It Has Finally Begun for Luka Doncic & The Dallas Mavericks…The NBA knows

It Has Finally Begun for Luka Doncic & The Dallas Mavericks…The NBA knows

It is a fact that having an extraordinarily talented Superstar like Luca donic as your team’s franchise player definitely requires a certain sense of urgency from your front office Mavs GM Nico Harrison definitely understands this which is why he’s not necessarily obsessing about future draft picks instead he’s trying to put as much

Win now Talent around Luca donic as he can and he’s been doing that quite well the past couple of Seasons after providing Luca with a co-star and Kyrie Irving during last year’s straight deadline the M’s front office could continue to be proactive in the offseason adding players who appear to

Be complimentary fits with what they have been building around Luca and Kyrie they added Dante exom Who as a lengthy connector Defender is a much more valuable piece in the context of this Dallas team than say a bucket like Spencer Den witty the Mavs also added

Derek Jones Jr who’s a player in the mold of your typical athletic 3 and D guy but who offers something more than what Reggie Bullock provides with a sharp shooting while also having a wider defensive range than Dorian finny Smith even the team’s most recent lottery Pick

And big man Derek Lively is already appearing to be much more useful than Christian Wood ever was for Dallas however after a slow start to the 2024 season the Mavs knew that they needed to continue modifying their roster if they were to shift themselves from the middle

Of the Western Conference into having a legitimate shot for deep playoff contention which is why during the recent trade deadline the Mavs made a couple more significant moves acquiring big man Daniel Gafford from the Wizards as well as versatile forward J Washington plus two future second rounders from the Charlotte Hornets and

In exchange for those assets Dallas gave up a reasonable hul consisting of role players in Grant Williams Seth Curry and rwn Holmes as well as a 2027 first round pick and a 2024 first round pick which they also acquired from OKC earlier in the trade deadline overall I don’t think

Dallas has ever had this many players capable of two-way production before during the entire Luca donic era but the question is how much better have the Mavs really become after after the trade deadline and what’s actually next for them so what’s good everyone it’s R balls here and today let’s dive deeper

Into what the trades for PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford really mean for the Dallas Mavericks both for the present and the immediate future let’s get to It first let’s talk about Daniel Gafford who’s been the more straightforward Edition for the Mavs right off the bat as in his first two games with Dallas while starting in place for the injured Derek Gafford has put up crazy counting stats of 17 and 1 12 points 13 rebounds three

Blocks and a steal per game and while he surely won’t continue putting up such monster numbers every game with his skill set you could expect him to keep filling the gaps in those areas of the game where the Mavs have always lacked something well first on defense Gafford

Tries to contest everything at The Rim he contested 9.2 shots at The Rim per game this season which is the fourth highest in the entire NBA despite him playing Just Around 26 minutes per per game opponents also shot 58% at The Rim against him this season which is an

Above average defensive mark for a center this kind of defensive activity from a big man is something that Dallas will need especially when Derek Lively is on the bench but beyond that though gafford’s offensive fit is also seemingly perfect in Dallas he’s one of the best Rim Runners you’ll find in the

Entire NBA as a guy who’s made over 71% of his shots over the past two seasons while mostly operating as a lob threat around the basket Gafford size athleticism and wide catch radius always demands defenses to clog the paint cuz if you don’t tag him it’s going to be an

Easy dunk but the thing is now in Dallas even if you tag him as he rolls through the basket this should just create potential openings for Luca donic to find teammates on the corners with some easy kick out passes here you can see Dallas running a horn set for Luca donic

Gafford act as the second screener and immediately you can see how the pick and roll action sucks the defense into the paint this leaves PJ Washington wide open on the whe weak side and as expected Luca finds him with a skip pass as PJ drains the corner three against

The late closeout overall the addition of Daniel gaffer just ensures that the Mavericks now will have 48 minutes of tough Rim protection and Elite Rim running every single game which is something that they lacked in the minutes that Derek Lively was on the bench as with Lively on the court this

Season the Mavs are a plus 5 and a half points per 100 possessions but with him on the bench they are a minus 3.4 per 100 but now let’s move on to PJ Washington who’s the more high-profile among the Mavs two new players and for good reason because standing 6′ 7 with a

7’3 wingspan in a 34in Max vertical Washington is the type of athlete that opponents will surely feel on a cour in both ends he also an inch taller than the player he replacing in Grant Williams but for sure the difference between Washington and Williams will be more substantial than just that first of

All though it’s worth noting that while with the Hornets Washington’s role actually changed constantly however in Dallas his role will definitely be more consistent as a heavy minute 3 and D player but with a far more advanced shot creation skill set than most players who have filled that role for Dallas in the

Luca donic era but first the three-point shot definitely has to arrive after his first two games with the Mavs he’s only made one three-pointer out of nine attempts but historically PJ has been an above average floor spacer who even shot 39% from deep in his sophomore season this season though for Charlotte his

Three-point percentage has dipped to 32% however if you’re a mevs fan you should be optimistic with how he’s always been comfortable launching shots from Deep while also in high volume and looking at it Luca donic has a history of helping players drastically improve their outside shooting percentages by gifting

Them with wide open looks off pinpoint passes another thing is while in Charlotte with injuries and absences from guys like lamelo ball Gordon Hayward and Miles bridges over the past two seasons BJ was actually asked to create a bit more offense and to have the ball inness hands a lot more than

He’s used to in fact last season BJ even registered the third highest usage in Charlotte only behind lamelo ball and Terry Rosier well sure because of that he did average a career-high 15 points per game back in 2023 but as a result of the increased usage his efficiency also

