easier for him but match up wise he doesn’t have Embiid, Giannis, Tatum, KD, Butler and instead he has Bron in the west but GSW, Nuggets, Jazz, Rockets, Suns none of those guys have SF’s that he would match up against.
lol u honestly think clippers will let Kwahi walk off….u must be joking cuz the clippers r doing fine with kwahi, pg, batum, and ibaka
Pistons will give you Griffin for a bag of basketballs!
Realistically Hardaway/Johnson and a 2nd
Griffin and Rose for Hardaway, Johnson, and Brunson works. Throw in a pick swap and you might have something there. Rose can def help the Mavs and Griffin just needs a better coach who is willing to bring him off the bench and post him up and have him spot up for 3s. He looks terrible because casey is still trying to play him like a superstar. Griffin can br a potent 6th man on a good team I bet!
Griffin is washed
You are cheating yourself if you want Beal and LaVine
Evan Fournier is available
He can pass and shoot
He is a cohesive guy
The trade of Curry to Philly really hurt Dallas, as their offense is predicated on Luka’s ability to penitrate and finish in the lane or kick to the open three point shooter.
Porzingis is problematic. “The Unicorn” is tall, but what does that matter if all of your offense comes from five feet behind the arc? He has no post game and is a subpar defender and rebounder. Even though he has been regarded as a high ceiling player, the Mavs team would have significantly improved by pivoting away from KP and the long term extension of Dwight Powell and instead capitalized on well rounded pieces that were available. Last off season … perfect example: Ibaka was available, they got outbid in what would have been a reasonable contract, and instead overpaid Cauley Stein, who was largely out of the rotation based on lack of effort and execution.
Dallas’s three draft picks have been nonexistent and Carlisle has a history of reluctance to play youth… so the roster has slowly deteriorated to what it is: Luka being a one man show that is struggling with 3s and FTs … and a few respectable supporting cast mates in Richardson, Hardaway and Kleber (the first two who will leave as free agents at the end of the season).
There is a lot of work to be done here.
Nailed it on Porzingis
I’ve watched all of their games this year.
There are questionable coaching decisions. KP and Boban need to dominate in accordance with their size. Boban rarely dunks even at point blank range all KP attempts is threes and turn-around fadeaways over a mismatch. He doesn’t have the lower body strength to post efficiently. He gets pushed over a few times a game – very high centre of gravity.
Doncic plays like LeBron but without the athletic ability so often gets thwarted at the rim. His shot is off too.
Everyone else is playing well. Kleber is excellent, Cauley-Stein seems to have found his stride and Richardson, Hardaway and Brunson are all very good.
They just need more consistency – some of that is youth, some is this crazy year and some is down to coaching.
People are way too quick to hype a player up. Doncic is incredibly gifted but he’s 21. Give him time.
Along a similar line of thought, no way Giannis should be considered elite yet. He’s on the way for sure but until he learns to shoot he’s a work in progress as far as I’m concerned. A young DeAndre Jordan with a handle (my tongue-in-cheek assessment of his current skill). His MVP was premature. They just can’t seem to accept giving it (justifiably other than the injured season) LeBron every year.
Man I thought I was the only one who thought Giannis was a tad over rated – The media never seems to Question him
To Me – Mil will hinge on Giannis not Giannis hinging on the rest of team this playoffs. The rest of the team looks awesome right now. Crazy to think this time last year it was controversial to say AD/Joker are better than Giannis….I know bc i Said it and got killed in here lol I wish I could find that thread
Yeah man. This is a league, media and fanbase enamoured of unique physical gifts and heartwarming backstories.
GA is incredible, gifted and no doubt a very good player but until he develops enough versatility to handle the defenses that have figured his tendencies out he’s just another up-and-comer waiting for his chance.
Jokic and AD are better players right now. AD’s durability and Jokic’s defense are their question marks.
