4 Improvements the Mavericks need to make in order to make the playoffs

3. Defense

The Dallas Mavericks need to be a lot better on defense as well this season.

They were the 25th-ranked defense in the league last season. With some of the offseason acquisitions that the Mavericks made this offseason, the Mavericks hope that the defense can return to the version that got them to the Western Conference Finals.

Grant Williams and Richaun Holmes should help provide some defense in the starting lineup this year. Both of them are quality defensive players.

In addition, Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Dereck Lively II will provide some defense for the second team this year. Both rookies have huge wingspans, which will help them snag steals, blocks, and rebounds. There will be no more allowing the other team to go coast-to-coast for easy layups and three-pointers.

Dallas also needs to improve their fastbreak play, as they were an extremely slow-paced team last year, and a big part of that was their defensive struggles. Teams that can dominate the scoring numbers off turnovers go on to win a majority of basketball games.

When I was in college watching Abilene Christian's Men's Basketball team, they were good at forcing turnovers and scoring on the other end. It's why they were so successful and went on to upset the University of Texas in the first round of March Madness in 2021.

If the Mavericks are able to get a break on defense this year, it should help them get to the playoffs this season.