The 2022 NBA season has officially ended and the Golden State Warriors are once again the champions. The Dallas Mavericks haven’t played for a few weeks, but that doesn’t mean I’ve finished trying to make them more successful.
The finals taught us a few things, and hopefully Mavericks was paying attention. There are three things to take away from the 2022 finals.
Mavericks feels like they’re on the right track here, and that’s a good thing. A few years after a phenomenal attack and somehow defending, Jason Kidd and Co. turned the script over. They slowed things down even further and focused entirely on defense.
The Mavericks finished the regular season with a top 7 defensive efficiency rating and wore a hat on their ability to compete in the playoffs and get a stop. And what to guess — it worked! The Mavs exceeded expectations, reaching the Western Conference Finals and eventually losing to the NBA Champion.
Two teams participated in the final Also I wore a hat for defense. Two best defenses of the regular season? Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors. And their defense was expanded only at the maximum stage. Neither team was turned off in the attack. It’s not the way these guys won the game. They did so with wise and stuffy defenses.
The Warriors won the last three games of the final, keeping Boston at 97, 94 and 90 points, respectively. It didn’t matter how good the Warriors attack was. requirement That’s good. It had to be good enough to withstand compared to their defenses. And thanks to Steph Curry, that’s what happened.
Mavericks can follow the same pattern. If their defense is elite, Luka Doncic can make a half-court attack in the same way that Stephen Curry made a half-court attack on the Warriors.
So keep your focus on Dallas, defense. It’s a good way to win NBA games when they are most important.
One of my favorite parts of the Warriors championship run was to see how they used their guys at the fringe. I knew Stephen Curry would be out of the ball. That was natural. But over and over again in the finals, the Warriors trusted the men the other teams gave up.
Gary Payton II was a major contributor to the final, eventually playing for 20 minutes in the closing game and finishing with the team’s best +18 plus / minus, mainly thanks to his defensive strength. Did.
Another man who succeeded in the Warriors was Nemanya Bierica. He didn’t play in the closeout game and rarely played in the playoffs. But when it was in his favor against the Warriors, he was good enough to play the Spot Minutes.
Gary Payton II and Nemanya Bierica aren’t the type of guys who excite the fan base during the off-season, but they’re the type of guys who can make the most important moments at the biggest moments of the season.
Yes, you need Core 5 to play most of the time, but everyone on the roster is essential to the success of your team.
This is the biggest and most important lesson, and despite being thrown many times in front of the NBA team and fans, it always feels forgotten.
If you have a chance to win the NBA title, Have Do everything with your power, do everything, and make it happen.
Look at the Celtics. Their main core is young. Jayson Tatum is 24 and Jaylen Brown is 25. Theoretically, they should come back and come back more than once. But does that really happen? Janis Adetokumpo is the boss level you have to win at the Eastern Conference. Trae Young is up-and-coming. Joel Embiid is still there. The Raptors have an exciting core. Remember Kevin Durant and Brooklyn Nets?
Should Boston come back? yes. But would you be surprised if they missed their window and couldn’t get through Giannis, Joel, or anyone else for the next five years? I don’t.
On the contrary, the Warriors looked at their windows and jumped over it with enthusiasm. The Golden State is still a force to consider next season, but the Western Conference is improving. Luka Doncic is coming. Ja Morant is coming. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are still there. LeBron James exists. The sun is hungry. Back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokić is there. Anthony Edwards and Minnesota have a bright future. Did you mention Zion Williamson and the Pelican ceiling?
This could have been the last chance Steph Curry and Co. had to add another ring to the trophy case, and they jumped over it.
Mavs need to do the same with LukaDonic. There can be no such thing as “Well, Luke is still young” in Dallas. He is now strong enough to lead the team to the championship and the Mavericks need to do everything they can to maximize their chances.
Good news: With the acquisition of Christian Wood, the Mavericks appear to be aware of this.
