How do the Utah Jazz compare to the Dallas Mavericks?
Utah Jazz vs Dallas Mavericks: Roster Construction
So far, we’ve pointed to an advantage for the Utah Jazz against the Dallas Mavericks on both offense and defense. In the former category, the Mavericks are lacking in playmaking depth behind Luka Doncic, whereas the Jazz roster an entire platoon of players with shot-creating and playmaking ability. In the latter category, the Utah Jazz roster the best rim protector in the league, whereas the Mavericks roster a center who seems essential to their offensive gameplan, yet struggles to defend the paint.
You probably can imagine where this is going: the Jazz have a more coherently constructed roster as well.
Sure, no single Jazz player is as good as Luka Doncic. Fans in Salt Lake City will live with that fact when they roster Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson. Each of those players is likely a more offensively potent one than Jalen Brunson, arguably the Mavericks’ second-best non-big man offensive player.
If the Mavericks wish to truly compete with teams on the same level as the Utah Jazz, they need to acquire another playmaker. For all of Luka’s magic, nobody can carry a load as heavy as single-handedly producing a better offense for an NBA team than a team as loaded with offensive ability as the Jazz.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks have another dilemma, and its name is Kristaps Porzingis. It explains why trade rumors circle around his head like hungry vultures, but the Mavs may struggle to get a good return for the big man until he proves he can regain the defensive ability he showed early in his career. Until that happens, the Mavericks will be forced to choose between benching their second best offensive player or living with a subpar defense.
Last season, the former option actually looked more appealing. A lineup featuring Willie Cauley-Stein in the middle with Finney-Smith, Luka, Hardaway Jr and Brunson was actually Dallas’ best formation last season. They finished in the 100th percentile in points per 100 possessions at 159.3, per CleaningtheGlass. They were still weak on the defensive end (31st percentile in points allowed per 100 possessions) but the point holds: this was the Mavericks’ best lineup last season.
Unfortunately, that fact is also a problematic one for Dallas. It would be difficult to establish Porzingis’ trade value if he was relegated to the bench, and furthermore, he’d be an exorbitantly expensive reserve. In all likelihood, the front office will instead task Jason Kidd with finding a way to make him work as a starter.
Next. How do the Jazz compare with the Mavericks?. dark
The Utah Jazz, simply put, have much less to worry about. On offense, Donovan Mitchell has more-than-ample support. On defense, Rudy Gobert is the league’s biggest plus in the vast majority of situations, and Quin Snyder has alternatives for the rare ones in which he isn’t. The Jazz have got the Mavericks knocked in this category as well. They project as a significantly better team heading into the 2021-22 season.