The Mavs were 7-19 last season when they scored fewer than 110 points. Their offense won them loads of games but their defense was such that they couldn& #39;t really withstand off nights. Their clear goal is for that not to be the case this season.

The Lakers for reference were 12-14, Clippers 12-13, Nuggets 17-20. Not like teams are racking up Ws in that situation. But 7-19 won& #39;t get it done. Had the Mavs finished with the Lakers& #39; record in those games, they would& #39;ve been third in the West. Gotta be able to win ugly too.

Put differently, they were 8-21 in games when they scored worse than 112 pts/100. Only six teams scored 112 per 100 for the season! Dallas was No. 1 by far last season offensively but the defensive upgrades were entirely entirely necessary.