Mavericks Legit Threats in West After Kyrie & Luka Ignite 6th Straight Win Over Wembanyama & Spurs?

Mavericks Legit Threats in West After Kyrie & Luka Ignite 6th Straight Win Over Wembanyama & Spurs?

Welcome to inside the Mavs the official Mavericks podcast of 971 the freak I’m your host Kevin gray Mavericks premium post game host on the Dallas Mavericks radio network you can find me on Twitter Kevin gray Sports be sure to download And subscribe to the podcast wherever

You get your podcast for free give it a five star rating and write a review for it while you’re there you can also watch the show on my YouTube channel at Kevin gray Sports join day on the episode MAV Sports Illustrated writer covers all things for the Dallas Mavericks or

Sports Illustrated you can find him on Twitter at grant ath grant ath joining me on the show Grant what’s going on uh not much I’m looking forward to uh being able to talk about a lot of different stuff for sure it’ll be interesting lot to get into on this episode of inside

The Mavs as the Mavericks now enter the allstar break on a six game winning streak after beating up on the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday the Mavericks now tied for the longest win streak in the NBA currently with the Boston Celtics who also are on a six game

Winning streak but the Mavericks do hold the longest current winning streak in the Western Conference currently sits seventh right now in the west six and a half games from the number one spot we’ll talk about some of that throughout the course of the show as well but more

Importantly they are that much closer to getting into that top six so they can void the play in but a lot to get to in this episode because Grant we’ll start here you know just a couple of weeks ago this was a team that was not playing well defensively questions about Jason

Kidd and what he was doing with this team and then we have the trade deadline and they bring in PJ Washington from the Charlotte Hornets they also bring in Daniel Gafford from the Washington Wizards and the two of them so far have been really the perfect fit for what the

Mavericks have been needing and what they’ve been able to bring and have been part now of the last three games that has seen the Mavericks really play well on both ends of the floor Washington and Gafford making huge differences for this team so far yeah definitely I think

There was a clear need for a backup center at the very least whether that was like the most pressing need or not uh it was definitely very high on the you know list of needs considering you know the lack of success they had without Derrick Lively they didn’t

Really have that sort of interior shot blocking presence outside of him with you know having to rely on other options on the roster adid a lot of injuries like Maxi kba is a helpful switching option and he’s played great lately but you know with his small toe uh injury uh

It’s kind of difficult to fully rely on that as like a primary you know relief option or backup option so having another you know stylistic match to kind of fill the void of what Derrik livley provides when he’s not on the floor but also have a full Center rotation when

You need that traditional option out there against certain matchups is very helpful while having that kind of change up option with maxi is at small ball five that adds a lot of depth a lot to like and then you still have Dwight pal as a option to kind of throw in there

Whenever you need someone to to fill in or you know during injuries that may occur in the future or you know just in general another look to throw out there that has been with the team for a while and then you look at the wing spot with

You know PJ Washington I think uh you know defensively he’s provided a lot to like uh you know he’s been fully embracing his responsibilities on that end hasn’t worried about the shots that are coming his way or getting plays called for him and uh you know his three

Ball has not Fallen yet and he’s kind of struggle with that over the last couple years uh after the start of his career being you know very strong from the perimeter but you know the quality of looks that he’ll get he’ll get the opportunity to knock down shots and

It’ll just be interesting to see how that transpires but you know that’s to go too far uh into it in one little comment here but uh you know Grant I mean not Grant I was just looking at my my screen uh PJ Washington uh a big difference compared to a guy like Grant

Williams uh his like he has some versatility that you didn’t really get like already for example Grant Williams scored 10 points in the post all season with the Mavs PJ Washington entering last night’s game already had like six points out of post-ups because he’s someone you can kind of dump the ball to

At times against certain matchups or he can get pre you know catch positioning with a seal in the transition or semi- transition and uh you know those are like Dimensions you don’t really have uh or did have with Grant Williams and then you know the ability to attack Closeouts

He’s just a little more capable attacking you know with the ball in his hands compared to Grant Williams and I think we’re seeing that and you’re you’re able to get impact when the three isn’t falling in ways that previously weren’t available to the team watch Washington has brought some significant

Versatility to this team we’ll dive more into that but let’s take a quick break here on inside the maths and here a word from today’s sponsor of our episode as our episode today is brought to you by Aura today’s video is brought to you by

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Allstar break talking about the impact of PJ Washington you look at the numbers so far grant for PJ washhington and three three games my man’s a plus 51 so far got a defensive rating of 88.7 and an overall net rating of plus 28.5 well yeah it’s a small sample size

That just gives you an indication and an idea of the defensive impact that he’s had so far and one of the things that we saw in the game against San Antonio he took the defensive assignment at times against Victor wiama and you saw the physicality that Washington was able to

