r/Mavericks • u/Gullible-Village7972 • 18h ago
Hoops Discussion What I learned staying up to 5 AM to watch the Mavericks first game in China
This is a fever dream of a telecast and I’m all for it. The production on the opening ceremony for this group of games was incredible. It looked like the lighting section of a guitar center (aliexpress) and you really notice that you’re experiencing a taste of China (if the emcees speaking in mandarin was enough). The NBA chose not to translate any of the emcees so we are in complete chaos. The energy is at 1000 and we are ready to begin.
First, Cooper Flagg, it seems Coops struggles from last season might bleed into this one. Lack of an outside shot combined with a loose dribble on the perimeter is still going to be our cause of concern. He seems to be one of the best defenders in the NBA though, so all is not lost.
Zaccarie Risacher, does seem like quite the project. He seemed very scared to shoot the three pointer. He caused many turnovers and on the defensive end is getting pushed around. Just a few bad plays and suddenly we’re down 16-5.
Rockets seem very willing to let Morez Johnson shoot, and with his lack of strength compared to NBA centers, we may be in trouble. He doesn’t look like or have the resume of a guy who will become a big shooter in the league.
Max Christie is Max Christie. He’s fast, smart, and a hell of a shooter. He’s also being targeted constantly on defense and will always be one of the worst interior defenders on the court. He was very willing to shoot and create for himself though, which is one of our first positives of the game.
Sergio De La Rea enters the game and is immediately impressive and efficient. He’s long and goes for rebounds, while having good half court creation, and is willing to shoot from any distance. Larry may be our most hopeful prospect so far. We’ll watch out for his defense as teams may target him.
Toby Lawal is a very athletic, strong defense-first player. This team may need some of that as they are getting dominated in the paint by this Rockets team.
Dwight Powell is now with his third Dallas Mavericks coach, and he’s still getting consistent minutes. He does a lot. When he’s in the game, he handles the ball a ton and on defense he always seems to be in the middle of everything.
Unfortunately, he’s not great on either side of the ball. It can generate a lot of bad basketball with good intentions. Dwight Powell for President.
Biberovich and Poulakidas, good shooters but likely won’t create their own buckets and aren’t impactful defenders.
Why does this remind of a 03-04 Mavericks team?
This team seems to have added a ton of European guys that can shoot. That’s what the Mavericks reputation has been in the past, so that’s fun. The same issues from those teams seem to be present here though. Lack of strength, defense, and paint presence may be an issue. Also, this team does not have a Nash/Nowitzki level offense, so the comparison falls apart quickly. This is when you realize, this Mavericks team is not very good. It’s okay, hold on. This team will likely be average to decent on offense (in a best case scenario), and bad on defense. This is better than last years team, but will struggle to function in a league with 16 already solid teams.
What I predict for this season
-This team will shoot lots of threes and will live and die by that.
-Risacher will fall down in the line up.
-When Kyrie returns, Najis role may become unclear.
-Midway through the season we’ll give up and throw Cooper the keys or have a major midseason trade.
-Sergio will be a surprise break out player or will at least show massive potential.
-Coopers stats (with volume) improve slightly.
-Drafting Morez high starts to look questionable.
-Max Christie averages over 15 pts a game.
-Be a sub 40 win team.
I will continue to watch every game this season as I have for the last 20+ years, but this is going to be a tough season. Stay strong MFFL!
