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Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (2) and guard Luka Doncic (77) Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Mavericks better hope offense can win championships

By Sean Keane | Last updated 2/21/23

The Dallas Mavericks have one of the league's worst defenses. With the Kyrie Irving trade, they're doubling down on offense.

Last year, the Mavericks made it to the Western Conference Finals based on two main factors: their defense, sixth best in the NBA, and Luka Doncic, who averaged 28.4 points and 8.7 assists. This year, they're still scoring, but they can't stop anyone — they're the seventh-worst defense by defensive rating.

In acquiring Irving, they sent away one of their best defenders, forward Dorian Finney-Smith. They also exchanged Spencer Dinwiddie for Irving, which should be relatively neutral defensively. The advanced stats like Irving slightly better, while Dinwiddie has more size. Still, neither of these players is a lockdown defender.

It's pretty easy to see why Dallas struggles defensively. The Mavs don't have athleticism on the perimeter, and their big men don't offer a lot of rim protection. It's hard to overcome that, even with good schemes and effort from the Mavericks.

The Mavericks are 2-3 since the trade, 2-2 with Irving in the lineup, They're giving up 118.6 points per game in that stretch. However, they're also scoring 118 points per game. Dallas is likely going to have a bottom-10 defense in the NBA. The question is, can Doncic and Irving contribute enough on defense to make the Mavs the No. 20 defense and not the No. 25?

It should help to get big man Maxi Kleber back after he missed two months with a hamstring tear.

“Mavs F/C Maxi Kleber is set to return for the Mavericks against the Spurs on February 23. Kleber has been out since he suffered a hamstring tear in practice on December 13, 2022.” pic.twitter.com/o3mh5rEVQS
— Mavs Film Room (@MavsFilmRoom) February 13, 2023

Kleber may still be hampered by his injury, but even an 80 percent Kleber is an upgrade in frontcourt defensively.

As for putting points on the board, that shouldn't be a problem. Over the past four years, Irving has been the most efficient isolation scorer in the league, averaging 1.12 points per possession. This year, it's 1.21 PPP. Doncic is no slouch, averaging 1.14 PPP on the most isolations in the league. Add in Irving's cutting ability, plus Doncic's stellar passing, and this team should put up a ton of points. Plus, Irving will help Doncic conserve energy and reduce his sky-high usage rate.

But it's rare to see an NBA champion with a below-average defense. The 1995 Houston Rockets had the 12th-best defense in a 27-team league. The 2001 Lakers were 21 out of 29 in defense, though that may have been due to injuries and Shaquille O'Neal conserving his energy for the playoffs. (They went 15-1.) The 2018 Golden State Warriors were 11th out of 30 teams.

For teams that merely reached the Finals, only the Cleveland Cavaliers had truly mediocre defensive stats, losing the Finals in 2015, 2017 and 2018 with defenses ranked 18th, 21st and 29th, respectively.

What did two of those Cavs teams have in common? Irving paired with a dominant wing player who could score at will and really pass. Doncic isn't at LeBron James' level yet, but in a wide-open Western Conference, the Mavericks offense could be so good it makes up for the sieve-like defense. The Mavs can't stop anyone, but no one can stop them. If nothing else, it will make for some thrilling playoff games.

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