Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks: A Tale of Two Teams
The big men they signed during free agency
The Cowboys had a similar approach to free agency as the Mavericks. The big fish the Mavericks needed to re-sign was Kristaps Porzingis and after that, they were left re-signing valuable role players like Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, and Dorian Finney-Smith.
When the contracts started to roll in, everything happened as expected. Porzingis got his 5 year max deal and Powell did indeed get his raise. The Mavericks were able to re-sign Kleber on a team friendly deal and Finney-Smith signed for what seems like pennies on the dollar.
They also signed Serbian center Boban Marjanovic, who has been nothing but a blast for the team and fan.
The Cowboys re-signed players like DeMarcus Lawrence and Jaylon Smith who had Pro-Bowl seasons in 2018. This season, Lawrence has looked like himself while Smith has definitely looked far worse.
How have the Mavericks not seen a regression from all their big men? It’s because they had a combination that excelled in the 4 key areas: rim protection, post scoring, three-point shooting, and perimeter defense. For a back court that isn’t the strongest defensively, they make up for it inside with plenty of size and natural athleticism.
The Cowboys signed and drafted players with similar builds and have not been able to overcome their deficiencies. In addition to Lawrence, they added Quinn to the defensive line. However, the rest of the defensive line is filled with players like Dorance Armstrong, Tyrone Crawford, Maliek Collins, Joe Jackson, and Kerry Hyder.
All these players are a bit undersized at their positions and rely on their burst and technique to the disrupt plays. When they face bigger offensive lines or double teams, the interior defensive line has struggled.
In the secondary, the Cowboys have their long, physical corners that Kris Richard loves, but their inability to track the ball in the air has left so much to be desired. Their leader in interceptions on the year is the shortest cornerback they have.
Instead of signing more players to combat these vulnerabilities, the Cowboys just didn’t….
Back to the Mavericks. They’ve been able to combat Powell’s lack of floor spacing with Porzingis’s “stretch 4” game. When the team needs rebounds, they can rely on Kleber and Marjanovic in addition to triple-double threat Luka Doncic.
After starting the season with a very fluid starting lineup, the Mavericks have settled with Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dwight Powell, and Kristaps Porzingis. In the last 12 games, this starting lineup has the highest net rating in the league with a +15.9. The Mavericks continue to be the best team in the league offensively.
How have they done this?
Unlike the Cowboys who are very specific about the people they play, the Mavericks have been more tolerant to different play styles. The Cowboys have emphasized playing their brand of football, and it has yielded very little creativity and adaptability.
The Mavericks on the other hand have been as creative with their approach as they can be. Head coach Rick Carlisle loves to let Doncic run the floor at his own pace but will try to manufacture looks inside to capitalize on easy buckets.
For example, many fans love to constantly harp on Dwight Powell’s deficiencies, yet Carlisle has been able to start him by using his athleticism in the pick-and-roll as well as in transition.
This is one of the few ways head coach Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks have been creative this year.