Dallas or Washington, which team is on bigger trouble?
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Out of the four winless teams, two of them standout because they are not projected to be on the very bottom of the standings.
Dallas acquired new quality bloods in the offseason while the Wizards signed a new proven head coach. Which of the two should be more concerned?
DALLAS MAVERICKS
It seems like this will finally be the year of the biggest regression of the production of Dirk Nowitzki. It is down y 2.8 points, 8.4% FG and 8.2% 3FG. That is also the biggest reason of this unprecedented start of the Mavericks. Dirk is still the center of their offense and he did not deliver in their first four games.
One more primary reason is their defense of the three-point shot. They are giving up the second most three-pointers per game at 12.0. One last thing that I observed was that they played two offensive minded and fast pace teams in Houston (twice) and Indiana. It could be their old legs.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
The defense of the Wizards is a mess right now. They are giving up the 2nd most points per game at 113, most three-pointers per game at 12.3, fifth most assists at 24.3 and highest FG% at 49.8% FG. Maybe this is the result of hiring a not-that-good defensive coach when you have a roster of average-very bad defenders.
One more primary reason is their failure to connect from beyond the arc. They only managed 14 three-pointers in their first three games. Lastly, they are also the worst rebounding team at 38.7.
SO, WHICH TEAM IS ON A DEEPER HOLE?
I think, it is the Wizards. Dallas is putting up similar numbers in a lot of areas from last season. I think, they are still adjusting with their two new starters and the downfall of the game of Dirk. I trust coach Carlisle to make the proper adjustment to rise from this stumble.
On the other hand, Wizards' defense is really awful. The problem is, they don't really have anybody to count on in their defense. Coach Scott and his coaching staff should take charge of maximizing the defensive potential of this team while balancing the effect on their offense.
Even their offense has a lot of problems. They are not attempting enough threes, making John Wall pretty predictable. Their bench hasn't found their way and I doubt it if they can find it soon.
It is still early though. Solutions can still be formulated.