Yea watching him (in the half court offence) it looks like he knows he can dominate hes just not really sure the exact route to go about it yet
Teams have adjusted to his strengths, hes been slow to counter; altho he’s (probably) got the counter in his bag it just hasnt manifested yet
– This is a no excuse year for me w him tho, if Mil loses he should walk to the podium and put it all on his back no matter what, if you want to be the Superstar You/mdeia/world think you are thats status quo
With Luka, great as he is, you have to be a Ray Allen, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Me, Wardell Curry, Dana Barros, Glen Rice, Steve Kerr type shooter to be able to stand, wait…. and wait…
And wait…
And wait… and finally get a diagonal pass and still make the three.
Dallas doesnt have those types of makers.
Gonna be tough to win at a high clip with their style. Is that style their best chance to win tho? Could they play a different style and be more successful? Carlisle better figure it out or else…
So your point is Dallas doesn’t have enough shooters,.
We know.
And that you’re as good a shooter as Barros or Curry et al.
We know you aren’t.
Out of all these problem restatements, saying Dallas needs a certain type of shot more is relatively unique… but I get your disappointment. Dallas needs more wait-shooting! zzzz
Is that the best “we” can do?
It would fit with a Doncic-based team, him driving & kicking. But there needs to be a non-Doncic offense available, and moving out Curry, Berea & Delon Wright for a defender, Richardson, did not help. I advised getting Montrezl Harrel and keeping Burke but they went for defense, James Johnson. They did retain Burke who is doing okay but is a Doncic replacement, not a facilitator.
—–
Since GM Donn Nelson has traded away firsts, he needs to hit on trades. But he has made one good trade in years— the risky one for Doncic (likely due to a longstanding association with BB in Europe). There were good moves to get a title but that was 2011.
Fire Nelson and trade KP for a first or, as always, I advocate Caruso or Monte Morris. Achuiwa would be great and Riley likes stars and has a gap at the 4.
You aren’t woke enough to know what you don’t know, Blow. Must suck to not have been any good. You had the same 24 hours we all had. Go upstairs to the kitchen and get sumn to eat!
lmao why u comparing urself to those other superstars man. doncic will break ur ankles with one hand behind his back.
wait wut i thot u meant go upstairs to take a shower or go to sleep or something lol thats ur advice.
Luka is still the man and future. But teams are going to adjust to him. Especially if he doesn’t have help. They could just use this deep draft ……. Oh No. !!!!!
The Knicks have their pick. I hope all the geniuses here. Who shot us down for trading KP. And saying we have sour grapes over trade. Will all have an Awakening. KP got made by us. Now he will make our team. Thank you bro.
Al? Love the enthusiasm but. Could we not count our chickens before they hatch here?
With our luck we’ll draft the next Jahlil Okafor (if the Mavs even miss the playoffs…)
Not this draft. Trust me bro I got plenty of flak here for supporting trade. It’s not like we had a choice.
This is a deep draft. D Duke a PG from Providence can help us. Just the two picks will help plenty. This draft is deep in PF, SF. We will get deeper and younger. KP was a high pick for us. So it’s great to get value for him. I wish him the best, not a hater.
Weirdly enough, I sat next to David Duke’s dad at a hookah spot once, nice guy.
Kid is very hyped but I don’t watch enough college ball to have an opinion on him. Plays the right position for us tho that’s for sure
He’s a big PG. Plays a lot like Dillard. Not saying he’s going to be him. But he plays D, can shoot. Solid 2way player. My favorite players are 2way players lol.
Sorry but the Knicks killed themselves in the Porzingis trade. You don’t get to pretend the 2020 season didn’t happen.
The Knicks acquired Dennis Smith Jr as the chief asset in the trade (who ceased to be an NBA player the moment he left Dallas) and used the Porzingis cap room to pay Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, and Wayne Ellington a combined 40M.
If you think KP has less value than whomever the Knicks draft 10-15…. whatever helps you sleep at night.
@Real 2K Insider… Very well said!
You just nailed it! There is no world in which NYK won that trade, ain’t happening!
