Hot-Shooting Dallas Mavericks Must Find Defensive Balance
The revamped Dallas Mavericks roster has skipped the habituation process, settling in at the vanguard of offensive efficiency. Sadly, that inherent cohesion has not translated into the defensive end.
After eight games, the Mavs are way ahead of the rest of the league offensively, scoring a scorching-hot 112.3 points per 100 possessions. As brilliant as head coach Rick Carlisle's offense has looked, the defense has been equally despondent.
Dallas currently ranks 26th in the league in defensive efficiency, giving up 107.4 points per 100 possessions. That is far from where a legitimate title contender should be.
With Tyson Chandler back on the team, the Mavericks hoped that he would anchor an above-average defense. It was the 32-year-old's intention as well.
"I’m going to make them defend," Chandler said before the season began, according to ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon. “We’re going to defend. You can score as many points as you want, but at the end of the day, defense wins championships, and that’s what we’re going to do."
“Guys don’t have to be the best individual defenders in the league, but we are going to be a great defensive team."
Before the Mavericks can even dream of being a great defensive team, they will have to navigate out of the trench they currently reside in.
It's hard to pinpoint a single culprit for the Mavs' defensive struggles—it's been a collective mess.
Lack of Communication
Communication is one of the most important ingredients in an elite defense.
Every possession is unique, containing myriad combustible variables that need to be accounted for by the defense. If a team doesn't communicate and isn't on the same page, then defensive schemes, no matter how brilliant, won't be of much use.
The Mavericks have not been short on those head-scratching moments when players look at each other in confusion, while flailing their arms in the air in disbelief.
On this play, Brandan Wright and Al-Farouq Aminu are not communicating at all:
Both players decide to defend the emerging Miami Heat side pick-and-roll. Miami's Chris Bosh is momentarily confused as to why no one is defending him, but then he quickly cuts to the basket for a pass and an easy layup.
Blunders such as the one above are relatively common. Take a look at these two plays:
In the first play, the Heat run a simple side pick-and-roll. Aminu decides to hedge, yet makes no immediate attempt to return to his own man. This would be fine if Dallas actually switched (although that would've created a mismatch). Instead, they settle for something in between, as Jameer Nelson has no intention of leaving his man and just points at Luol Deng, who slips to the open space along the baseline.
The Mavericks are all discombobulated in the second clip. It starts out weirdly, with Dirk Nowitzki defending Deng. This forces Monta Ellis to pick up Bosh on the left wing. Ellis holds his ground and even forces Bosh to give up the ball. However, Chandler Parsons has already come over to help, and the following situation emerges:
With the rest of his team oblivious to the perilous circumstances, Nowitzki ends up having to defend both Deng and Dwyane Wade.
Parsons should have returned to Wade as soon as Bosh gave up the ball. Instead, Nowitzki had to pick up Wade. But Nelson didn't rotate to Deng.
That play was a disaster from the beginning, as Dallas failed to match up correctly. It's also a good example of poor defensive awareness and bad rotations.
The Mavericks assembled a lot of new players from all around the league last summer. They are all used to different defensive systems and it takes time to adjust. Things should get better moving forward, as long as the players and the coaching staff put an emphasis on being vocal and attentive.
Defending the Perimeter
The Mavericks allow the most long-range attempts and makes in the entire league. Their opponents take 26.6 three-point shots per game, connecting at a 39.9 percent clip.
Teams don't all of a sudden get trigger-happy for no reason against the Mavs—they just get a ton of quality looks.
It's clear that Carlisle doesn't want to give up easy baskets in the paint, but it's coming at a steep price. There are several ways in which Dallas fails to defend the three-point line. Take a look at the video below:
The initial rotations are good in the first play, but Nowitzki and Ellis both close out to the corner shooter, and the Utah Jazz get an open three after making one extra pass. This is Ellis' blunder, as everyone rotated well. There was no need for him leave Dante Exum in the first place.
The second play would have ended in an open layup, had Devin Harris not read the play well and helped.
Aminu closes out on Gordon Hayward. Meanwhile, Nowitzki storms to the corner (even though there is no conceivable way anyone other than Nowitzki can run Trevor Booker off the line). The initial penetration makes five Dallas players collapse in the paint—and any team that spaces the floor well would get a good look here.
In the final two clips, the Mavericks over-help. Parsons helps on the rolling big man. He gives Chandler enough time to recover but hesitates for a split-second, which leads to a good look in the corner.
In the final play, Nelson abandons his man to stop the drive down the middle, even though there are players who can contest the shot at the rim.
As mentioned, the Mavericks are doing their best to prevent penetration and easy looks at the basket. Unfortunately, they often misjudge situations and give up open shots at the perimeter.
The Mavs also often elect to double-team the post. Take a look at this play:
Nowitzki and Ellis don't put enough pressure on Wade. He doesn't even need to pick up his dribble (and it's almost comical how easily he dribbles out of the double-team and finds an open shooter).
Whenever Dallas doubles the post, teams often find open shooters by simply moving the ball.
Carlisle and his players will have to find a balance between protecting the rim and defending the perimeter.
Two guys are often closing out on one shooter or coming over to help from the weak side, and that's a solvable issue. Helping is good, but not if you leave an abundance of options on the perimeter for the offense. Carlisle will have to stress the importance of stopping penetration, while not collapsing the whole defense in the paint after one simple drive.
Other Observations
Dallas' starting lineup is actually putting up great defensive numbers, conceding just 96.6 points per 100 possessions. If sustained, that figure would be good enough for a top-five ranked defense at present time.
Other popular lineups are defensively disastrous. That may partially be due to a lack of familiarity with each other. Either way, it's a pretty good sign that the Mavs' core group is matching up well, at least statistically.
It's easy to forget that Dallas went through a major roster turnover this past summer. It takes time for so many new guys to learn the system and pick up on each other's tendencies.
Nelson and J.J. Barea can be defensive liabilities due to their height, and Nowitzki is no Anthony Davis. But Chandler is right in saying that there are ways for the team to collectively make up for individual deficiencies.
The Mavs often lose focus and start hemorrhaging points in bunches. When they are engaged, they can actually look pretty good. Here are some more positive examples:
The Heat move the ball very well in the first clip, but the Mavericks do an excellent job rotating, stopping drives and closing out on shooters.
In the second clip, the Mavs collectively shut down three waves of penetration. Ellis does an excellent job fending off Utah's Trey Burke and forcing the turnover.
Ellis has actually been quite good defensively so far, putting a lot more effort on that side of the ball. He also sacrifices his body and draws charges, which is a pleasant sight.
The Mavericks are generally pretty good at bringing weak-side help. That is on display in the third clip, as Chandler gets a block. Even on this play, perhaps too many guys are committed to helping. Utah's Enes Kanter could have taken advantage of that, had he not tried to finish himself.
Dallas isn't clicking defensively so far, but there are plenty of things that can be improved upon. Carlisle is an advocate of zone defense, but it takes time for players to learn the schemes.
As guys get more accustomed to the system, it's reasonable to expect more stops and fewer breakdowns.
Defensively, the only direction for the Mavericks is up.
All stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com, unless otherwise noted.
You can follow me on Twitter: @VytisLasaitis
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