team that is top 3 in offensive efficiency and bottom tier in terms of defense adds a player that is decent on offense and STINKS on defense
good
simply put, dallas can't be worrying about offensive and defensive strengths right now. we need size. tyson chandler is battling an injury, as is monta. i'm happy we got some size with amare, however I know the defense will take a hit, at least until rondo gets back. you gotta understand that rondo makes dallas a better defensive team. I think I read that since rondo joined the mavs before his injury, they were 3rd ranked defense in those 20 or so games. so if we get all these guys healthy, and have amare as another big instead of powell or smith getting a lot of minutes, it should work out. rondo makes everyone better on defense, so I think they will take the slight downgrade on defense that comes with adding amare, simply for the size and depth of adding another big man, one who is capable of averaging 12/6, at that.
besides, the offense is more than capable of scoring plenty of points, so really all it takes is a small period of horrible defense until rondo can come back. yes, amares defense is a liability, but I think you have more to gain by adding someone with his size to a thin bench. he's definitely not a piece that should make dallas a favorite, but it significantly upgrades their bench and ability to matchup with teams with solid bigs like memphis, LAC, etc.
i'm worried though, rondo hasn't exactly 'fit in' in carlisles offense yet. he needs to be back soon if we hope to gain a good enough amount of chemistry and cohesiveness as a team to be effective in the post season. with that said, i'm already looking at next year as a more likely chance for this team to be great. they have the pieces, but doing it on the fly during the season in a stacked division and a stacked conference isn't easy, and I think a full off season and then full season with the team as it is currently would do wonders for this squad. if the team stays the same as it is right now heading into next year, that's when I will start to be extremely excited about mavs basektball.
kinda rambling here, but eh fuck it.