Bring well yes he’s a guy that goes about 67 or so he’s got a wingspan that goes 72 and you saw how that length and the athleticism and the physicality bother wom Yama at times and I think that’s something that if you’re a maveri that you’re looking to see more of he

Looks like he’s wanted to take on that defensive assignment night in and night out into your point the shot I think will continue to fall because the amount of open looks you’re going to get playing alongside Luca dones and Kyrie Irving you’ve got no choice but at to

Start knocking some of those shots Down based off the availability that you’re going to have but I think the defensive impact that we’ve seen for Washington is a breath of fresh air given the skill set that he can bring and one of the things that he has talked about that he

Wants to bring is someone who is providing multiple facets of defensive versatility Washington so far has been providing that for the Mavericks yeah definitely I think uh you also get that athleticism that you didn’t have with Grant Williams and you know especially if you are GNA have someone who’s not in

Their their Peak shape entering the season and sustaining that throughout the whole season there’s a difference between someone who’s naturally going to be at an athleticism deficit When comparing head-to-head and you know Washington already mid-season you’re seeing that he is just gonna he’s just a better athlete overall uh coming to the

Team uh you don’t have to worry about any of the other you know things where you’re you’re focus on like what is his ideal playing weight against certain matchups because that’s actually something that I think a lot of people you know don’t understand the Nuance of the the weight conversation is sometimes

Like in Boston uh Grant Williams added weight to be able to handle certain matchups like against Giannis and things like that like it’s difficult when you don’t have that like on par athleticism as other options at your position because then you have to be more focused on adding weight shedding weight and

While other people aren’t really even having to worry about that like he’s to to Grant one his credit he’s done a lot for what he’s he has as a disposal from a physical and tangible stpoint but you know when you’re trying to test your limits in a larger role sometimes you

Know it’s worth that gamble but sometimes it’s not necessarily going to be a fit if the team situation isn’t great Boston uh there was a difference there where they Shrunk the floor and switched everything it was more Compact and you know you’re playing more with Force as opposed to running Shooters off

The line making extra efforts kind of like how the Mavericks were playing defense during that Conference Finals run where they had athletic wings that were making those you know rotations and recoveries so I think that’s a a distinction to what they have now is they’re able to play more like they did

In the past where they have the athleticism to kind of run Shooters off the line be able to recover and play that sort of style because I mean regardless of what people will say about Luka Don’s defense uh he you I think he’s better than people give him credit

For but with any Superstar you still have to make scheme calculations where you’re not going to have him like hard hedge and recover you’re not going to have him do like blitzing and then getting all the way to the weak side like like even if he holds his Zone in

Isolation situ situations there are still things as a Defender that he’s not going to do in the overall team concept because you’re trying to mitigate what he has to do in terms of a workload so you have to have that athleticism ideally around him and sometimes you have to try different Personnel

Combinations to see what you can get away with what’s maximized what you know results in a deficit and I think that’s what we’re seeing right now is the athletic profile is very essential to kind of maximize how they want to play defense and so far far it’s been very

Effective you know with vikor wanyama even coming up empty on some possessions against uh you know against PJ that was an intriguing thing to see he’s held his own against other matchups out on the perimeter as well too very effectively so overall there’s a lot to like about

That and I think I think that’s just like like a key distinction it’s not all just about like defense is the same with every team there’s like wants uh differences in terms of like you know scheme uh what you have to do certain lineups and I think right now what we’re

Seeing so far is that just PJ watton’s a better fit for how the defense has to be maximized around uh you know Luca and also Kyrie because you know Kyrie is a very active participant as well on defense but regardless as a six foot one guard there’s also going to be those

Natural limitations that you’re going to have to account for whether he’s giving maximum effort or not uh that’s that’s something that they now have the option of with a rim protector at the five and then more athleticism on the wing because now they have also you know

Derrick Jones is still you know in the fold as well you have Dante exom who will come back from injury eventually Josh Green as well and then you also have Maxi kba at the five who’s shown the ability to switch and hold his own as well so that’s a lot of Versatility

That wasn’t uh necessarily like had whether it was like last year’s roster or even just like adding in those pieces uh you know this season there’s just a lot to work with um and you know that that could be very interesting to see how that’s utilized during the stretch

Run of the season and you’ve seen the pace of play for this team as well they’re getting much more up and down in transition and part of that has been predicated on the way that they’ve been playing on the defensive end and Kyrie talked about it you know post game

Against the San Antonio Spurs getting out on the fast break is leading to some easy baskets for them that’s allowing them opportunities to be able to put pressure on opposing teams and that all starts on the defensive end we talked about Luca as you look at some of the

