Quote:
Originally Posted by rimrocker
I tend to agree with Steven A. but Mavs have several months to prove him wrong.
Clips definitely have the stars and a good supporting cast and on paper I don't think there is any question they are better than Mavs.
I do not agree with him that it isn't even close. Mavs have the upside to get incredibly better to compete with them and Clips are right there as far as I'm concerned. If I remember correctly the Mavs were damn close to winning 2 of the Lakers games and if healthy and another year under their belt, they should be that much better. Mavs superstar is another year closer to prime, Lakers superstar is another year further from prime. The big difference is KP vs AD. Mavs will close on that gap as Luka matures and LeBron fades, the question is how long that will take.
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I could be wrong but I think the gap between the mavs and clippers has definitely been closed. The reason we struggled so much with the Clippers and their Eastern conference doppelganger (Boston) and even the Knicks for that matter is because we had no playable wings outside of DFS. Our offseason additions make us a completely different team. The Clippers lost Harrell, Jamychal Green and Landry Shamet but added Kennard and Ibaka. I imagine the Clippers aren't done but I look at them about the same as last year.
The mavs lost Curry and non-contributors like Wright, Jackson & MKG while adding Richardson, Johnson, Iwundu, Brunson, Powell, WCS and KP to the group that pushed them to 6 games in the bubble. That's not even mentioning the rookies. If they gel under Carlisle and stay healthy, I definitely don't see them as better than us. I see both teams about the same but Dallas has better coaching and young talent that will get better with time.