Are The Mavs Still Contenders Without Jalen Brunson? | JJ Redick and Alex Caruso
Vložit
- čas přidán 17. 07. 2022
- JJ Redick and Alex Caruso talk about their sleeper picks for The NBA Finals and whether or not Luka Doncic and The Dallas Mavericks are still contenders. Even with the loss of Jalen Brunson can The Mavs make a deep run in the playoffs.
Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter CZcams channel for more player interviews and NBA analysis. - Sport
Happy Monday, everyone. We're talking sleeper picks. Let us know in the comments what your sleeper pick is. We said Dallas and Denver. Curious what you all think.
I think they're missing another piece
We will know for sure once free agency ends but if healthy it may be the Bulls and/or Hornets and T-Wolves
Dallas and Atlanta
@@blasphemedheretic for dallas yeah, they need an all star that can backpack certain games besides luka
Tell if you agree, but Toronto might win it all next season
To me Dinwiddie is the x factor, his ability to operate in that secondary ball handler role that JB filled last year being able to create his own shot, playmake and even play off ball will be vital to the mavs, and if he can do that well I think they could be contenders
100%
Agreed. It’s still unclear if he’ll move to the starting role or Tim will slot in. Either way, although Brunson is a big loss cause I’m thinking a lot of people were expecting him to make that next step towards being 20 ish ppg scorer, it can be mitigated. Wood already is gonna make up a big chunk of that. Depends on dinwiddie and hardaway jr, but losing Brunson “might” not even matter. They look better overall compared to last season, on paper atleast.
Dinwiddie isn't the scorer that Brunson is and his passing isn't quite as good, but he's a better defender and one of the most clutch guys on the Mavericks.
@Yagami LW chris wood can def be as productive as jalen brunson. Tim hardaway should be healthy this year. Theyll be fine.
@Yagami LW just to get ya up to speed, we signed Javale McGee, a center who is sometimes made fun of for making silly mistakes, but is overall a good player that'll help us rebound and defend the post (something we were lacking if you watched the golden state warriors series). Otherwise we don't really have room for any big signings due to already being well over the salary cap (basically we are paying too much money to our players already to be allowed to make any new contracts, I assume soccer has a similar system but just incase you didn't know). We could still potentially make some trades but we don't have a ton of draft picks or valuable assets honestly so I think our best bet is to just try to improve the players we have as best we can and wait for some cap space to open up.
I would have loved to see Caruso in Dallas. Caruso-Bullock-DFS-Kleber would be a solid defensive core for years.
ABSOLUTELY. Brunson is good player, but everybody is gassing his impact WAAAAAYYYY too much because of a 3 game stretch basically in the playoffs.
Hardaway coming back and dinwidde with a training camp under him will make up for losing Brunson , plus Christian wood will thrive playing with Luka.
I hope so, but Brunson was clearly the second best player on that team.
@@wenlisman yeah the Mavs screwed that up big time smh
Don't forget the 3 times NBA champion and gold medalist Javaaaale McGee
@@OwnlaneNoTraffic I don’t think it was so much a mess up on Mavs end. His agent and his dad are both affiliated with the Knicks. It was written all along that he was leaving
@@OwnlaneNoTraffic no we didn’t, love Jalen but he’s overpaid, it’s a reason he went to the big Apple
Caruso would be a great fit on this Mavs team
Caruso would be a great fit anywhere man .
@@matthieusaade3616 literally he plays the right way
He's fearless
As a diehard Mavs fan who is often times pessimistic.. I think we will be fine without JB for a number of reasons. Would have been nice to keep him for the right price but we are fine. Nothing but love for JB and everything he did for us, especially against Utah!!
facts and our defense will get better too more length
Christian wood is good pick up
your better defense is still lightyears behind teams that are elite on that side of the ball. If Luka is 2/3rds of the offense, he's also too tired to play defense (see: every playoff game in 2022). The JB move does hurt. They'll be back if they just surrounded him well though.
