Mark Followill, Dallas Mavericks TV Play-By-Play Broadcaster

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Additional terms apply. Mark, how are you? Hey, JR. I'm good. How are you? I'm good. Thank you.

Appreciate the time. When you take a look at this Dallas Mavericks team and how it's changed throughout the course of the season, what has changed the most? Is it the performance of some of the stars that were there already? Is it some of the in-season changes via trade?

What do you see? Two things. One is a training camp for Luca and Kyrie together and able to, rather than have to throw things together like they did in the middle of the season last year, a camp together, developing more chemistry together, learning how to play off one another and function as a cohesive duo rather than just two talented individuals. So I would say that would be change number one from last year and that sort of success was evident early this year. And then the other thing, of course, is the two changes they made at the deadline. I mean, that just that completely changed the DNA of the team, bringing in P.J.

Washington and Daniel Gafford. Their defense got significantly better. Their rebounding got better. Their ability to score and the paint improved and to score even more efficiently in the paint that they already were.

So those are the main two areas that changed. Both of them, for different reasons, are really important, of course, because Luca and Kyrie operating as a cohesive duo made them a much, much better clutch team. They made night and day difference from what they were late last year.

And then the acquisitions of Gafford and P.J. Washington give them toughness and that sort of new identity from a team that really had to lean in on offense to now a team that can win games through defense and rebounding. Mark Followell, Mavs television announcer here with us. Mark, you talk about the additions, but Kyrie and Luca are the best players on the squad. And Kyrie, we know about his reputation for years now.

It doesn't matter what city and what team. What's been different here with the Mavs? Well, it's an organization that treated him with the utmost respect from day one.

I mean, this is an organization. Nico Harrison, the general manager, when asked on the day of the trade when he had his media availability, someone said, well, isn't this a risk to go trade for Kyrie? And his response was, no, the bigger risk would not be doing this trade because they had a chance to get him obviously at a favorable price for Dallas. And then, you know, Kyrie's come in here and he wants to win. He's, you know, later in his career, he's allowed to share with the younger guys on the team and the younger guys, by the way, that's not just players who are in their first or second year in the league that I'm talking about. But I think Kyrie and his wisdom and his experience and what he's been through in his NBA career, all of that has made him a great mentor for Luca, to be perfectly honest with you. I think Luca has learned a lot from Kyrie about just trying to be a calmer presence for him and be a more mature person, more of a leader. And I think Luca has learned a lot from Kyrie. So that's part of the difference is that you just you had an organization here and a community and the organization goes beyond just Jason Kidd and Nico Harrison. I think it runs a lot deeper than that of people that are invested in Kyrie's success and he's treated well. And he's, you know, obviously that's a reciprocal relationship because of all of the things that he does from a community standpoint to, as I said, just he's a very, very important voice and leader on this team.

So it's been a smashing success. Couldn't say enough great things about how Kyrie has fit into this organization on the court and off the court. Mark, when you talk about his influence on Luca Doncic, I don't think people realize this. The general basketball fans like, yes, Luca is young.

He's 25 years old. This man was a prodigy playing out in the EuroLeague, winning championships and being MVP when he could barely, barely shave. How have you seen him change over the years? We saw him a couple of games ago.

He actually shut up, didn't talk to the refs, just balled out. How has he changed over the years? Well, you know, he's a very fiery, competitive guy.

And so that's where a lot of the interaction with referees comes from. But I think when you, when you look at how Luca has changed over the years, obviously getting older and being more experienced has made him more of a voice around the team from a leadership standpoint. Even as good as he was, that's really hard to do when you first come into the league, as you know, JR. So behind the scenes and in practice situations and shoot around situations and things like that, I've seen leadership grow, obviously, and Luca Doncic over the course of six years. And then I think he's always been a very, very high IQ player.

But I would say that Luca's reading of the game has gotten even better over the course, as you would expect, over the course of six years here. Understanding what the team needs at the right time. He's always been a willing passer. And does the team need, you know, points? Is what the defense is giving you, is that driving the ball, shooting inside, shooting mid-range shots?

Because that's what the defense is giving you. Is it time for the step back? I just think that his judgment of what the team needs over the course of the game has improved. And I would say that obviously this past offseason, a year ago, you know, the MAV season ended obviously at the end of the regular season. And Luca made the most significant commitment he's ever made in an offseason to his physical conditioning. I think that's paid off this year.

And the defensive end of the floor. You know, he has bought into the defense that Jason Kidd, who obviously has experience as a champion from his championship season in Dallas. And being a very good defensive player throughout his career, Jason Kidd has instilled a defensive mentality throughout the team. And the buy-in from Luca and Kyrie then filters down through the rest of the roster.

MAV's TV voice, Mark Followill, is joining us at the JR Sport Reshow on the Infinity Sports Network coast to coast. You talk about Jason Kidd, one of the best basketball players I have ever seen in my life. I mean, if you stretched him out a couple of inches, he'd be Luca Doncic, especially with the jump shot later in his career. Could there be a better individual to coach this team than Jason Kidd? He's had his own learning experience as a coach as well.

Yeah, and I think that, you know, Jay Kidd, what really makes it work here are a couple of things. First of all, Jason is the first one to tell you that he probably went into his roles as coach with Brooklyn and Milwaukee way too soon. I mean, he went straight from playing to coaching. He played his last year with the Knicks in 2012-13, and the next year he was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. So he learned a lot from Frank Vogel, who he credits. He was an assistant on Frank Vogel's staff with the Lakers when they won the title in the season that ended in the bubble in Orlando.