Numbers some of the advanced numbers for him he’s been one of the best post defenders in the league so far this year he’s also a guy so far this season that’s top seven in Steels like he’s doing things on the defensive end that’s setting a tone that’s allowing this team

That has you talked about with the the profile of player that has to be around D just to maybe compensate for a deficit at times on the defensive end you’re seeing guys being able to elevate their game because Luc is setting the tone on that defensive end and one of the things

That I loved about the trades that they made with Washington and with Daniel Gafford it felt like now guys could naturally slot into the rotation and more importantly into the roles that they were capable of playing and once now that Derrik lley is back and hopefully once he is able to get going

More going forward here not be on the minutes restriction and coming back from the the broken nose for me the ideal lineup based off of what they have now which I think allows him to play the kind of defense that they want to but also be able to get up and down in

Transition I’m looking at Luca Kyrie Josh Green PJ Washington and Derek Lively as you’re starting five then you’ve got a guy like Daniel Gafford being able to come off the bench to really be able to help you in terms of your rebounding block shots as well you

Talked about Maxi kba and his ability to do different things from a versatility standpoint especially we gonna be doing a lot of switching on the defensive end kba can knock down shots from the outside as well but then you still got guys like Tim Hardway Jr like Jaden

Hardy and others that could provide some scoring punch Off the Bench and now dere Jones Jr and Dante exom one of the things that we’ve been discussing on the show is the fact that exom and Jones have been playing a lot more extended minutes of what they’re traditionally

Used to playing and you saw how fatigue was getting to them at times now with them coming off the bench based off the rotation and the lineup that I think they should have you should be able to get much more effective play from Jones and from exom because now the pressure

Isn’t on them to have to do more than what they’re capable of and to do it in extended minutes I think they’ve got a 10-man rot now that you can feel really confident about based off the way they want to play and with luk and Kyrie obviously leading you offensively this

Team feels like they’re in a much better spot based off their personnel now than what they were just a couple of weeks ago yeah definitely I think there’s a lot of uh different lineup combinations for sure I think uh particularly having more perimeter size when you’re going to

Go to that small ball switching matters a lot because like three guards you you don’t have to play like Kyrie Jaden and Tim all in the same one through three you could maybe go with Derek Jones with you know PJ and Maxi as the three through five so then you have more size

Out there and that that’s just the luxury of having a deeper team too like where in general regardless of you know the the matchup you can really focus on what is going to help get the win for that day you don’t have to live and die

By an identity that may come up short on certain nights like if there’s a night where maybe Tim Hardaway isn’t the best option out there you can mix it up by maybe having Dante as more of a wing option and having that size that uh full court defensive capability the dribble

Penetration things like that or vice versa you just need to spread it out and have shooting out there maybe maybe Tim’s a better option so I think that’s the makeup of a better team where you don’t have to live and die by a core identity where it actually like on paper

There are some matchups where just that’s not a good uh a good configuration for you right yeah so it’s like just a lot of different options and one thing I thought was interesting was Jason kid uh essentially mentioning one thing they can maybe look at more is

Playing Gafford at the four and to me with Lively at the five like is that when we start to see him taking like Corner threes more to have the spacing I was about to say I don’t know if I want Gafford and Lively on the floor at the

Same time just yet because if you’re to basically in that situation you’re putting Derrick Lively in a corner because if you’re going to have Gafford and Lively on the floor together at the same time both of them really good at pick and roll situations can both rim

Run and do those kinds of things I don’t know if I want both of them on the floor at the same time unless one of them is going to develop a little bit more of an outside jump shot and Lively in this case would be the guy because look we

Seen saw we saw some of it during the pre-combine stuff and being able to you know knock down some open shots my man hasn’t shown really any of that in the league so far and I don’t know if I’m ready to see that quite just yet with

Gafford and Lively on the floor uh at the same side because somebody’s got to get out there and shoot some shots if that’s gonna have both of them on the floor at the same time yeah and I think it’s kind of tough too right now because you’re entering into a pivotal part of

The season to where experimentation is probably less of what you want to do but it was interesting to see uh or to hear that uh so that’s another thing to whether they actually do do that or not uh something to keep an eye on for sure just just an interesting thought because

We definitely haven’t seen Lively like has he has he even taken a three this season I don’t think he’s even taken a three so far this year I don’t remember him yeah if if it was I must have missed it uh definitely something he’s taken a

Lot of shots of like I mean which uh like like in shoot arounds and practices which isn’t really like a big observation considering like Dwight Powell Javale McGee last year like all kinds of guys that don’t really shoot them in games always get those shots up but definitely

Uh something as you know Derek Lively continues to develop will be something to watch because I remember I actually did interview his Duke Coach John shy like in mid January if I remember correctly and he did say he’s very confident that Lively will end up shooting threes in his career and it’s