I think talent and depth will overcome the loss of JB. Tim Hardaway Jr. is back, still got Dinwiddie, plenty of wings and 3 and D guys, Jaden Hardy has potential. What stuck out to me in the playoffs was Mavs lack of depth and size. Powell and Kleber aren’t bad, but you need more. Then they get Wood and McGee in the off-season. Lots of pieces around Luka.
@@chiggsytube the knicks have entered the conversation * led by a salivating James Dolan
We dont have a "second star", but the Mavs are an extremely deep team. Bertans is literally the 11th guy off the bench. And a lot of these guys have grown, with necessary playoff experience the last few years (Finney-Smith, Kleber, Hardaway). Then you have guys like Dinwiddie, Bullock, Wood, and McGee, these are guys that can contribute anywhere. Your 9th and 10th guys are Josh Green and Dwight Powell, who are fine extra rotation players. Obviously Luka is a top 5, and possibly top 3 player. Who knows what Hardy can do this season (if anything), and then a coach who is coming off his best season yet..
Don't sleep on this team just because they lost Jalen Brunson.
I don’t think they had a star with brunson. He’s not that good
Luka isn’t obviously top 5 Gianni’s joker kd embiid curry are easily better than u have kawhi lebron which are debatable easily top 10 tho
@@ernestagwu7728 - Yes.. KD, who carried his team to a 4 game first round sweep (in the wrong direction).. Did you see what Luka did to the Suns in game 7? Did you see him all playoffs long? He's not a top 5 player? Are you fing kidding me?
Edit: Curry's great, but he's not better than Luka at this point. SMH
@@tylerholt6828 don't be daft.
yeah mavs are deep now
but they still need a second PLAYA imo
My opinion is that Mavs are much better team than the last year. Mark my words. Great additions this year with Mcgee, Wood, Hardy and Tim coming back. Mavs wont feel at all Brunson leaving.
exactly . wish we had more cap space and/order draft capital to land a second star for Luka
even if so, that is still cheapskate cuban betting on a lucky strike
@@bo0gi3 cuban must break the cap, rings implicate huge cap taxes lately
I predict that Hardy will play very few minutes this year and 0 in the playoffs. Hope I’m wrong but he looked really rough in the G league (aside from the first game). I was more impressed by AJ Lawson
Yea Jason Kidd could play around the defense better
Tim Hardaway Jr and Spencer Dinwiddie can make up for the loss of Brunson. Also, the addition of Woods and McGee were shrewd moves.
The pelicans are for sure a sleeper pick to at least make a deep run, almost beat the suns this year without Zion and a very young team. They’re only gonna get better from now
The Pelicans are my sleeper pick in the West for sure. Zion is coming back and he's a walking 25 and 8 at minimum, then you got BI, another year of McCollum, your young players are gonna get better, and young teams tend to naturally break out after three years of rebuilding. Look at the Hawks and the Grizzlies.
In the East, I got the Bulls. Everyone forgets that they were the #1 seed in the East over a healthy Nets team, the Celtics, the Heat, and the Bucks when they were fully healthy for a good portion of the year. Then Zo and LaVine got hurt and Caruso too. Their getting all three back, and they added Dragic and Drummond. So I would look out for the Bulls if I am the Eastern Conference.
@@yashtalaulikar3727 The thing is, can Zion's legs last a whole seasson+PO? because he hasn't played that long ever in his career. Another important question is if he would be able to be as agressive and athletic as before the injury because he abused defenses with athleticism and power not skill.
@@francesccampos1343 It's a good point, but I am ready to bank on Zion being back healthy.
@@francesccampos1343 even without Zion New Orleans can make a deep run
@@diegochavez6203 fr, another year of BI and Herb Jones is enough to get them through a few rounds
I feel like a lot of team made really good moves this off season, but not all of these teams mentioned can have a better season. What I think is a more interesting but critical question is: who got better on paper, but you think won't be better? Either because it doesn't work out, or the teams around them made better strides?
