Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Are the Mavericks Becoming a Dominant Defensive Team?

Last year, the Mavericks were a good, not great, defensive team that was excellent offensively and very good on the glass. In fact, the numbers show that the 2002-2003 WCF finalist team was actually better in terms of defensive efficiency than the 2005-2006 squad that went to the Finals. Some of that had to do with the introduction of zone defenses into the league and the early dominance of Shawn Bradley as the anchor of the Mavs' zone defense, but the point is that no one would have confused last year's Mavericks squad with a dominant defensive team. But what about this year's team? Here are some pertinent numbers:

Season numbers
defensive efficiency: 103.5 pp100
opp. FG%: .447
opp. PPG: 91.9

Since 0-4 start
defensive efficiency: 101.1 pp100
opp. FG%: .436
opp. PPG: 90.2

Last 20 games
defensive efficiency: 99.3 pp100
opp. FG%: .429
opp. PPG: 88.7

Last 10 games
defensive efficiency: 98.3 pp100
opp. FG%: .431
opp. PPG: 86.3


These numbers suggest to me that the Mavericks are really growing into an excellent defensive team. Their defensive efficiency is progressing as the season wears on, and they are really applying the clamps to opponents over the past 20 games or so. If they can continue to defend in the 100-102 pp100 range, they are going to be odds-on favorites to win the title.