Just a matter of you know getting the I mean I don’t want to put words in his mouth but the vibe is like the green light and the Reps having the confidence in it and uh yeah so that was he thinks it’ll be a factor in his career

Essentially is what it is so how soon that happens will be interesting to kind of see I don’t think we’re really going to get that uh you know like like coming out of Allstar break we’re not going to see him being Kristof porzingis at all

We might not even see him take Eddie but definitely something to keep an eye on uh in the next couple years of his career uh that that because that could open up different uh you know creative options if you’re placing or facing a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves who

Have the you know a lot of size because I I’ve seen a couple of games this year I mean no not couple including Abu Dhabi there’s been like five games against five or six games or whatever I’ve lost track against that team and uh they’ve looked very small against them so

Definitely uh something to to think about especially if you know the timber rules factor in as a playoff matchup in in the future but yeah uh definitely more pressing uh topics of conversation for sure though if lley starts knocking down three-pointers that’s scary hours if live was going to start knocking down

Three-pointers for the uh for the m aav but look we’ve seen this team now win six straight games Luca and Kyrie I mean the offensive music that these two make together when they’re on the floor at the same time I mean you saw the incredible shot that Kyrie made over

Victor whama with the over the shoulder behind the you know head you know layup that he had I mean just incredible stuff from him but I want to stick on Luca for just a quick second because you know we know about the national conversation Brown Luca and you look at the numbers

That he’s putting up so far this year my man shooting the three-pointer better than he has in his entire career shooting at it at a 36 37% clip on volume with about nine 10 attempts per game he’s leading the league and scoring he’s top 10 in steals I mean he’s do

He’s top five in assists like he’s doing everything that an MVP candidate is supposed to do and now this team is winning and I think it gets to the discussion of why this MVP award is always so controversial it feels like every single year because the narrative

Around it changes because any other year where a guy is leading a team on a six game win streak now nine games a season high now nine games above 500 with the eye popping numbers that Alca donic is putting up he would be an easy top two

And not two MVP candidate but yet obviously Nicole yic Shay Gil just Alexander Giannis what he’s doing in Milwaukee I think it just speaks to the amount of talent the league but Luca’s got to get and Jason kid mentioned it after the game against San Antonio uh

The MVP you know train and candidacy and um all of that it needs to start for for Luca dones because he has been putting up insane numbers so far this year and not even mention the 50-point game that he had on Christmas day in Phoenix then

The 73o game that he had against the Atlanta Hawks so he’s been putting up just insane numbers so far this year yeah definitely and I think uh they continue to succeed coming out of Allstar break getting wins and moving up a little bit in the standings I think

His the conversation will heat up for sure I think there’s a lot of just focus on win loss and not really like the nuances of like like player situations like Who’s got what supporting cost around them what have they you know kind of battled through this year things of

That nature which is kind of interesting because the year Russell Westbrook won it it was like Kevin Durant left you you’re averaging a triple double and you’re like the whatever seed the six seed or whatever the heck uh were seed still and when they still had the eight

Seeds getting into the playoffs without the play in yeah exactly so it’s like it just flips because then uh you know then it becomes a matter of like you have to be a top whatever like three seed no matter what so it’s definitely like a

Like a kind of Ever Changing of the go Post in a sense but uh yeah you know with Joel embiid being ineligible for it after you know missing too many games with the 65 player uh or 65 game player participation rules for the postseason award S I definitely uh you know think

Right now we’re looking at probably you as you said like joic Giannis shild just Alexander I mean Kawhi Leonard is another name that people have started to kind of throw out there that’s gained more traction with the Clippers succeeding at a very high level after that initial stretch of uh you know

James Harden joining the team and adjusting so it’s definitely a lot of talent out there but I definitely think as well like Luca’s production is like legitimately historic he’s show in a team that dealt with a lot of injuries like I think we’re barely past 50% of

Games played where he had even like Kyrie Irving next to him and most of these teams uh they haven’t really lost that many games due to injury in terms of like key players sitting out like the Oklahoma City Thunder been a very healthy team and you know that that’s

Not to say you know Shay gild Alexander should get knocked for that by any stretch because he’s had a brilliant season a thunder been you know a very good team but I think uh you know what Luca has done should I think carry extra weight considering the circumstances and

If you look at his personal uh you know win loss when he plays I think that’s also something that doesn’t really get factored in because they’re I think three and five when he doesn’t even play and that’s not factoring in the record when he plays without like Kyrie Irving

And things of that nature so I think you know he’s been very productive and successful when he’s been on the court and I think it’s just kind of strange when you have it weighed down uh for individual players see when you’re like not even looking at like the the teams