Being better on paper doesn't really say anything because a star can avg 25 and then poop the bed
I think that’s going to be the clippers
I feel like the wolves have gotten so much better but so many teams have done the same. I'm excited for the Clips to get Kawhiwhi back but I'm concerned that the Wolves will have to play them in the playoffs
They made it to the WCF without a few key players. Tim Hardaway Jr was hurt plus they made key moves this off-season. Really Golden state the only team that’s in their way from the finals.
@@chiggsytube me personally I’m taking Luka, he got that dog in him and he’s gonna get you further in the playoffs. if Denver has a healthy Murray and Michael Porter then definitely Denver is the better team. We’ll have to see how they look this season
@@Josh2cold_ Luka is built like the GOATS.
He has better stats against Top 10 Defenses than he does against bad defenses.
He has better stats in the Playoffs than he does in the regular season.
He is just one of those dudes that has a gear that 99% of NBA players don't have.
Those books behind JJ. I love readers💪🏾
despite all the carushow hype and fandom, Alex is actually a very hard working player and a true student of the game. When you think of some of those good defensive wings from NBA last 20 years like Bruce Bowen, Tony Allen, Andre Roberson, Thabo Sefolasho, Mikael Pietrus ect I think Alex is asserting himself into that group of great defensive minds very quickly. dude is legit, all the hype from his dtart in the league made me doubt him easily but the guy is a real defensive threat
Ya dude had the lakers in the bubble putting the clamps on every team…
As a Mav's fan I'm amazing at how quickly Brunson has become overrated. This team is about Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson averaged 11 and 4 in his career at Dallas. Tim Hardaway, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Christian Wood more than replace his value into the future.
exactly, people are overestimating his exit so much, he wasn't even that good until the 2nd half of the season .C Wood is a 18/10 on 38% 3p and good efficiency
They are going to be very strong next season with and space the floor even more with THJ,DFS, Bullock and Bertans
People watched him torment the awful jazz defense and got confused about his value.
That’s what I’ve been saying. My take is he was a 80mil/ 4 year player up until the Utah series
He isn't overrated. Dallas' system is horrendous for him and his career. We saw what JB can do when Luka was hurt, he'll be better utilized elsewhere rather than sitting around watching Luka. Those averages you wrote about were with him with a muzzle and a leash on. Watch what he does this season roaming free in NY
@@cavemanyogi150 bet I’m willing to be some money that he doesn’t do much better and NY don’t make the playoffs.
Caruso one of them rare players that he can impact winning on any team he goes too and he doing it with defense and playmaking
Everybody wants to assume the mavs got worse just because they lost Brunson, but I think they have actually gotten better. They addressed their biggest weaknesses in rim protection and rebounding. They’re going to be much bigger and better defensively. They have a ton of position flexibility and lineup flexibility whether it’s going big or small. Not to mention they are much deeper now.
Yea that contract would cage them for years and I'm glad they didn't overpay him
I think they need another playmaker come playoff time.
@@retuje3742 yea but they can potentially get someone much better than him in the future instead of being locked in with what's likely a bad contract. He isn't going to be an all star or all nba guy
@@troymcjessy7493 i know. I believe that brunson is not that guy too. What they need is a veteran playmaker if they really want to win. Like when harden got cp3, plays got less predictable. Luka won't beat the gsw with iso and pick n roll plays.
@@retuje3742 absolutely. I do believe those all star vets will start flocking to him in the next few years.
Man Caruso is majorly missed in LA .. played hard didn’t have the most talent but those intangibles he plays with and role he accepts to the betterment of the team is incredible ! He acts himself and doesn’t try to be anything more ! See him in LA literally 3 times and every time was humble approachable and friendly ! Salute to him getting paid but I have a feeling he will be a laker in a couple years he loves LA and he loved where he lived Manhattan Beach , CA 🏖
nba competetion has gotten more even in the last few years. its good to see and not know who will be in the finals.
I think they are better now than they were in the playoffs. Perhaps getting an Eric Bledsoe or Pat Beverly could strengthen the ball handling that we lost, but the bigs are much better!
