The Mavs came in at #11 with the following rankings:
* #2 in offensive rating
* #23 in defensive rating
* #9 in net rating
* #5 in pace
The defensive rating is definitely a low spot so far but they made it a point to show that we are a much better defensive team when Lively is on the floor:
> Dereck Lively II didn’t start the opener, but did start each of the next three halves, and over the two games, the Mavs were at their best (plus-18.0 points per 100 possessions) with the rookie on the floor.
Most important about Lively’s minutes is that the Mavs allowed just 106.8 points per 100 possessions, including just 94.6 in his 33 with Grant Williams also on the floor.
This to me shows that we have the potential to be a much better defensive team this season once Lively settles in a bit and Kidd learns to trust him more. I’m not going to proclaim that we’ll be a defensive juggernaut but even getting our defensive rating ranking up to the #15-#20 mark would be a huge improvement and enough to make the playoffs imo.
Obviously these numbers are based on a super small sample size but I think they’re encouraging so far.
What are your thoughts?
Source: https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2023-24-week-2
by xPeaWhyTee
7 Comments
We’re 23rd now. I expect to improve WAY more that 3-8 spots.
Curious what our defensive rating is without that awful first quarter in the spurs game where we gave up 43 points.
1st in turnover ratio is huge, especially for a high pace team. Very encouraging.
Obviously with 2 games in these really need to be taken with a big ‘ol grain of salt. That said, most of these stats seem promising for the Mavs going forward. I think we’re gonna have a better season than most people thought going into the year.
I was rewatching that Nets game and I can’t help but think we would be much closer to middle of the pack in defensive rating had they not shot the lights out in that game. A lot of their makes were contested well by us. I think the pace will slow some but we will still be way faster compared to last year, you can see rebounders actively looking for an outlet pass or immediately pushing up the floor.
Nothing stands out more than the fact we are 9th in pace.
Bar none the biggest change given we were dead last by a decent margin last season.
honestly dallas last season was the worst or second worst defensive team, which even if 23 is the ceiling for this current roster will still have a big impact on win-loss record.