Win loss without a guy and things of that nature because you know he’s carrying an incredible workload and the results are historic but I mean wi losing when you’re not even on the court that just seems like I don’t know it just seems of like candidates and then we’re

Like ranking off of win loss and standings and then like averages like yes he has great stats but this team one more overall but yeah like five of those losses aren’t with Luca Don it’s just yeah it’s just it’s interesting that’s why there’s a lot of season left to be

Played uh for for these Awards and you know if they keep winning that that takes care of a lot of things overall uh and I think it’s definitely been something that’s heating up is his uh trajectory for MVP and we’ll be something to watch out of the break for

Sure yeah and it’ll be fun to watch him however long he plays in the All-Star Game Luca doesn’t necessarily play all that much uh during Allstar Weekend so uh he and dererk livel will be representing the Dallas Mavericks this year in the allstar game and in the

Rising stars game so shout out to Lively and Luca for uh their participation during Allstar Weekend and Kyrie Irving has been spectacular I mean we could go on and on about Luca and Kyrie Kyrie’s impact you could tell how comfortable he is you can tell that the way that he’s

Playing he’s playing like veteran leader guy doing it on both ends of the floor and we mentioned a little bit earlier just the offensive creativity he took over I mean look the Mavericks were you know sleepwalking in that first quarter against an Antonio Kyrie Irving took it

Upon himself to say uh no we’re not losing tonight’s game scoring 17 points you know in the second quarter and really turning things around and really from that point on really dominated the game from a scoring standpoint and those are the kinds of things that you did not

See in years past with LCA donic you know having that kind of teammate that was able to take over games and here’s the the the fun part about Kyrie it all came within the flow of the game he didn’t force anything it didn’t feel like he was trying to do anything

Outside of himself he simply turned up the aggressiveness in that second quarter and it came within the team structure and the flow of the offense and you saw how beautifully it worked out for the Mavericks and the way that Kyrie overing was able to take over that

Game against San Antonio yeah and that’s what’s always makes it interesting the conversation about like does that do work again it’s more of like analysis skimming from people who kind of like it’s like win loss yeah but like they didn’t have wings or you know they didn’t have a rim protector last like

It’s just crazy uh overall the way like that kind of conversation forms who gets things like the MVP award and all that stuff but yeah it’s definitely been impressive to see him pick his spots it’s something that he’s you know makes him a great player alongside other great

Players whether it’s Kevin Durant LeBron James or Luca he just has that for feeling out the game early kind of like processing almost like a supercomputer like all right this is how they’re going to play me I know when I’m gonna get it uh you know whenever I’m running this

Bench unit I’m gonna attack them this way all kinds of stuff he he absorbs the information uses it to his advantage throughout games and there’s just not very many players that you see capable of doing things like even like early in the year against the Milwaukee Bucks

When we talked about it after the game he scored like 30 plus in the second half after like barely scoring at all the first half like he he he can be one of those few players where shots aren’t falling early he’s not going to lose confidence and he’s going to actually

Have that mentality to where he’s gonna process his advantages and then exploit them as much as possible when the game matters the most and uh you know that’s definitely something that we haven’t really had because Jaylen brunson’s reached that type of status as a player

In New York and also I mean like later very very late in his tenure uh with the MAV so what we’re seeing is a very like Dynamic combination that we haven’t really like seen on that consistent basis and now it’ll be important to get the amount of games played together with

Luca and Kyrie in the lineup on a consistent basis have we as we’ve seen since his return from injury and if that can sustain with the new players you know brought into the fold build continuity and chemistry there’s a lot to like about what they can provide and

And have an impact on because I think the only like real remaining roster hole for the most part that we see like pressing need was the need for more depth at guard because of injuries but when they’re healthy you don’t have that necessarily as a as a key issue because

Then you’ll you’ll get Dante exom who can play on the wing and provide backcourt relief but that that’s just the key to all of it is just again staying healthy for sure so if that can happen unlike last year’s post Allstar break stretch run where one was in the

Lineup one was coming back and the other one was out uh then that definitely uh should translate to more well well not not more uh uh results because they went two for nine or two and N in their last 11 games last year and take out the last

Two I would hope that the bar is not very high so I would hope that we’re we’re automatically assuming better results than that last few minutes of our show today I want to make sure to give flowers to uh Josh Green who’s really turned the corner really starting

To play well you know especially knocking down threes in the corners he’s been I would say over the last month really really good for them and the confidence growing for him now that the trade you know talks and things have you know settled down you know one of my

Favorite moments of the season so far came really immediately after you know the trade deadline had passed that you know he went out there against New York he threw down a dunk in transition that was like all right I’m here to stay damn it like I’m not going anywhere and you