I hated you in college like everyone else.. but ngl I respect the podcast and your basketball career at the end of the day. Tommy is a legit co-host too. You both show lots of respect to everyone. Keep up the good work.. Ik im a scrub but just thought I'd share some kind words to you and your podcast listeners. We need more positivity in this world. Thank you... my sleeper pick is the Pistons.. maybe not this year but soon we've been aquiring a lot of young talent its only a matter of time imo.
West gonna be tough next season
Mavs have to make a push at Collin Sexton, he’s an RFA but I’m sure they could pull off that deal. If they are able to run a Luka Sexton Bullock DFS and Wood lineup they could run teams out of the building in the playoffs, so much balance offensively and defensively
Luka doesn’t need another ball handler
The league is hella competitive at the moment. There are about 10 teams looking like they are going to win it and another 10 that might think so as well. Last year, looking at the conference semis you could make an argument for any of the 8 teams left to win it all... There has usually been 1-4 favorites and very rarely has the champion been out of this pack. Looking at you 2004 Pistons... Now this top dog list has expanded a lot and with all the injury returns coming in, it is going to be wild. The player movement has been pretty conservative up to this point in free agency and it is almost 3 weeks in... So unless KD or Kyrie trade happens, it will probably remain so.
The one thing we can all hope for and wish for for next season is health! I hope we don't see 99% of the players missing time to illness or injury next season. This is the percentage of injured players from last season. Be it injury or covid, it was really extraordinarily bad! We need to see a return to health for next season!
If the new bigs come out and dominate to start the season, I can see a top 3 seed. If not, they’ll be where they were the last 3 seasons
they are gonna finish between 1-3 in the west, people are dumb if they think Brunson's exit will affect them that much.
Kidd proved he's an elite coach this season and they legit have the 2nd best record in the NBA since Jan 1. People really love sleeping on them cause they don't have flashy players apart from 77
I believe Luka and Christian will be highest scoring duo in the league this year
I think the Christian wood trade evens the Brunson loss in my opinion
bro 😐, cmon. no.
Who do you think Christian Wood is 😭
@@EM92401 he's like AD in iffense
Wood+THJ coming back could make up for it
Christian wood 0 defense
Can you guys do a segment on homecourt advantage/dynamics in the future? Seems basic, but no one ever really talks about it and it's just assumed (correctly) that playing at home gives an advantage.
The nba is wide open at the top right now. Everyone should be all in if you have a chance. No team in the league is “too dominant” like Kd warriors, lebron Kyrie Cavs, or big 3 heat
Mavs only need is an additional ball handler. Just to come in and make some plays off the bench
THJ can be huge for them back healthy IMO. Great pickup of Wood. They could be better
The upgrade at center is huge.
Coaching. The Mavs are all about J Kidd in his second year as HC. His system clearly works and the proof was in the Mavs record after New Years (2nd best in the NBA). Will C Wood buy in? Don't know if he'll have enough playing time to go 20/10 again in his contract year, but if he does buy into J Kidd's system (look how far the Mavs went with Dwight Powell at the 5), the Mavs may be a force all season and built for the playoffs. Only question mark is who will be 2nd PG? It'd be nice to have a vet PG on the roster to play alongside Luka and spell Spencer.
Dragic would have been PERFECT, and a countryman of Lukas
@@natedogg890 Whynot offer Schröder the minimum
@@muratbilgehan5142 Wouldn't hurt to have someone that can score the ball when Luka rests.