I’m one of the biggest DSJ critics around, and I also think Dallas probably rebounds from their slump, so it’s tough for me to disagree…
Having said that, they’re 8-13 as of right now, 3rd worst in the west, and Porzingis is coming off his 296th leg issue, can’t post up, yet is a marginal 3 point threat at best
I still think Dallas makes the playoffs which means yes the Knicks are losers.
But if Porzingis tops out at an injury-prone borderline All Star, Dallas are potentially the bigger losers.
Because now you have Luka, a superstar on a rookie contract, on a team that maxed out a guy who isn’t good enough to be his #2
Sure you can flip him but what are you getting for a 7-3 guy with leg issues who gets paid like a franchise guy but isn’t quite as good as Jrue Holiday?
The Knicks have sucked for 20 years. Dallas has a real shot to be great for the next 15 if they build around Luka the right way.
By design or otherwise, I don’t believe they’re using their stars as effectively as they did last season. Players with diverse skill sets (and both Doncic and KP qualify) are best when used in a diverse roles.
Doncic is a great facilitator, but he’s also a great scorer. He needs to play a good part of his time with another facilitator (basically a true guard – versus two wings), and some time off the ball. If not, the facilitator and score will often play in conflict. His 3-pt FG % is one casualty of this.
KP is a harder case. He’s missed some games. But when he plays, he’s not being used as aggressively as last year, at least in the bubble. Not sure if it’s injury related or not.
Luka will be fine, he is just great & playing at his usual MVP level…
KP6 is just getting into his mojo after the injury, he will get there…
The other guys better get on with it if they wanna stay in DAL as Luka ain’t happy…
Carlisle as well needs to get better, he is slipping & Luka ain’t happy with him…
Drummond is a guy who could help Dallas. He helps KP and Luka. Luka would get the most out of him. And reb is playing defense. Defensive reb is one best defensive stats a team can have. Means NO second shots. Means you can run or get into offense quicker. We all know he’s one best defensive rebounders in history of gm, right. His low post presence helps the offense. With Luka he probably avgs 20 a gm easy. When he gets bought out, and I’m pretty sure he will. Mavs should be first on line for his services.
Drummond isn’t getting bought out. Playoff teams don’t do buyouts.
The Play-In game is also going to reduce buyouts league-wide because the 9-11th place teams have something to play for (less likely to be sellers at the deadline).
Reason 1 is Lukas 3pt shooting. Reason 2 is KP missing 1/2 the games so far. Reason 3 they overachieved last year.
Yes Doncic thrived in the bubble, probably more than he would in the RS… now he is a bit too important to the team than is healthy for title aspirations.
Someone mentioned Evan Fournier I think he could be a good fit, decent shooter, decent little bit of playmaking and another player on an expiring deal. Not sure what you give up maybe Dwight Powell and Josh Green plus a second.
u could add burke to it too to make them happy. yea fournier might be a good fit cuz of his shooting, play making and floor spacing.
Wouldnt this more improvised trade make it worthy:
Magic: Josh green, burke, powell,+dallas second rounders
Mavs: fournier, aminu
aminu will be a good pickup cuz he can improved the mavs defense and is a decent rebounder as well.
Would the Sixers say yes if Dallas offered KP plus anyone not named Luka for Ben Simmons?
I’d watch that pick and roll.
Simmons and Luka would be a very interesting duo. I’d def upgrade my League Pass to catch as many games of that as possible.
But I think Philly is too good right now for that to happen. Even tho BS is copying and pasting another season stat line, I doubt they shake anything up when they have the best record in the East (except maybe for Beal if he was available).
bruh two pgs c’mon now u cant be serious
Maybe there’s some hope then, because I don’t think you can trade for Ben Simmons without rerouting him elsewhere or finding a deal for Westbrook, bc I don’t think anyone wants to see Washington roll with Simmons and Russ.
Sixers get Beal, Dal gets Simmons, Washington gets KP, and someone smarter than me can figure out how to piece the rest of that together.
Where’s Sillivan when you actually need him?
Very true about Simmons and Russ, I’ll also leave it to Silli to work out the Trade Machine details tho lol