The Dallas Mavericks have officially eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers and are now advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals, where they will face the Oklahoma City Thunder.
As a five seed playing against a four seed, their triumph in this series isn’t all that bizarre. What is weird, though, is how they have achieved their success. The Mavericks, a team headlined by their star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, aren’t winning with only their offense (7th in offensive rating in these playoffs). They are doing it with their defense (6th in defensive rating), too.
Even more impressive than their overall defensive rating, the Mavericks are first in the entire playoffs in opponent rim accuracy (50.0%) by a landslide (the Thunder are second with an opponent rim accuracy of 53.2%, per Cleaning the Glass).
Winning with defense isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel. Throughout NBA history, teams have used their elite defenses to fuel deep playoff runs. The thing that makes what Dallas is doing unique (and worth writing an article about) is their roster construction.
One of the elements that makes the NBA so intriguing is that the teams participating in it are restricted by a salary cap. That means that teams are limited in how much money they can spend (before getting penalized).
This year, the Mavericks have 56.7% of their salary cap tied to Doncic and Irving (per Spotrac) — two players who are known in many circles as defensive liabilities. So, how has Dallas managed to build a strong playoff defense when over half their cap space is tied to poor defensive players?
Part #1: A Smart Offseason
The Mavericks knew they were set on offense with Doncic (100th percentile in Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks & Threes) and Irving (98th percentile) on their payroll. So, they prioritized adding defensively-slanted players for cheap in the 2023 offseason.
During this period, they made three key acquisitions. The first one came in the 2023 NBA Draft, where the Mavericks traded back (with the Thunder, coincidentally) in order to acquire Dereck Lively II. Since Lively is a rookie, he’s only making about 4.8 million dollars this year (3.5% of the cap). To his credit, though, Lively has been worth every penny. Despite his inexperience, Lively has been one of the better rim protectors in basketball (94th percentile in block rate).
The second deal they made was a three-team sign-and-trade with the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs to nab Grant Williams (more on this in a second).
The last piece of the offseason puzzle was a seemingly inconsequential mid-August signing (one that we predicted wouldn’t be so inconsequential). The player in question was Derrick Jones Jr., who they got at the veteran minimum. Since Jones had seven years of work experience coming into 2023-24, the Mavericks were able to sign him for a little over two million dollars (1.48% of the salary cap). Jones has turned out to be Dallas’ best perimeter defender (92nd percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus), and he’s had a massive positive impact on the team’s overall defense (80th percentile in defensive rating on/off).
Part #2: An Active Trade Deadline
After a diligent offseason, Dallas established itself as one of the most aggressive teams of the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline, using their draft capital to acquire more size and defense.
We mentioned the Williams trade earlier. Unfortunately, his time in Dallas wasn’t the most pleasant. However, the Mavericks were able to flip him, Seth Curry, and a 2027 first round pick for PJ Washington. Washington is a rangy defender (80th percentile in DEF EPM) with a 7’2.5 wingspan. Plus, he’s only making 16.8 million dollars this year (12.4% of the salary cap), which is both a good price for a starting caliber forward and a relatively easy number to match in a trade.
The other medium-sized swing they took at the deadline was their trade to land Daniel Gafford from the Washington Wizards (in exchange for Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first round pick). Gafford also gives them more length (6’10 with a 7’2.25 wingspan) and a rim protector to man the paint when Lively isn’t on the floor (97th percentile in block rate).
Part #3: Team-Wide Buy-In And A Creative Coach
The beautiful thing about defense is that a lot of it comes down to effort (from the players) and scheme (from the coaches), and neither of those variables costs any money (well, coaches cost money, but it doesn’t count against the salary cap).
Everyone on the Mavericks is completely bought into the defensive side of the ball, even the notorious turnstiles Doncic and Irving.
A great way to measure defensive effort is to look at how many deflections a player is accruing during their time on the court. Of the 102 players who have logged at least 100 minutes in these playoffs, Doncic and Irving are both in the top 20 (per NBA.com).
Irving, in particular, has really risen to the occasion. In Games 5 and 6, he spent large portions of the game defending James Harden so that Washington could stay off-ball and provide secondary rim protection (Washington was in the 71st percentile in block rate this year, by the way).
Head Coach Jason Kidd has also done a good job coming up with creative ways to maximize his players’ strengths (like keeping Washington off-ball). For instance, he’s had Doncic do more defending in isolation because that is one of the better facets of his defensive arsenal. Most coaches would do anything to hide their worst defenders. But not Kidd. Kidd understands that Dallas’ defense is better with Doncic and Irving in the heat of the action because it allows their better defenders (Washington, Jones, Gafford, etc.) to clean up their messes on the backline.
Part #4: A Change In Officiating
Do you know what else is free? Officiating that lets players be more physical on defense. It’s no secret that games have been called different since after the All-Star break, leading to a league-wide scoring decline.
This has helped a team like Dallas — who touts a lot of defensive-first wings/forwards/center — because they can put more defense on the floor without paying a huge tax on offense (it also helps that Doncic/Irving are such prolific offensive players).
Putting It All Together
Between Lively, Jones, Gafford, Washington, Josh Green (3.5% of the salary cap), and the now-healthy Maxi Kleber (8.1%), Dallas has a ton of affordable length and athleticism to help them safeguard the paint (the most important part of defense). They have also maximized the features of defense that don’t count against the salary cap (effort and coaching), along with getting some help from the NBA’s decision to prioritize defense.
When you put that all together, you have a recipe for building a great playoff defense on a budget.