This year the Mavs are so good
I’m a Blazer’s fan but I think Denella Galinari is gonna have freshness to him I think he’s gonna like where he’s just moved to so I think he’s going to do a lot better this year
Sorry danillo
Mavs are definitely going to feel the loss of Brunson. Hardaway was playing like garbage before he got injured, and outside of 4 playoff games Dinwiddie looked bad in the postseason. Before we traded for Spence, mavs Twitter was begging for another playmaker. Well they got one, and now just lost one. They got deeper at the C position, so we’ll see what happens. Would love to be wrong and be a top 3 seed
All I keep hearing from Mavs fans is that since we lost Jalen Brunson we're a worse off team. Like, people forget that this was a contract year for Brunson so of course he's going to go out there and ball out. Now that he's got the bag it's hard to say whether he'll keep up the same level of play. Also, I think it's also wise to ask yourself if Brunson is really the guy to take the Mavs over the hump. Like he's good, but not great. All in all I'm saying is that I don't think the Mavs are gonna take too big of a hit since we have guys like Dinwiddie, THJ, etc. who can fill that role.
Brunson was dropping 30-40 w/o luka🤷🏻♀️
@@leninbarahona4074 when he dropp 40 and sum one gotta score
@@ye87 the point of ur commsnt is?
My point exactly people screaming luka was by himself but he got dinwindi and Brunson an a shooter like kleber
@@boosie4482 none of those guys are consistent.
WCF doesn't make you a contender if you get bodied in 5...
Green said it himself, they're a big threat, not a problem.
Like the additions, but they gotta show force in the season before the word "contender" gets thrown around. Only ppl like Jrue Holiday and above elevate you to that status in the offseason alone, and all respect to Jrue, he went to an established roster to do it.
Stars coming in instantly bring you to the fore not just because we know what they can do, but because they bring all that talent in the shape of a single person. Adding role players, even if they make more tactical sense than a superstar, is juggling 3-4 personalities instead of one, and, despite perception that stars are the sole source of drama, any one of them could poison the locker room or disrupt the chemistry.
Denver and Dallas are good sleeper picks
even without Brunson, the bench has gone better since they acquired playoff experience. we can see much from DFS, Maxi, and of course, Spencer. Wood would be surprise.
Mavs can play Luka as the primary ball handler/point guard and they are a big team. Frontcourt of McGee and Wood. You can put Bullock and DFS on the wing. Or you can play smaller with Wood at center and Kleber at the 4 to close out games while still having that big perimeter. Luka will prob get tired and injured unless DInwiddie can step up as his backup ballhandler.
Brunson wasn’t even that good for us idk why people are saying we lost our “2nd star”
We never had one lol
I think just based on the fact they don’t make the WCF last year without him
Y’all act like Brunson was a make or break player. They’ll be fine.
They should be better. It’s still unclear if Spence will move to the starting role or Tim will slot in. Either way, although Brunson is a big loss cause I’m thinking a lot of people were expecting him to make that next step towards being 20 ish ppg scorer, it can be mitigated. Wood already is gonna make up a big chunk of that. Depends on dinwiddie and hardaway jr, but losing Brunson “might” not even matter. They look better overall compared to last season, on paper atleast.
Of Course they are. Mavs played top 10 defense all season long. It wasn’t just A month where they focused on it.
Dinwiddie will be able to step right in and fill Brunsons shoes. This is going to be the best situation we have seen Dinwiddie in. I believe because of this, he is going to progress and be the best version we have seen of him.
I think recent success will also inspire THJ to work harder.
I would also bet the farm luka and wood are going to take another step forward
It will be really difficult for warriors to repeat but they are still the team to beat. Denver and clippers when healthy are threats. Dallas, memphis and pelicans are hungry young teams and the timberwolves which is so interesting but still depends on the development of ant man. Suns is still good but there will be drama until they trade ayton later on. West playoffs gonna be tough hopefully no major injuries on major players.
I really hope ant man does develop cause I don’t want it to be other situation like Andrew Wiggins
@@josegonzalez6711 yes. They can't get to a championship calibre status if he can't be an all star. They can't rely on towna coz he's soft and gobert can't help offensively. Also russell is so inconsistent. It's all up to ant man.
Finally some love for the Hawks
If we have healthy superstars.. the West will be a complete battlefield of really good teams in the playoffs.
