3 Mavericks Primed to Disappoint During 2023-24 Season

3. Maxi Kleber

Maxi Kleber's importance to Dallas goes way beyond the box score, but the 2022-23 campaign was a serious struggle for the power forward.

He began the year in a rough patch, with his lacking success from 3-point range leading to less confidence from the veteran. Just as he started to look like he was turning a corner in December, Kleber suffered a torn hamstring that sidelined him for 20 games.

While Kleber's shorter-than-expected return was impressive, his struggles picked right up once he was back in the lineup. He hit double-digit scoring just twice over his last 15 appearances, compared to the four times he reached that over his first 22 games of the season.

Overall, Kleber finished with a very mediocre 5.9 PPG and 3.6 RPG, the latter of which was his lowest in a season since his rookie campaign. Meanwhile, the 118 defensive rating he posted was the worst of his career, showing how far one of the Mavericks' most important defenders had fallen.

With the arrival of Grant Williams, Dallas has gotten a super-charged version of Kleber who can provide a ton more on offense while also taking on tougher defensive assignments. That could lead to a significant reduction in playing time, which would make it even more difficult for Kleber to make an impact in the box score.

Kleber is also set to turn 32 years old during the upcoming season and already dealt with some major injury troubles since making his NBA debut. Like Curry, this may be the start of the dreaded late-stage veteran decline.

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