The Dallas Mavericks are a team in turmoil. Coming off of a surprise appearance in the Western Conference Finals, their follow-up season hasn’t gone anything like the way they planned.
Jalen Brunson’s departure in free agency has severely hampered this team’s half-court offense and consistency, and neither Tim Hardaway Jr’s return to the lineup nor Spencer Dinwiddie’s increased opportunities can overcome the hole that Brunson left in the roster.
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Dallas’s offseason additions have been a little lackluster as well. JaVale McGee has been a total flop for the Mavs, more reminiscent of his frequent Shaqtin’ A Fool appearance in his younger days than the veteran rim protector that provided solid interior play for the former champion Los Angeles Lakers and Western Conference titan Phoenix Suns.
McGee appeared to be the perfect player for a Luka Doncic-led team, theoretically locking down the paint on defense and providing Luka with a dangerous vertical spacer to diversify the offense, however, he’s been severely underwhelming and subject to DNP Coach’s Decisions lately.
Christian Wood has consistently been the Mavericks’ second-best player on offense, but he’s yet to win over Head Coach Jason Kidd’s trust on the defensive side of the ball. Rookie Jaden Hardy has been in and out of the G-League and has scarcely seen the floor for a team that could use his talents.
Things could get a lot worse for Dallas before they get better, as they recently lost Maxi Kleber for 6-8 weeks to injury.
This upcoming matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers could be a perfect example of how desperately the Mavs need more depth at their big men positions, especially with Kleber sidelined, as they’ll have to deal with the Cavs jumbo lineups featuring young phenoms Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
The Cleveland Cavaliers look like the team of the future after acquiring Donovan Mitchell to join a core that already housed Darius Garland, Allen, and Mobley.
They’ve been dominant on both ends of the court with Garland beautifully orchestrating the offense and Spida stepping into the go-to scoring role that Cleveland had yet to fill. Their impressive play has them at 18-11 on the year, sitting at the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavs haven’t shown any signs of slowing down, as they were able to battle through Garland’s early season eye injury and overcome an uncharacteristic losing streak to climb back up to the top of the conference. This matchup could show two teams trending in completely opposite directions.
Right back to work in Cleveland.
🆚 @cavs
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📺 TXA21
📻 97.1 FM and 99.1 FM pic.twitter.com/vt5ogrtAik— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 17, 2022
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| Title: Dallas Mavericks vs Cleveland Cavaliers preview
| Author: Andy Quach
| Date: Dec 17, 2022
