The Mavs have a pretty damn good back court. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are two of the most talented players in the NBA, and for all of the dramas that have followed the latter throughout the course of his career there is no denying what a phenomenal basketball player he is.
Last season, the two didn't manage to get on the floor together all that often and things didn't exactly go to plan when they did. But while there might be some concerns about whether the two can figure out how to play together based on that, their back court is not exactly the Mavericks biggest worry heading into the 2023-24 season. Doncic and Irving are more than capable of figuring out; the question is, can the rest of their roster contribute enough to make this team relevant in a stacked Western Conference?
How big of an issue is the Mavericks lack of depth?
There probably isn't a team in the league with as significant a drop off in talent from their second to their third best player. Those two have 12 All-Star appearances between them and plenty more to come – nobody else on the roster has ever or probably will ever get close to that team.
There is depth there in the sense of numbers. In the back court, for example, Tim Hardaway Jr remains an at-times capable scorer, Jaden Hardy showed some potential in his first season, Seth Curry will offer them valuable shooting ability and Dante Exum returns after a few productive seasons outside of the NBA. That's fine for their back court, but things are looking pretty thin elsewhere.
Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell have been valuable contributors for many years for the Mavs, but while they have their place in the NBA they are far from superstars. Olivier Maxence-Prosper and Derrick Lively II are both first round draft picks, but they've never played a game in the league, so won't exactly be moving the needle this season. Grant Williams is an okay pickup from Boston but again, won't change their fortunes too much, while Josh Green has the potential to take a step forward this season but is no world beater.
There's a little bit there, but who is their third best player? Hardy, if he continues to develop? Hardaway Jr? It's a big drop from Doncic and Irving, and though a few of the names mentioned above could take steps forward this season, they're still likely to be a long way behind their best two players.
Of course, investing in two players as good as those two invariably means filling the rest of the roster is a little more difficult, but teams with two good guards and not much else in recent times haven't had the success they were after. Think the Portland Trail Blazers with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum surrounded by the likes of Al-Farouq Aminu and Mo Harkless; or the Washington Wizards, with John Wall and Bradley Beal getting their help from Otto Porter Jr. and Marcin Gortat.
The Mavericks shouldn't worry about Doncic and Irving's fit together – players as good as they are will find a way. But particularly given the number of teams in the league with either two stars and a whole lot of quality back-up, or more than two stars on their team (ahem, Phoenix), the Mavs' relative lack of depth behind their big names is their biggest concern this preseason.
Follow Us
Subscribe