Mavs Have A Really Good Roster, Especially With Hardaway Coming Back & Both Signing Christian Wood & Javale McGee… It Was Smart To Let Brunson Go… You Don’t Wanna Commit THAT Type Of Money To A Player That’s Not A True #2… You’re Not Winning A Ring With Brunson As Your 2nd Best Player
Save That Money For When You Can Get A True #2… They Won’t Be A Championship Team Next Year, But Given The Additions & Assuming Luka Takes Another Step Forward, They’ll Be Even Better Than They Were Last Year
Yo JJ interview Curry
I want tonsee Caruso playing at the mavs with Luka. Free Luka up, give that much needed master class defence, maturity and experience and you got champs.
Ion like how you tried to do my pistons 😂we playoff bound🔥🔥🔥
What’s up with Cleveland they had an exciting team for a bit last year
my sleeperpick is the warriors cause of steph's "night night"
There was MJ. Then Kobe. Then Lebron. Now there is Luka. So yes. The Mavs will always be contenders with Luka.
The other 3 play a thing called defense. It’s what you do when your team doesn’t have the ball. NEVER PUT LUKA WITH THESE NAMES AGAIN.
@@johndough311 luka is 23
and offensively is one of the best we have seen
he has plenty of time to get his defense up
mark my words in a few years you will take lukas name with these players
@@johndough311 You're a moron.
There is a reason MJ is enamored with Luka, LeBron said Luka was his favorite player & Kobe learned Slovenian & brought GiGi to see Luka Courtside.
The Greats can recognize one of their own.
I feel like mavs still got a decent team but they need another ball handler in my opinion with losing brunson but with tim hardaway jr coming back he i think will help replace some of that production
They have spencer
@@guillermovazquez8625 they need one more ball handler for someone to handle the ball when they aren’t in the game or if luka or spencer misses a game
They off-season moves have been pretty good, Christian Wood is a good PF, but if he's center then he gets bodied.
Now Dinwiddie can start instead of coming off the bench, plus they got Wood & Mcgee startin too??? Luka finna have a fun season.
if hardy can make an impact as a rookie and the mavs coaches can get wood to give effort on defense they should get better even without brunson
Caruso tripping, nobody stopping giannis on that bulls team
Perhaps if Mavs pick up Mac Mcclung and let him start PG, they will be contenders for sure.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Mcclung doesn’t help their issue with defense, although Mac isn’t terrible at defense you can see his effort, the dude still needs work while Mavs are trying to contend this upcoming season. Mac is going to probably expect high minutes with his coverage he gets.
Deep in the playoffs he might be unusable.
And bench Luka? Nah
Why does no one talk about wood as a potential star? He’s a seriously great player
Lmaoooo JJ pleaseeee don’t ever put Ja and Luka in the same breath again ever
"if you put enough around them they'll get you there" seems like such an interesting question in this time.
There are so many folks who want to talk about singular players who can lead teams to chips but then I think everyone understands you HAVE to have a very strong supporting cast to get it done.
That said, if someone like the MAVs or Memphis are successful. Will they talk about it being team efforts like they do with Curry and the Dubs or are they going to just talk about how Luka or Ja carried their teams alone to win chips?
It will be interesting to see.
Meanwhile most Dallas fans think we are worse and that they might be a play in team
They got better by not overpaying to keep Brunson
IF YOU HAVE A MVP CALIBER PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM, YOU'RE A CONTENDER
the Nuggets have the actual MVP but were closer to McNuggets than a chip these past two years.
Not in any meaningful way.
@@MrAkmalehsan only because of injuries. At full strength the Nuggets are going to be a strong contender
@@VoltaDoMar Maybe if Jamal Murray is still the same player, but after these past couple of long term injuries...it's hit or miss.
@@VoltaDoMar thats my point. if you have an MVP, doesn't mean your a contender. still need a good healthy team.
Clippers should have best odds but don’t sleep on the Nuggets with Jokic MPJ Murray Gordon , etc.
They're talking about all these sleeper and contending teams and they didn't mention the Bulls once. Caruso is just seating there like: Maybe they'll mention us too...😶
Imagine Nikola and Luka play together. My dream
ill throw in SAC, cos when the king’s are on I just sleep instead.
