Luka Doncic was quick to announce what everyone already knew for the Mavs' first meeting with the press: Dallas will play for the title! Finalists last year, the Texans got their hands on Klay Thompson to try to take this last step.
The presence of the “Splash Brother” should thus make it possible to free the two leaders of the team, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Enough to help this group get back to the Finals, and do better, with improved spacing.
“I feel like our dreams are achievable because he’s here now.” He brought great added value to our title desires”, said Kyrie Irvinghis Draft companion in 2011. And Luka Doncic continues: “When Kyrie and I have the ball, the opponent wouldn't be able to come and help because of Klay. Because if you leave him wide open, he's going to hit his shots. So I think stretching the game is going to be crucial for us. I can tell you more after a few matches.”
The “Jet” of 2024?
Jason Kidd, for his part, recalled the pedigree of Klay Thompson, whom he ranks among the best shooters in the history of the game. For him, it is the Jason Terry who was missing until now for the Mavs to succeed the armada who won the title in 2011. This is also perhaps a subtle way of suggesting that Klay Thompson could also be the master of the “second unit” in terms of scoring, as the “Jet” could be in his time.
“We had shooters, but not a Jason Terry or a Klay Thompson. It’s a rare quality”recalled the Mavs coach. “When we talk about Klay, we're talking about a player who will end up as one of the best shooters of all time. So to have him on our side, it just makes our game easier on offense. Stretching the game on offense is something important in our league. When we look at teams that can facilitate their systems like Boston, we… It's that kind of team that wins titles.”
A very important preseason
A feeling shared by the main interested party, who believes that his profile “completes the roster very well”.
“I'm going to have to adjust to playing with such good creators. At Golden State, it was a truly movement-based offense. But just being able to play with Luka these last few days, his skills on the pick-and-roll, it's maybe the best I've ever seen.”he declared. “It's going to be fun to play with him in those situations, because he draws so much attention and generates so many open shots around him. So I'll be there to put them in. I think it will take a few weeks to get used to this new system. But luckily our first game is October 24th. So the preseason might be the most important I've had to play in a long time. I can't wait to get started and learn this system. But I also know that I'm a basketball player, that I can adjust and I'm looking forward to doing it.”
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Luka Doncic | 70 | 37.5 | 48.7 | 38.2 | 78.6 | 0.8 | 8.4 | 9.2 | 9.8 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 33.9 |
| Kyrie Irving | 58 | 35.0 | 49.7 | 41.1 | 90.5 | 0.8 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 25.6 |
| Tim Hardaway Jr. | 79 | 26.8 | 40.2 | 35.3 | 85.2 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 14.4 |
| Pj Washington | 29 | 32.2 | 42.1 | 31.4 | 62.7 | 1.1 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 11.7 |
| Daniel Gafford | 29 | 21.5 | 78.0 | 0.0 | 60.7 | 2.2 | 4.7 | 6.9 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 11.2 |
| Derek Lively II | 55 | 23.5 | 74.7 | 0.0 | 50.6 | 2.5 | 4.4 | 6.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 8.8 |
| Derrick Jones | 76 | 23.5 | 48.3 | 34.3 | 71.3 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 8.6 |
| Josh Green | 57 | 26.4 | 47.9 | 38.5 | 68.4 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 8.2 |
| Grant Williams | 47 | 26.4 | 41.3 | 37.6 | 74.5 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 8.1 |
| Dante Exum | 55 | 19.8 | 53.3 | 49.1 | 77.9 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 7.8 |
| Jaden Hardy | 73 | 13.6 | 40.7 | 36.2 | 77.6 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 7.3 |
| Dexter Dennis | 4 | 7.5 | 52.6 | 12.5 | 33.3 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 5.5 |
| Alex Fudge | 2 | 12.9 | 55.6 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 5.5 |
| Maxi Kleber | 43 | 20.3 | 43.2 | 34.8 | 70.2 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 4.4 |
| Seth Curry | 36 | 12.7 | 37.2 | 36.3 | 89.5 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| Richaun Holmes | 23 | 10.3 | 55.9 | 0.0 | 57.1 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 3.4 |
| Dwight Powell | 63 | 13.3 | 67.9 | 33.3 | 70.8 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 3.3 |
| Aj Lawson | 42 | 7.4 | 44.6 | 26.0 | 65.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 3.2 |
| Brandon Williams | 17 | 6.6 | 37.0 | 20.0 | 64.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 3.2 |
| Olivier-maxence Prosper | 40 | 8.4 | 38.5 | 28.9 | 68.3 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 3.0 |
| Markieff Morris | 26 | 8.3 | 33.8 | 35.7 | 83.3 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Greg Brown III | 6 | 6.6 | 45.5 | 33.3 | 44.4 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2.5 |
