5 Lessons the Dallas Mavericks can learn from 2022-23 season

1. Defense matters

The Mavs reached the conference finals in 2022 on the back of their defense. They made a massive improvement in Jason Kidd’s first year as head coach, and it carried over into the postseason as Dallas held the top-seeded Suns to their three lowest-scoring games of the season to complete the second-round upset.

The Mavericks got away from upgrading their defense, and it cost them a spot in the playoffs. It started back with the Christian Wood trade. C-Wood has always struggled on the defensive end of the floor, but that did not stop Dallas from giving up a first-round pick to acquire him.

Injuries did not help as Maxi Kleber struggled to regain his form after hamstring surgery, but the Mavs trading their best perimeter defender in Dorian Finney-Smith and a guard with plus-size for Irving was the icing on the cake. Dallas did not have a stopper on the floor, and opposing teams feasted on them.

The Mavericks need to make defense a priority this summer. They will be able to score with Doncic and Irving running the show, but Dallas has to get stops to reach their goals.

Will the Dallas Mavericks learn from their mistakes? If they do, the team will be more successful next season, but the franchise has not always done it in Mark Cuban’s run as owner. Stay tuned to see how this one shakes out.