As good as Luka is - Joker is even better. The way he stands at the top of the key and passes to your grandma for an easy layup is insane.
Lmao the grandma part cracked me up jokic is amazing I'm a nuggs fan
Loool is this even a question? They’re bigger now and can run a starting 5 of Luka, Hardaway Jr, Finney Smith, Wood, McGee.
I disagree on Ja - I dont thinnk his style of play is sustainable!
I love Alex. 🥰
The mavs are marginally better even with JB gone because of the addition of McGee and Wood. That should address the glaring need for controlling the defensive boards and rim protection. Having said that it would be tougher for them to get back to the WCF for several reasons, Clippers have Leonard back, Pelicans have Zion back, the Wolves will have the Twin Towers, and Denver is healthy again. OKC is not automatic win this year for Western Conf teams but fortunately the Spurs are officially tanking. Won’t be surprised if the Mavs get booted in the second round. They haven’t picked up a pure, consistent spot up shooter and i say that knowing THJ is coming back. THJ is a one way player and if he’s not hitting his shots which happened a lot last yr before his injury, he is useless. I like Bullock’s defense more, just wish, he would improve his shooting.
the west is going to be so scary. I think the wolves only got better, the mavs / grizzlies are only going to get better, Clippers going to be back at full strength, and OKC has good potential with Giddy and Holmgren
Who is getting worse in the west apart from Utah and Houston?
Denver with a healthy MPJ Murray
Short answer: No. (coming from a Mavs fan).
We’ll do well, and dazzle at times, but the salary cap situation is bad enough that next year is a wash. The 23/24 season onwards we can compete.
When a team has a player as good as Luka, they always have a chance to put a serious run together.
Is luka still on the team JJ?
Unless Luka died or got traded the mavs have hope. It's that simple.
I don't think Luka is anything like Ja. The Mavs can't win w/o him and memphis has a higher winning percentage w/o Ja, with a decent sample size.
Ja is a great player, but he isn't even the same world as Luka.
I still don't understand why yall keep putting Luka and Ja in the same sentence.
The Mavs can be AS good or maybe a little better if they can get a guy who can create his own shot to come off the bench. With Brunson they would have taken a huge leap. But the rest of the west I mean, Luka ball alone won't beat the Clippers, we've seen this twice. The Warriors could be better if Klay returns more to form or one of the lottery picks takes a leap. The might also get worse or even out if their big 3 decline more. Denver is probably going to be brutal next year too.
I think Luka ball would absolutely beat the Clippers.
Remember, the last time, it went to 7 Games.
Luka has 2 years of growth & Playoff experience since then & Christian Wood + Dinwiddie are here to help now.
I think the Mavs would beat the Clippers in 6 if they met again.
At the age the Warriors core is, it's not likely they keep getting better as all their guys are on the backend of their prime.
Yeah Brunson only improved with image rate up without luka. Dallas is built around luka dominating touches.
Strange that this is a question
Mavs main problem is their threes. It's kinda like hardens rockets at their peak when they had gsw 3-1 down but then go to seventh game and miss 28 straight. 3s gonna win you games but they gonna lose you games as well especially with fringe spot up shooters.
That’s why they got Wood to help out in that area when they aren’t falling. He’s a pretty good inside guy. Spencer will be better too coming off that knee injury a full year removed
As a Mavs fan I wish AC played for the Mavs.
Yes
Christian Wood is a lot better than what people think. I think he will fit perfectly with luka. JB is good but he plays the exact same position as Luka so it's always gonna be a weird fit....
LUKKKKAAAA
Were they contenders with him ?
MFFL but sleeper pick has to be Minnesota ...sneaky good squad
did jj reddick put ja morant and luka in the same level? that's funny
Bruh, Since when was Jalen Brunson a make or break player?
Need another ball handler/ play maker
Still gonna be the same, contenders are warriors phoenix or healthy clippers and for the east bucks celtics or phili