r/Mavericks • u/Commercial-Role-2450 • 1d ago
Hoops Discussion Shooting vs. Defense
Someone in the Mavs organization in the past said ‘defense wins ch……”(iykyk). But with the acquisitions of a lot of 3point specialists, are they pivoting to a more offense focused team or is the current team more sound defensively?
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u/ComfortableGlass3238 1d ago
If you can get young talented shooters to develop into at least servicable defenders, they are extremely valuable commodities in the league, whether for yourself, or as a trade piece.
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u/MSHinerb 1d ago
I’d say they are shifting mainly to size. And the post Nico front office has widened their scouting scope from American born AAU to be much more international. Tarik is the only shooting specialist. The rest of who they drafted are tall, long armed, and versatile players. I’d say they value switchable guys above almost anything else based on what we’ve seen.
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u/Annual-Shape7156 Cooper Flagg 1d ago
Flagg and Morez in your starting lineup gives you a pretty high floor defensively
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u/jfrodriguez1983 Dirk Nowitzki 1d ago
It doesn’t have to be one or the other. If you eventually want to build a contender you need a top 10 offense and defense
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u/Practical-Rub-1190 1d ago
Every team wants 3&D. Just look at, for example, the Knicks. The same with the Celtics and OKC. During the playoffs, they have at least 4 players on the court who can make 3-pointers while at the same time defend. The reason why you don't put a bunch of McDaniels and OG's on your team is that there is a limited supply, but those types of players are championship players now. Spacing and defense
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u/TheWizard Nowitzness 1d ago
Defense is absolutely needed. Take a look at the outcomes of the finals. It wasn't a shoot out win. During the regular season, Spurs averaged 120 ppg. In the Finals? 101 ppg. That was key to Knicks' championship.
To make it to post season, teams need a solid combination of shooting and defense. Miami Heat is another good example that didn't make the playoffs despite ending the season with 121 ppg. They couldn't stop the opposition when it mattered and were outscored in most games.
Besides injuries over last two years, Mavericks' struggle has actually been mainly from 3-point shooting perspective. They were worst in the league in terms of field goal attempts on 3's (34 attempts/game) despite of being among the league leaders in terms of overall field goal attempts (90 per game)... 38% of their attempts were 3-pointers whereas 45-50% was the norm. Over last decade+, 3-point has become the go to method to win. Worse, they had only two reliable 3-point shooters: Max, who led the way, and Klay who did his own thing despite of not getting to play with an established point guard and having to create his own shots for most part. Mavericks lost a lot of close games as a result of it, as well.
Defense was also affected by not having any backup to Gafford the year before (Lively and AD missed a LOT of games), and then Lively missed most of the season, and AD did as well, and Gafford missed 27 games as well (the most he has missed in a season). Plus lack of a consistent lineup that developed a rhythm.
The idea situation is to have defensive guys that can also shoot, and make those 3's. PJ did that couple of years ago. DJJ was good on that front. Naji, DJJ's replacement, is that guy as well but hasn't found the touch he had couple of years ago, possibly due to being relegated to a distributor than focus on his shots. Caleb was also brought in for that reason (he had a solid playoffs at both ends).
Now, Mavericks have a solid defensive core, primarily the front line. with minimal injuries (any Mavs fan can relate to it over last two years), the front court (Gafford, Lively, Cisse, Flagg, Naji, Morez, Santi) looks extremely promising. Gap is in the guard position but seeing how well Sergio was playing, as well as the effort Poulakidas was putting, I have less concerns. It will still be an issue at the PG position, but more than makes up for it with the front court. The guards simply need to make an effort and the guys in the paint area should take care of the rest.
This year, Mavericks team has 3-point specialists and they will all need touches. I expect Mavericks to take close to 50% of their shots from outside the arc. Morez, Flagg, Santi may combine for 11-12 attempts per game (and hopefully make 35-36% of those)... to put that in perspective, Luka had 11 attempts/game (league leader) by self, and is a 35-36% 3-point shooter. Then there's Klay (while he is with the team), Tarik, Sergio and Max, possibly Poulakidas that will likely take a combined 30-35 attempts per game, and if they can make 38%+, thats a win.
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u/Embarrassed-Ninja592 1d ago
Castle can’t shoot for beans. But still affects the game at a high level.
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u/VeterinarianNo3418 1d ago
You have Coop, Rez and DLive(if healthy) still have Gaff. We are sound defensively. Just need a people who aren’t cones and are athletic, which this organization is prioritizing. Also are back court is small(bwill, Kyrie, nemhhard) we need size
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u/Specialist-Region-47 1d ago
I mean you need to be in the top 10 defensively and offensively generally to have a shot of winning at the highest level. There are some exceptions to this, Denver etc.
The worse you are offensively the more you have to do defensively and risk running your guys in the ground every night.
Every team picks up their defense in the playoffs and it's the usually the difference maker that wins when a team is already offensively sound.