Could tell my man was really ready to play against New York and one of the wins that they had on that East Coast you know road trip but I think for him the confidence continues to grow him being in the starting lineup you’re seeing what that’s doing for him and the

Way it has been able to play and the other guy that you look at that’s been playing well and we’ll have to have a conversation about this down the road too because as well as Tim Hardaway Jr played to start off the season you know just you’re always gonna have up and

Down experiences with the thj experience but Jaden Hardy has been able to take advantage of his opportunities especially over the last few weeks and I thought it’s played pretty well for the Mavericks being able to start to knock down some mid-range jumpers we know that he has the capabilities of knocking down

Shots from three but Jaden Hardy I feel like is starting to take another step and maybe may need to see even more opportunities because of the way that he’s starting to play he got out to a slow start earlier this year but jayen Hardy I feel like has come on as of late

As well what have you thought about his progress as of late yeah I think there’s actually uh one play that really stood out to me that like uh may not seem like a huge thing but is definitely one of the list of priority or on the list of

Priorities that he had for Improv was his communication on defense there was a stack pick and role play I Believe against the Wizards where he was responsible for the back screener and Kyrie Irving was involved in the action and they had a big involved as well I

Think it was Maxi and he called out for Kyrie to switch and he neutralized the entire like development of the play by having it on point on time and it was a I think Cory kisper took a bad shot it was a tough contested shot because it

Was kind of later in the clock and the play got blown up so little things like that are really important for him uh he’s competitively guarded on the ball as well uh so if he’s communicating off the ball paying attention you know where player movement is developing and he’s

Able to provide that off the catch offensive impact and also make some plays picking spots that’s exactly what they are looking for from him and I think he’s been more poised in recent weeks getting to his spots as a ball handler whether he’s snaking ball screens getting the gap or just making

Plays in general like like pushing on the break I think he’s been more poised instead of like there’s been some plays where like early in the year where he would kind of try to do a a low sweep through all the time I think like like

He had it I don’t want to put like you know assume what his reads are but like it seemed like he was really like constantly going to that whether it was open or not and then kind of falling turning the ball over or ending up with

A a tough finish attempt that you know was all glass or things like that like the the downside plays I think have been far less frequent and what you ideally would like to get from him as strengths have been more frequent and then you know with Josh Green that kind of ties

Into the the conversation with Luca and Kyrie as a duo in my opinion because a lot of what we talked about uh or I mean a lot of people talked about not just us in general was the lack of I guess you could say Comfort or Rhythm that he had

Alongside you know Luca and Kyrie you know to end last year and even like to start this year as well and I think uh that’s a big part of having all those guys available is then players like Josh Green can continue to build on that the offense can install more things or just

Get comfortable in their reads uh like at a maximized level before the playoffs and I think uh even when the Mavericks are trying little things like going with their tw- man actions more in the last couple of games with Luca and Kyrie you know screening for each other and vice

Versa or one of them just being like involved in like a multi-player screening action the more those things can happen and players can see how that develops how team teams are going to play those that matters a lot because not every team’s going to approach those the same there’s going to be different

Looks and you know one coverage could happen with one team and another but if you only play sparingly you’re not going to get multiple games a lot of extended opportunities seeing all those coverages and I think Josh has now been able to at least get enough opportunity to be

Comfortable uh within his role because he’s also been effective without one of those players in the lineup which has been the case last year as well where he’s able to handle the ball more running a a few more actions for him and I think now it’s just kind of coming

Together for him and a big part of it is that three-point shooting he’s not hesitating on the catch really at all like even in transition he’s been Ultra efficient as a three-point shooter in the corner in transition he’s he’s just getting right into the shot there’s no overthinking there and then that same

Same that’s kind of just Player Development he’s got a lot of those qualities where you’re getting the strengths at a more consistent basis and the downsides aren’t happening as often but if he can continue to hone in defensively I think that would be a big thing I think uh getting continuity with

Uh the pick and roll like big Defenders will be important because they have different options out there they haven’t really been healthy this year uh on a consistent basis as well having that uh even beyond the shooting I think is probably more important for the Mavs uh

Since he’s a very frequent point of attack defensive option especially when he’s playing with Luca and Kyrie he takes on a very important defensive role and that’s like screen navigation that’s like containing isos all that stuff communicating all those little nuances uh come from a lot of chemistry with

Your teammates and you only get that by playing a high volume of minutes you know alongside each other so as this team enters the All-Star break now they’re seventh in the west they’re 32 and 23 on a season High six game winning streak a season High nine games above

500 when they come out of the All-Star break they’ll meet Kevin Durant in the the Phoenix Suns at the American Airlines Center on February 22nd so they get a full week off before they get back onto the floor where is this team now after all the things that they’ve gone

