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The Mavs believe they added strength and defensive prowess to the high-powered attack led by Luka Doncic.
Eyes widened and immediately Rick Carlisle returned a single word to respond if the Dallas Mavericks have used this offseason to protect against opponents looking to fight star guard Luka Doncic.
“Yeah,” he said.
Long pause.
Of course, the young rising Dallas Mavericks maneuvered in a more meaningful way than that, trading Seth Curry on draft night for former Philadelphia guard Josh Richardson (and the 36e pick they used to draft Tyler Bey) while adding forward James Johnson (an undefeated mixed martial arts fighter) in a three-team trade that sent Justin Jackson to Oklahoma City and Delon Wright to Detroit.
By ensuring the protection of their franchise player, the Mavericks believe they have bolstered their collective endurance with long, athletic players expected to bolster last year’s struggling defense, which failed to properly complete the most effective attack in the era of play by play and, quite possibly, NBA history.
“When you establish that you are a galactically successful offensive team, but below defensive average, it won’t win you a championship,” Carlisle explained on Tuesday on a Zoom call before training camp began on Friday. . “I don’t think there ever was a team that won an NBA title that wasn’t a good defensive team.
“It’s great to be the best at something like we were last year. We were the best offensive team in the history of the game in points per possession. It is a substantial achievement. But we must raise the level of our defense. We think that with some of the changes we’ve made, and also with the way we’re going to approach things, we’re just going to put more emphasis on the defensive side of the pitch.
Behind Doncic’s magic, the 2019-20 Mavericks broke the 2018-19 Golden State offensive efficiency record (115.9 points / 100 possession) but placed in the bottom half of the league in points allowed (112 , 1), defensive rating (111.2), points awarded in painting (48.8) and points allowed in transition (16.4).
Add in the lessons learned from watching the Los Angeles Lakers playoffs after their own 4-2 first-round series loss to the LA Clippers, and it’s easy to see how the Mavericks got to their current state.
“You watched the Lakers on their way to the playoffs,” Carlisle said. “They lost the first game to Portland and then they just put on defensive studs for the next four games. Defensively, they were dominant. The same happened in their next series against Houston. Houston won the first game and they just tightened the screws. They won these series with defense.
“At the end of the day, they won the title with defense and a lot of their offense came from their defense. It’s a great transition team. And with LeBron and [Anthony] Davis, they made a great execution team. To aspire and have a chance to become a better defensive team, you need to have better defensive players. I think we added some very good elements to it through drafting, trades. We can’t wait to launch this thing. “
The same goes for Doncic, after taking inventory of Dallas’ off-season moves.
“It will definitely make a difference,” Doncic said. “We have great mics. The players we’ve traded for are amazing players, amazing defenders and I think they’re going to help us in so many ways.
Some of the fallout should play a role as well, with second goalscorer Kristaps Porzingis set to stay until at least January, according to Carlisle, as he recovers from surgery in October to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. Center Dwight Powell returns after suffering a torn right Achilles tendon last January with guard Jalen Brunson, who missed the rest of 2019-20 after surgery in March to correct a torn right labrum.
“As a young developing team that went through a developmental stage to get out of the lottery and enter the playoffs, but suffered a loss in the playoffs, we have to see this as a situation where our collective endurance will increase. Either way, it doesn’t matter who’s on the team, ”Carlisle said. “So you can never have enough tenacity in an NBA team, especially in the Western Conference.
“We have to be very competitive. We must be tough, selfless. I don’t know what the exact pace of our game will be. We need to be able to win games by getting saves as well as scoring. So, this is the main thing. The identity of this team will be largely a reflection of Luka as the best player is always a big part of the team’s identity.
“Luka in the playoffs last year showed he can sit down and defend people too. We made him keep all kinds of positions. He kept playmakers, he kept 4 men, sometimes he kept crosses. He could do that. So I want us to be a sharper team defensively. I think we’ve added things that will help us achieve this.
Richardson looked set to relish his new role alongside Doncic. Richardson, 27, has been a starter for most of his career, helping his teams advance to the playoffs in three of his five years in the NBA.
A Miami Heat goalie at the time, Richardson first met Doncic when the star guard was 16, training in Santa Barbara, Calif., And the youngster made an immediate impression after just a few games of pickup.
“The first time we played I came back to Miami and told some of my best friends,” said Richardson. “I was like, ‘Yo, I just met this kid. He will be the first choice of the draft. I still think it should have been. But it has lived up to my expectations so far and more. We’ve just been cool since then. I’m delighted to play alongside him because he’s one of the best playmakers in the NBA.
“He has very high gravity on the pitch. So he’s going to need some guys to help relieve his pressure. I think I can take some of the defensive pressure off him. The other team’s best guard, I’ll usually get him back. So he can just get in where he is on defense and manage what he needs to do on offense.
But will Richardson also serve as Doncic’s protector against teams looking to bypass the third-year rising guard?
“I don’t know. A guy like me, I don’t really take the fact that my brothers are screwed up,” Richardson said. “But I’m not an instigator of situations. So I’m not going to be there- down just to try to get into people’s faces and do a lot of extra stuff. But I have no problem doing what needs to be done if people aren’t treated well. And I feel like ‘there are a few other guys on this team who feel the same about it.
As for Doncic, he has spent most of this offseason working to improve as a shooter after leading the NBA in triple-double (17) last season, averaging 28.8 points, 9, 4 rebounds and 8.8 assists.
“Every year I want to be better,” Doncic said. “It’s my aim. As I always say: “I want to win the championship”. This is the goal we achieved last year [with]. This is the goal we will enter this year [with] as a whole group. “
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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer for NBA.com. You can send him an email here, find his archives here and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs, or Turner Broadcasting.
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