Mavericks Preview: Staying healthy is the most important&&;Is Omei the leader of a championship team?

Guards: Irving, Klay Thompson, Christie, Hardy, Exum, Brandon Williams, Dennis Smith, Russell

Power forward/center: Anthony Davis, Gafford, Lively II, Dwight Powell, Cooper Flagg

Small forwards: PJ Washington, Najee Marshall, Caleb Martin

One of the deepest teams in the league

The Mavericks have no shortage of people who can play. There are good reserve players in each position, which gives Kidd more choices and permutations.

There are 7 players in the Mavericks who averaged more than 10 points per game last season.

Washington averaged 14.7 points per game last season.

Christie averaged 11.2 points per game last season.

Nongmei averaged 20 points per game last season.

Russell averaged 12.9 points per game last season.

Thompson averaged 14 points per game last season.

Marshall averaged 13.2 points per game last season.

Irving averaged 24.7 points per game last season.

Excellent athletic ability, both offensive and defensive capabilities

The Mavericks have excellent defensive resources, including Lively at 2.21 meters, thick eyebrows at 2.12 meters, Flagg at 2.06 meters, Washington at 2.01 meters, Christie at 1.96 meters... They are all tall and long-armed players with no obvious defensive flaws. If they improve their defensive willingness, the Mavericks have the ability to become the team with the highest defensive efficiency in the NBA.

Last season's record

A shocking trade, Doncic and Nongmei exchanged clubs. The Lakers, Mavericks and Jazz completed a three-party transaction, and Doncic completed the exchange. The specific transaction plan is as follows:

The Lakers received: Doncic, Kleber, Markieff Morris;

The Mavericks received: Mavericks, Christie, 2029 first round;

The Jazz received: Schiffino, the Clippers' 25-year second round, and the Mavericks' 25-year second round.

The Mavericks achieved a record of 39 wins and 43 losses in the regular season, ranking tenth in the Western Conference. They lost to the Grizzlies in the play-offs and missed the playoffs.

Three No. 1 picks

Irving is the No. 1 pick in 2011, Nong Mei is the No. 1 pick in 2012, and Flagg is the No. 1 pick in 2025.

Irving and Big Eyebrow are at their peak, while Cooper Flagg is a talented young man with high hopes. The Mavericks regard him as the cornerstone of the future.

Building a team around the three top picks, the Lone Ranger has a lot to offer.

Health is the most important thing

In the second half of last season, the Mavericks encountered an epic wave of injuries. Since February, after the Doncic trade was completed, the Mavericks have suffered from injuries to core players such as Davis, Gafford, Irving, and Lively.

On January 15, Lively suffered a fatigue fracture of his right ankle in the game against the Nuggets, and then missed 36 consecutive games.

On February 9, in the game against the Rockets, Nongmei strained his left adductor muscle and missed 18 consecutive games.

On February 11, in the game against the Kings, Gafford sprained the medial collateral ligament of his right knee and missed 21 consecutive games until the end of the season.

On March 3, Irving tore the cruciate ligament of his left knee in the game against the Kings. The earliest return time will be between December 2025 and January 2026.

Even by the time of the game on March 10, the Mavericks could not even gather 10 people, and the team only had 6 healthy players left.

The wave of injuries hit, and the effect of Doncic's trade was greatly reduced. The lineup that was originally aiming for the championship ended hastily and was eliminated in the play-offs.

After experiencing the wave of injuries last season, no team is more concerned about injuries than the Mavericks. Their first priority this season is to stay healthy and play first before talking about competing for the championship.

Both the team's core players, Nong Mei and Irving, suffered serious injuries last season.

Kyrie Irving became the team leader after the Luka Doncic trade and led Dallas through last season. But his fortunes took a turn for the worse. He will miss the beginning of the 2025 season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament and is expected to return in January next year.

Anthony Davis joined Los Angeles through the Doncic trade on the trade deadline. Injuries limited him to playing only 9 games.

Does the leadership of Nong Mei and Irving reach the level of championship leaders?

Both Nongmei and Irving have won NBA championships, but they both won championships with James. In other words, they are the second championship. When the two of them led the team with a single core, neither of them had any impressive achievements. At most, they were only in the second round of the playoffs.

Competing for the championship is a completely different concept, which places extremely high demands on team leaders.

Whether the leadership of Irving and Big Eyebrow can reach the level of championship leaders still needs to be proven in practice.

In addition, the way Big Eyebrow started the new season seems to be somewhat flawed, with poor body management and no determination to compete for the championship. The explanation given by the thick eyebrow is: "I will deliberately gain weight every offseason, because I will lose weight in the middle of the season."

Win the Championship Window

Maybe Doncic stays on the team, and the Mavericks can guarantee the lower limit for the next few years, with a high probability of at least being a playoff team, but Nick Harrison took the initiative to make changes for the sake of the championship. The reason why he did this was for the championship, which gave the Mavericks a two- or three-year championship window (Dongmei was 32 years old and Irving was 33 years old). In two or three seasons, in the blink of an eye, if Dongmei and Irving did not seize this opportunity, there is a high probability that they would not win the championship as core players in their careers..

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The rookie joined the championship team and helped the team win the championship, the more famous Magic Johnson.

Magic was the No. 1 pick in 1979. In his rookie season, Magic helped the Lakers win the NBA championship and was awarded the Finals MVP.

It has been 45 years since Magic's first championship.

Will Flagg be as talented a player as Magic?

Let's wait and see.

Conclusion

The Mavericks traded Doncic to win the championship. This season is the first full season for Nong Mei and Irving to work together. The Mavericks led by Ou Mei are a team with both offense and defense and good depth. Winning the championship puts extremely high demands on leaders. Can Nong Mei and Irving meet such requirements? This still leaves a question mark. After experiencing a wave of injuries last season, the Mavericks must prioritize staying healthy this season and not repeat the mistakes of last season. Flagg is a future star and we look forward to his outstanding performance in his rookie season.

In the West, which is full of powerful players, if the Mavericks do not reach the second round of the playoffs this season, it will be a failed season.

We can even be more strict. The Mavericks should aim for the championship.