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Originally Posted by mary
The Mavs currently rank 4th in offensive efficiency. Dirk's had a crap year so far, but the team's offense is well above-average, and has produced well enough to win games.
The Mavs are currently ranked 21st in defensive efficiency.
They rank 25th in the league in guarding 3's.
They routinely give up 30+ quarters.
The defense has been the primary problem - not just in last night's game.
Dirk hitting a game winning shot in San Antonio wouldn't have changed that one bit. We would have one more win, and one less loss - but the defense would still really suck.
If Dirk were averaging 25, 10 and 5 - we might've won a few more games. Its hard to say. Basketball is a bunch of interdependent moving parts, so its difficult to predict what the outcome would be if you change just one thing. (I'm not saying you don't know this, just pointing it out.)
But yes, in general, if your offense scores enough it can cover up the deficiencies of your team. But if it doesn't, that doesn't mean the offense is the problem, or that the offensive production of one particular player is the problem.
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Well I think if you read all of my comments on this you would know I NEVER said it was THE problem. In fact I said in my rant to Flac that we all know defense is a problem for the Mavs but.........
Of course our defense has been poor, but no Mary, it has never been like last night this year. Last night was just what Dirk said it was - a layup drill. It was really, really, REALLY bad! Do you remember when Devin went out and Little B came in, (just one specific horribly stretch I remember)? Do you remember them subsequently getting 11 points in 4 trips down the court? It was just crazy how easy they could score on us last night - and while we have had our breakdowns, it was never that bad.
With that said, yeah, I think a guy averaging 25/27 and 10 like he did for much of last year WITH his incredibly efficient numbers would have meant several more wins. It just would have in my opinion. If you take a 12-8 team and make them 15-5, we aren't looking so bad anymore. We still have a problem defensively, but that can and eventually will be straightened out, which is why I haven't been THAT worried about it.
The defensive problem seems to be a lack of effort mixed with bad defensive abilities from the players mixed with players playing out of position. You can fix 2 of those and get back to where we were last year. But the Dirk thing, well, I didn't know if it could be fixed. He showed me a lot last night. A lot. BUT, he has to continue to do it. Will he, because they lost, go back into a shell for the next game? If so, there you go again. You have an 0-3 in the defensive category, (barring Avery getting his head out of his ass), AND no Dirk. That is a VERY scary combination leading to multiple losses.