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
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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.