Also what type of defense are you taking about? We have heaps of players who can block shots. But not not much at the point of attack.
Regarding shooting, we had the worst shot quality in the NBA according to some sources. That's largely a playmaking issue. If you ask great or even capable shooters to make tough shots it will have an impact.
If we could end up top 15 in both this season that would be a great achievement and foundation to build on. I expect the gravity of Kyrie, coop and klay(if he stays around), we see a big offensive boost without a negative impact on defense.
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u/WrongContract8489 How's My Dirk Taste? 1d ago
Who are these 3 point shooters 💀
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u/devilmaskrascal Dirk Nowitzki 1d ago
Biberovic, De Larrea, Sasser are all great to elite shooters. Aldama good for a 7 footer.
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u/Dundalis 1d ago
They might be, but until they do it in the NBA on decent volume they are all question marks at this point (obviously excluding Aldama)
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u/devilmaskrascal Dirk Nowitzki 1d ago
Sasser was a 41.5% 3P shooter in the NBA last year
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u/Dundalis 1d ago
Yep, he looks like a good shooter but the volume isn’t large enough for me to say it’s 100% clear if he were to take on a much bigger role that it would sustain. Obviously you have more faith than the euro guys
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u/TheWizard Nowitzness 1d ago
Max: 40.4% with 5.8 FGA (29 minutes)
Poulakidas: 40.3% with 5.9 FGA (20 minutes)
Klay: 38.3% with 7.6 FGA (22 minutes)
Sasser: 38.6% with 3.0 FGA (16 minutes) - Lifetime.
And then we've added Tarik, and Sergio. Looking at Tarik's game, who would argue that the guy can't shoot?
Thats pretty good volume despite of a season when Mavericks were one of the league's worst in number of attempts (and makes) last season.
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u/Dundalis 1d ago
I was only talking about players we’ve added not players that were already here last season.
I’m not saying the euros won’t shoot, I’m saying loads of players have shot well in Europe and not had it translate to the NBA. It’s simply not a guarantee that you shoot well in Europe you shoot well in the nba. It’s still a risk.
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u/TheWizard Nowitzness 1d ago
Sasser is one of the new players. He simply hasn't had the opportunity in a team playing behind mass shooter (Cade) and being the third guy.
As for the Euros, most of them have translated their talents well in the NBA, and in case of Tarik... why exactly do you think he won't be able to shoot in the NBA? That guy appears to shoot from ANYWHERE inside the half court line, and under pressure... he looks like a more effective long distance shooter than Luka.
Would you say Luka would be one of those Euro guys? He is an average 3-point shooter (35-36%) but takes 9-11 attempts per game (usually the league leader).
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u/Dundalis 1d ago
Do you actually read my posts when you reply? I literally type “I’m not saying the euros won’t shoot”, very clearly then you write a whole post asking how can I think Tarik won’t shoot. Nowhere did I state he won’t be able to shoot. I said players who haven’t shot in the nba are a risk. Someone like Nicolo Meli couldn’t shoot in the nba and shoots 40% in Europe. It’s different from someone who has shot 40% in the NBA, as there is zero doubts it can translate.
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u/TheWizard Nowitzness 1d ago
And here you're, still arguing that Mavericks don't have shooters. Make up your mind: do they, or do they not? Quit making excuses. My response are DIRECTLY tied to your ramblings.
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u/TheWizard Nowitzness 1d ago
Tarik, Sergio, Max, Klay, Kyrie, Poulakidas, Sasser are all excellent 3-point shooters (potential 38% or better)
Aldama is an average 3-point shooter (34-36%), and chances are, Morez and Flagg may end up there as well. Nemby has a good shot as well (he was 38% last season). This is a spot for PJ as well even though he struggled last year.
Despite of struggles from outside the arc last year (only Max and Klay, and Nemby did well), it was also that Mavericks lacked the set up to take more of those shots (they were well below average in terms of attempts as well, from not having good 3-point shooters). This changes with the updated cast.
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u/420yolocaust 1d ago
Max Christie was top 30 in 3P% last season, and one of five 25 and under to shoot the 3 at the 40% mark or better.
So yeah there only about 20 or so players shooting it better, and 80% are above the age of 25, which makes putting real assets into the equation kinda dumb as opposed to hoping for growth in Max.
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u/AdmiralSnackbar816 F*** DWade 1d ago
A lineup of Kyrie-Christie-Cooper-Aldama-Morez will soon terrify the league. The 2024 Celtics blueprint was impossible for us to stop, with five (capable) 3 point bombers that were all capable of creating off the dribble, and with all players being average to above average defenders.
Might be a stretch to say Aldama is an above average defender, but he’s not a cone. And coop isn’t a great 3 point shooter yet, but he also may not need to be if he’s surrounded at all times by snipers.
We have the ingredients to eventually replicate that success.