Quote:
Originally Posted by grndmstr_c
I don't think there's any question that the defense has slipped of late. But if you're trying to project how things will go from here, you certainly can't overlook the disruption caused by the injuries. The team certainly played some high-quality defense through the bulk of the second half tonight, and I don't believe it was nearly as bad as the score made it seem in the first half.
Looking ahead, I do think we'll probably see the Mavs finish the season as a weaker defensive team than they started out being (unless Haywood can keep up his play from tonight, of course). Thankfully, there are a number of reasons to think that they could end up being a clearly improved offensive squad.
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You can't overlook it, but I'm also not willing to assume that the deficiencies are based entirely on injuries. We've seen this song and dance too many times for me to think that. I was very reluctant to believe early in the year they were suddenly an elite defensive team, even with Chandler. I'm still reluctant to believe that.
All this being said, I'm much more concerned about the offense than the defense.