Maxi Kleber's Defensive Burden is Unfair But Necessary for Mavs
The Dallas Mavericks (32-30) currently sit as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, yet their defense of late has hindered their ability to climb up the playoff standings.
Since the acquisition of Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks' defense has ranked near the bottom of the league in defensive rating, as coach Jason Kidd has tried to find the right rotation to make up for the loss of Dallas' former top defender, Dorian Finney-Smith.
Another major piece missing from Dallas' defense is Maxi Kleber, who hasn't played since Dec. 14 following suffering a torn right hamstring. He underwent surgery for on Dec. 20.
However, Kleber's return to the Mavs' lineup is on the horizon, as he's labeled as questionable to potentially make his return tonight against the Indiana Pacers.
"It’s just a matter of how he feels," Kidd said of Kleber's availability for Tuesday. "I think he did a lot today, and we’ll see again how he feels, and hopefully make that decision some time tomorrow."
With the loss of Finney-Smith, the lack of defensive stoppers on the team has been bleak. Josh Green and Reggie Bullock are fine defenders and do their jobs well, but the length and position-versatility Finney-Smith and Kleber provide has been missing from Dallas' defensive unit.
In Kleber's absence, it's been a collection of Dwight Powell and Christian Wood getting the bulk of the minutes for Dallas, yet the lack of defensive prowess among the two, and the little-to-no help JaVale McGee has proven to be, puts even more pressure on Kleber's return.
For a big man who is coming back from a torn hamstring, it's hard to imagine that Kleber will come back ready for a full workload, but the Mavs will need to get him up to full-speed sooner than later to maximize their potential for moving up the standings.
"We gotta work slowly with Maxi," Kidd said. "We can't expect him to come back and be the one that pulls the defense together. It's gonna take him some time."
It's a fair statement from Kidd -- one that is true but also makes you want to hit the fast forward button, because Kleber's defense is so necessary for this Mavericks team. That might be unfair to Kleber, but it's simply the reality of the situation Dallas is in.
Without Finney-Smith, Kleber will get the brunt of the defensive responsibility now, especially in crunch time when guarding the likes of Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, and Kawhi Leonard in potential playoff matchups in the West.
The Mavericks can't just "outscore people" as Kidd suggested following Dallas' Feb. 13 loss to Minnesota. You have to get stops down the stretch of games, specifically in the postseason, in order to truly compete for a championship ... and for the Mavs, Kleber plays a vital role in doing that.
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