Through from an injury perspective you know they’ve played more starting lineups in any team in the league so far this year obviously with the now additions of PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford how stack the West has been throughout the course of the year you mentioned the Clippers a little bit

Earlier they’ve been one of the best teams in League since about mid November have been beating down pretty much everything you know in their way where are the Mavericks now as far as their Western Conference picture and the confidence that you have that they can get inside the top six knowing obviously

How important that is when we get to the playoffs yeah I think right now we probably have the top four pretty separated uh I think there’s a lot of teams like including the Mavs that are trying to still fully figure out what they have I I think we’ve seen flashes

Uh so far because it’s been like a couple of games where there’s a lot to like about it but if we can continue to see you know a larger sample size where they’re you know winning games consistently everything looks fluid I think then we can probably start having

Conversations about uh you know are they uh in in a contention situation having Luca and Kyrie if they’re healthy come playoff time uh as long as they have the uh you know the defensive versatility needed which they seem to have added as long as those pieces stay healthy too uh

Because Maxi’s health is a big part of it uh and then now there’s more depth I think what we were able to see is like from the start of the Season what they have what they needed to patch up and they did patch up a good amount of it uh

So now it’s a matter of can they stay healthy build that continuity and then stay healthy comp playoff time because I I don’t want to keep saying the HW but it’s like that’s just such a big part of this team yeah and then like we to see it for

Anted opportunity like PJ Washington will need to fall eventually like we also like like he’s gonna get the looks but also I don’t I don’t want to like uh say anything like there’s not an opinion but we also had Grant Williams getting a lot of open shots too and he wasn’t

Necessarily converting on a consistent basis but you know with PJ Washington you have a more versatile option as well as we talked about earlier so what we’re going to have to see is how all that like consistently factors in like as teams get the scouting reports a good

Like 10 12 games after how they start playing these guys will be very important and then we’re kind of relearning what they have in a sense at that point too uh because the first eight games Grant Williams was phenomenal he was averaging like 15 plus hitting shots and then teams you know

Once you hit that eight to 10 to 12 sort of range they start making adjustments on how they’re playing other teams so right now it’s very early and very encouraging but once we know more I think we could start having conversations about that top uh like the

The more top teams in the west but for now like Minnesota uh it’s tough to necessarily say Oklahoma City in my opinion because they just don’t have much playoff experience like I think they’re a very good team and they probably are like you know very high up in this conversation

Since they’re like one game back from first but like LA Clippers much more experienced playoff team Denver Nuggets doesn’t get much better experience thaning off title run so that’s right Kevin Durant’s a multi-time Finals MVP with the Suns they have you know a lot of talent that’s seen well Bradley Beal

Hasn’t really well earlier in his his career with the Wizards he did see playoff action but you know like they’re they’re a team that also has to stay healthy as well so I feel like that’s kind of the themes that we have with Phoenix Dallas and even New Orleans uh

With Zion and other guys like that their key players have had injury problems that’s a a key theme for those teams that are in that next tier in my opinion until we see more and then we can kind of trust the health when we see it

Because it’s very hard to bank on like you know a full season of like Zion Williamson or Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving based off like the the injury situations that we’ve seen throughout you know careers and stuff but uh if you a lot of it’s about catching breaks so

If if you know you catch a break with you know Health while another team doesn’t you know that that can make all the difference just like uh like Theo Pinson was talking about with the brookly always talks about I should say you know Kyrie goes down James Harden goes down

That’s a different series some people thought that the Nets could were GNA win that entire championship and all of a sudden they didn’t so yeah a lot of it will depend on that but for now very encouraging results from what we’ve seen and with that you talked about the

Adjustments which is key because you know in the in interim you know we’ve seen what things have looked like so far with Gaff and watch it how effective they’ve been and you talk about the adjustments that teams will make to them and what the Personnel looks like for

The Mavericks that’s where I come to Jason kid and say are you going to be the difference now for the rest of the season based off of what teams are going to try to do to schematically deal with Luca and Kyrie which is not much obviously but more importantly the other

Guys when it comes to Washington and Gafford and green and Hardy and these other guys how does Jason kid become the Difference Maker we know how been how good they’ve been in terms of coming out of the timeouts they one been one of the best teams in the league you know with

Their timeout efficiency but at the same time Jason kid now he’s got the look this team they’ve got the Personnel that they believe that they need to win games going forward here now can Jason kid put this team in position night in and night out for them to execute a game plan and

You know players talk about with this team all the time that they feel like they’re putting in good positions to execute game plans based on what teams were trying to do to them night in and night out we’ll need to see how that moves forward for the rest of the year

Coming out of the All-Star break and it’s going to be on Jason kid to be be able to do that because if he can now we can start having real legitimate discussions about this team being that proverbial you don’t want to see that team in the playoff type deal Jason kid

