"Who they gonna stop?": Stephen A. Smith believes Mavericks' defensive woes will come to haunt them

The Dallas Mavericks' defense will be their bane over the course of the 2023-24 NBA season, according to Stephen A. Smith. Despite adding Kyrie Irving as the team's second superstar alongside Luka Doncic, the unit failed to make the playoffs, largely due to their below-par play on the defensive end. With a quality big and a board-crasher missing in their lineup, the Mavericks failed to even be in contention for the play-in.

Ahead of the new season, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith slammed Dallas' defense. Speaking on his podcast, 'The Stephen A. Smith Show', he previewed the NBA season and minced no words when it came to the Mavericks.

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"Dallas... I don't even know if they make the playoffs with Kyrie and Luka. Offensively, nobody can stop them, defensively, who they gonna stop? I don't know if they gonna make the playoffs."

While the defense still looks questionable, it's not to say that the Mavericks have tried some adjustments on that front. They landed former Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams who does offer some versatility on that end.

Rookie Dereck Lively II comes in laden with potential and to groom him, they have former Utah Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen. Add Dante Exum and Derrick Jones Jr. to the mix, and there is some promise that they could fare better.

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The Dallas Mavericks are in win-now mode, but what is their ceiling?

When the Dallas Mavericks decided to take the plunge on Kyrie Irving ahead of the trade deadline last season, it was for two reasons: first, to take the scoring load off of Luka Doncic and second, to be the extra spark in terms of the team's leadership and way forward. They knew that he was worth the moolah they dished out. They were ready to run it back this summer and did just that by inking him to a three-year, $126 million deal.

This sorts out their offense. They have two shooters who can light up scoreboards and terrify even the most versatile defenders in the league, but the rest of the unit needs to chip in with substantial contributions if they intend to go the distance.

At the time of writing, Dallas looks to be a ninth-seed team, considering how the rest of the West has shaped up. Their contenders are all of the 14 teams that have made substantial changes to their roster. Only time will tell if they can indeed push past teams that are defensive powerhouses.