Dropped just 44.5% from the field and just around 32% from Deep the past two seasons but now in Dallas BJ won’t be burdened to do much with the ball and even if he was asked to do a little bit more you better believe believe that the advantages that Luca and Kyrie would

Create for him would be more significant than the advantages that lamelo ball and Terry Rosier opened up for him in Charlotte this should prompt PJ to explore his scoring options more in Dallas after all he is an incredible straight line driver and an athletic shot Creator who knows how to use his

Size and touch around the paint and given his bounce is also Adept at using off ball screens in order to catch lobs around the basket in this play Kyrie has the ball in his hands but noticing that Washington’s Defender is closing into the paint he makes the Quick Pass to PJ

On the wings watch him just use his speed to blow by Aaron Wiggins on the close out before he asserts his length on the Euro stap as he drains the contested floater then this time you can see PJ setting the early High screen for Luca then soon after you can see Kyrie

Setting a pin down screen allowing PJ to get switched to the smaller Isaiah Joe in the paint Lucas sees the mismatch and just throws the lob to PJ who easily finishes at the basket but for sure the other part of the equation here for PJ

Is how much impact he can bring on on the defensive end although his effort level has dropped down the past couple Seasons at 6′ 7 with a 7’3 wingspan while also having quick feet active hands and a strong chest Washington is a capable Defender who can effectively

Match up against bigger wings and even bigger guards if he regains his focus in that end he will be a very effective switch defender in the playoffs although I don’t think it would be ideal for the Mavs to use him as a small ball five well sure in Charlotte both James Bargo

And Steve Clifford deployed PJ as a small ball Center in a ton of minutes to try and create a switch all type of lineup and while it did work to some degree offensively the truth is because PJ is an undersized big man The Hornet’s interior defense and rebounding suffered

With him as their sole big man on the floor but the good news for Dallas is that PJ doesn’t really have to play as a small ball center for the team with them already having a variety of big bodies like Derek Lively Daniel Gafford or even Dwight Powell except probably when

They’re really going to try and counter quicker lineups in the playoffs at the end of the day PJ Washington’s floor for this Dallas team will likely be determined by how quickly he regains his shooting but no matter what right now his already a clear upgrade over what

Grant Williams has been after his first 10 games in Dallas Washington can do a little bit more with the ball than Williams and is also more athletic and has a ton more range defensively but more importantly after acquiring both Washington and Gafford Dallas now has a viable 10-man rotation with real depth

At every position and sure while some of these players such as Jayden Hardy Dante exom Derek Lively including Washington and Gafford are not yet proven playoff contributors the thing is Dallas has never had many backup plans this season say during those nights when Lively was in foul trouble when Derek Jones

Struggled to make shots or even when they didn’t have an ideal Defender for an opponent star power forward but with this current roster that they have Dallas now has more mix and match options to address their needs on both ends of the floor and while there are

Still questions as to how this roster works out in playoffs Dallas still has around 30 games to figure things out before they get to the postseason but also I think an underrated part about these recent trades is that both PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford should maintain their current value in case

Dallas recognizes that they’re still missing something if in case PJ becomes more efficient on offense as most players do next to Luca but doesn’t have enough defensive bite Dallas can always opt to trade him PJ is signed for the next two seasons at about 15 million per

Year as a versatile 25-year-old Wing in the mold that almost every NBA team wants on the other hand Daniel Gafford is also just 25 and has around 28 million left on his contract for the next two years should Dallas choose to package him for a bigger catch he should

Easily be tradable given his skill set and come to think of it Dallas got these two players on the trade market without having to give up any of their young prospects such as Josh Green Jayden Hardy and omx prosper Dallas also added a couple future second round picks from

Charlotte and that matters too because in the modern NBA future second round picks are now viewed more as currency than actual pieces to select a player in the draft basically additional assets like this would just give Dallas more flexibility in terms of modifying their roster around Luca donic if this current

Lineup still doesn’t work out at the end of the day what we’re witnessing here is the mevs front office not being afraid to make mistakes while trying to build the kind of team they’ve always envisioned and by the looks of it I think this current Mavs roster is the

Most well balanced most complimentary two-way group they’ve ever assembled around Luca donic but do you guys believe that this current Dallas Mavericks team has what it takes to make a Deep Run in the postseason feel free to drop your thoughts in the comment section below and again if you’re new to the Channel

Please consider subscribing as well again this is R balls and I’ll see you on the next one peace

#NBA #DallasMavericks #LukaDoncic #NBAhighlights

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are looking like a powerful team in the Western Conference once again at the midpoint of the NBA season. The Mavs just traded for forward PJ Washington from the Charlotte Hornets and big man Daniel Gafford from the Wizards. In exchange, Dallas sent players like Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Richaun Holmes together with a couple future first round picks. Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison appears to be building a strong team around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving while having kept young pieces in Dereck Lively, Josh Green, and Jaden Hardy. But can Luka take this current Mavs roster deep in the playoffs? Why did Mark Cuban sell the Dallas Mavericks in the first place?

The Mavs already have received great play from Pj Washington and Daniel Gafford from their first couple of games. Now, Luka Doncic vs. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs should be interesting. But with the Mavericks still at the middle of the pack of the Western Conference, can they actually overtake teams like the Denver Nuggets, OKC Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, or Pelicans to gain home court advantage in the playoffs? The Mavs look like big winners of the NBA trade deadline. But do they have a better team now around Luka Doncic compared to what they had with Kristaps Porzinigs, Spencer Dinwiddie, or Jalen Brunson a few years back?

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