I feel that’s gotta be the difference when it comes to that yeah and actually it was interesting last night I asked Kyrie about like in the postgame press conference just about like what as the you you guys started slow but you got it going kind of what did you see what what

Adjusted what changed and then he mentioned exactly what you said he said uh you know we really locked in on our game plan and I know Sean Sweeney and Jason kid were happy about that like you so if teams uh are going to get a focused effort from their players from

Start to finish that’s probably going to be a far more consistent outcome uh you know as opposed to kind of you know getting away from the game plan or coming out flat and things like that you can’t you can’t play at one of the worst teams in the NBA and get outscored by

Their opposing star through like the first five or six minutes uh and on on a consistent basis they they ended up pulling away and comfortably winning but like you know a more focused start to finish approach is definitely going to be needed and I think that’s easier to

Accomplish when you have more Comfort level with players like you know PJ Washington continued to start that was a second game starting you know Derek Lively coming off the bench uh Daniel Gafford started the second game in a row so like those are those players are

Still new to the team overall and once you know Derrik lley comes out of the break has more of a rhythm and whatever they end up doing with their lineup choices and all that stuff they got to find a plan and I’m not saying stick to something that doesn’t work but like you

Gotta have continuity and build to build on it and whether you know that’s probably in my opinion Derrick Lively you know starting because that was his job the whole year and Daniel Gafford uh is the backup center that Lucas wanted for uh you know about three years he

Said exactly yeah so sticking to a plan building the the chemistry and not having injuries uh will be you know very important and sticking to the game plan building on the game plan and seeing how other teams game plan for you health and game plans uh to two very uh frequently mentioned

Things for sure Grant tell the folks they can find you what you got going on man yeah during the allstar break uh I’m G to have a lot of video like breakdown stuff just looking at all a lot of these things that we’ve talked about showing the clips and getting into details and

Nuances of it on my YouTube channel just my full name Grant ath and then a lot of articles on Dallas bb.com as well and uh you know I’m sure we’ll have conversations on here as well too uh even though there won’t be a whole lot that’s going on we probably won’t Deep

Dive the dunk contest uh with how how mid that’s become but uh yeah we’ll talk about the vbes I’m sure at some point soon yeah we’ll definitely have a um a preview of the post Allstar break before the Maverick resume play next Thursday but just like the NBA we’ll take a

Little bit of a break ourselves uh for a few days but once we get a little bit closer to the resumption of the NBA season we’ll have our post All-Star break preview show if you will to give you an idea on how we’re feeling about the Mavericks going forward based on

What they are going to be looking to do after the All-Star break has concluded but we’ll enjoy it just as much as everybody else will and we’ll see uh Derek Lively as I mentioned and Luca dones representing the mrics uh during Allstar Weekend so it should be a lot of

Fun for those two you can find me on Twitter at Kevin gra Sports be sure to download And subscribe to the inside the mass podcast wherever you get Podcast for free give it a festar rating and write a review for it while you’re there that’ll do it for this episode of inside

The Mavs again really appreciate you joining us here on our latest episode you can find the podcast on Apple podcast Spotify and on iHeart radio as I mentioned the official Mavericks podcast of 971 the freak the home of Dallas Maverick basketball I am of course your Maverick pre- impulse Game host you can

Catch me on every Mavericks radio broadcast each and every time the Mavs take the floor for Grant ath my name is Kevin gray that’ll do it for today’s episode we’ll talk to you next time here on inside the MCH enjoy the allstar break and when we come back we’ll get

You ready for the Post All-Star break schedule for your Dallas Mavericks until then we’ll talk to you later peace

#dallasmavericks #lukadoncic #kyrieirving #pjwashington

On this episode of ‘Inside The Mavs’ Kevin Gray, Mavericks Pre/Post Host on 97.1 The Freak and Mavs Sports Illustrated Beat Writer Grant Afseth break down the Mavericks latest win over the Spurs as the Mavs have won six straight games. The guys discuss where the Mavericks are as they head into the All-Star Break and if they are legitimate threats in the Western Conference. Kevin and Grant discuss the impact of PJ Washington’s defense so far and the addition of Daniel Gafford and the differences both players have made thus far since the trade. They also talk about the impacts of Josh Green, Jaden Hardy, the superstar duo of Luka & Kyrie and what they will need to do going forward for the rest of the season and much more!

Let us know your thoughts on the Mavericks 1st half of the season and what you want to see post All-Star Break!

Support the show: This episode is brought to you by Aura. Aura: Stop data brokers from exposing your personal information. Go to my sponsor at https://aura.com/kevingray to get a 14-day free trial and see how much of yours is being sold.

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