The Dallas Mavericks are making a strong defensive stance this season. Previously, they lived and died by their jump shot—when it was cold, they lost; when it was falling, they won.
Instead, when the Mavericks shoot poorly, they still manage to keep it close. When their shot is falling, they're damn near unstoppable.
That being said, they still have some defensive weaknesses, namely defending quick, smaller point guards. Chris Paul and Tony Parker routinely shred the Mavericks in the playoffs.
As recently as four days ago, we saw a small-guard duo of Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis decimate the Mavericks particularly in the closing period, where the Warriors outscored the Mavericks over the closing stretch by almost 20 points despite the Warriors only playing six players.
Now, its understandable that the Mavericks are going lose games that they should win. Hopefully, it only happens three or four times per season.
But the closing stretch of the Warriors game showed us that, as much as J.J. Barea is a great layer off the bench, he's a weak point defensively. In fact, teams are going to attack him over and over if he is in ...
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Article written by Alex McVeigh
Kidd and Beaubois: Mavericks’ Defensive Dynamic Duo
November 27th, 2009 by Alex McVeigh Leave a reply »
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