Are the Mavs Finally Good?

[G-Man]

Originally Posted by Melonhead

Thats also the regular season. The frontcourt is far from built for series grind.

The Mavs recently beat the two teams with the best big men. And as for the playoffs, the Clippers don't have a dominant big man either, yet they eliminated Utah last year. And against Atlanta last year, Embid scored 31, 37 and 41 in three games they LOST, and got bounced in the 2nd round. Meanwhile, Milwaukee won it all without a dominant big.

So if teams without a super powered center can win the championship, I return to a modification of the original question, Are these Mavs good enough?

[saclare]

Originally Posted by G-Man

The Mavs recently beat the two teams with the best big men. And as for the playoffs, the Clippers don't have a dominant big man either, yet they eliminated Utah last year. And against Atlanta last year, Embid scored 31, 37 and 41 in three games they LOST, and got bounced in the 2nd round. Meanwhile, Milwaukee won it all without a dominant big.

So if teams without a super powered center can win the championship, I return to a modification of the original question, Are these Mavs good enough?

To be fair to this argument, Zubac and Lopez probably give you a better defensive chance against Gobert and Ayton than Powell and Maxi could. Not saying it can't be done, but I think most would welcome a big center to this roster like the two I mentioned. Doesn't have to be a star or stud, just needs to be a bigger compliment to Powell when needed, and to be able to do it longer than Boban.

[Melonhead]

Originally Posted by G-Man

The Mavs recently beat the two teams with the best big men. And as for the playoffs, the Clippers don't have a dominant big man either, yet they eliminated Utah last year. And against Atlanta last year, Embid scored 31, 37 and 41 in three games they LOST, and got bounced in the 2nd round. Meanwhile, Milwaukee won it all without a dominant big.

So if teams without a super powered center can win the championship, I return to a modification of the original question, Are these Mavs good enough?

Good enough for what? To win a series? Yes. To compete for a title? No

IIRC the bucks, who have Lopez and Giannis won the championship.

Clippers have very good centers.

Do we even need to go back over the Ben Simmons fiasco last year?

I never said the Mavs need a super powered center, they need one taller than 6'8 that can bang down low and decrease the amount of offensive boards for the other team, and put back some dunks. Powell, Kleber will not get us deep in the playoffs and will wear down over a series or more.

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by Melonhead

Good enough for what? To win a series? Yes. To compete for a title? No

IIRC the bucks, who have Lopez and Giannis won the championship.

Clippers have very good centers.

Do we even need to go back over the Ben Simmons fiasco last year?

I never said the Mavs need a super powered center, they need one taller than 6'8 that can bang down low and decrease the amount of offensive boards for the other team, and put back some dunks. Powell, Kleber will not get us deep in the playoffs and will wear down over a series or more.

I agree. Bucks also had Portis and PJ Tucker. Being able to mix and match is important in the playoffs. Portis isn’t what we need because of defensive lapses but he is a FA this summer.

[purplefrog]

Draft Oscar T. from Kentucky. He's a beast.