So, you know, Jason's a lot smarter, a lot calmer, a coach that is a much better communicator than he was earlier in his career. And that really messed with what the Mavs needed at that point in time because, you know, Rick Carlisle, obviously a great coach. The Mavs just felt like that they wanted someone who had a better capability of communicating with their star player and Luca Doncic at the time. Obviously Kyrie wasn't part of the Mavs at that point when Jason Kidd got here. And then, you know, the other thing that makes it work, of course, is that he is immensely respected, and it starts with Luca and Kai. You know, Luca has great respect for what J. Kidd did as a player, and Kyrie essentially idolized him growing up. I mean, you know, that was one of Kyrie's favorite players when he was in his formative years before he became a professional basketball player. He held Jason Kidd in very high regard. So, you know, the two of them and the respect they have for him and just the, you know, the good vibes and the good feelings. I mean, you want to be respected as a head coach, and beyond being respected, I think these guys genuinely like Jason and want to play their very, very best for him. So that's, you know, there's probably more things to say about it. You know, championship caliber, championship experience, a real fondness for the Mavericks organization and a dedication to seeing that it gets done the right way here.

After he had opportunities, it didn't work out very well in other stops. There's a lot of things up and down the line and a lot of boxes you would check that make J. Kidd really get through here. Now, Mark, what should we look forward to when this Western Conference Finals matchup takes on or gets going between the Mavs and the Timberwolves? How do the Mavs match up against them? Look, all of these series are hard when you get to this stage, and there are a lot of challenges that the Mavs face. Minnesota has debatably and statistically would say this, there wouldn't even be a debate, the best defense in the league. They were the best defensive rating, the best field goal defense, the best opponent scoring defense. They locked teams down and, of course, did that in Game 7 in Denver.

So that's, of course, going to be a challenge. They have a lot more size than Oklahoma City. That's an area of concern for the Mavs. The Mavs were able to out-rebound OKC in five of the six games and really impose their will as the series went on in the paint.

And that's going to be much, much more difficult, of course, to do with Rudy Gobert in the middle for the Timberwolves. You know, some areas where I think perhaps the Mavs could excel in this series. Dallas is a more explosive, consistent, offensive team than Minnesota. Can the Mavericks take advantage of, on paper, the fact that they're a better offensive team? The Mavs have improved greatly defensively. Their paint defense numbers in the late regular season after the trades were on par with what the Minnesota Timberwolves were doing in terms of defending their paint.

So I think that's a really intriguing matchup. Foul trouble, I think, will tell a big story in this series. Minnesota does have some players. Reed off the bench, Gobert, Towns, McDaniels, all on the front line in the starting lineup who are foul-prone players. If you look at their number of fouls per 100 possessions this year, they're in the top third of the league. That's four guys who are in the top third of the league in terms of committing fouls. But if the Mavs, if P.J. Washington gets in foul trouble, I don't know what they're going to do against Karl Anthony Towns defensively. If Derrick Jones Jr. gets in foul trouble, that's going to hurt them trying to guard Anthony Edwards. So the Mavs don't have a lot of depth at those key positions and being able to handle the defensive responsibilities if the starters got in foul trouble. So that's a real inflection point in the series for me.

And then lastly, I would say this is only an advantage if you in fact take advantage of it. But the Mavs do have Kyrie Irving who's played in three conference finals and three NBA finals. And this is Lucas' second time in the NBA finals. Even though he didn't play a lot of minutes with Miami, Derrick Jones did play in conference finals and finals with the Miami Heat back at 20-20. Josh Green didn't play a lot, but he at least does have a little bit of conference finals seasoning from Dallas' run there a couple of years ago against Golden State.

If they get Maxi Kleba back during this series, which might happen, we'll see. But that's another player who was in the conference finals a couple of years ago. Whereas Minnesota has Mike Conley was in one conference finals with the Grizzlies 11 years ago. Monte Morris played in the conference finals with Denver one time.

And Kyle Anderson, slow-mo, played in the conference finals with San Antonio one time. So there's an experience advantage there, but you never know how that's going to work out. On paper that looks good, but the games are where that's actually going to be decided.

As I said, that's only an advantage for Dallas if in fact they take advantage of it. So those are among the areas where I'm looking at where this series will be won or lost by whomever is fortunate enough to get through this grind of a series and do that. Yeah, Mark. Man, I go back and forth. I'm looking at a toss-up. I'm just automatically putting it at seven games.

That's just me. Yeah, I think that's a very, very fair assessment. And I happened to be looking online earlier today, and the two, by those that established the odds on these things, the two most likely outcomes were number one, Minnesota in seven, and number two, Dallas in six. You know, there's just not to me a lot of difference. I mean, they're both good defensive teams. They both have a couple of elite offensive players, Lukai for Dallas and Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony Towns for Minnesota. You know, good paint defenses.

You know, coaches who have come about it two completely different ways. They really, I think, have a great pulse for their team and J.K. and Chris Bench. And two very passionate fan bases that are really starved to see their teams have some success.

And so the crowds, I think, in both buildings are going to be absolutely electrifying. So I concur with you that this truly is a toss up series. And I guess maybe late game execution, I guess, would probably be another thing you would have to throw out there. The margin in these games is probably going to be pretty slim.

And enough of these games that whoever can execute in the final five minutes of games will probably have the leg up on winning the series. And no doubt about it. Hey, final question for you, Mark. We still see Mark Cuban court side. We know that there's been a transition in organizational structure and who owns it and who runs it.

Have you noticed are there any differences outside of what is on a piece of paper? No, there's no I mean, obviously, the the new ownership is certainly involved in things of the business side of things. But Mark's still around. He says, you know, I always tell people when they've asked over the years, what's it like working for Mark Cuban? I said, well, there's a lot of things I could say, but I think the thing that stands out to me the most is when you look down there on the sideline or down by the bench and he's wearing that T-shirt that says MFFL and that stands for Mavs fan for life.

There's no B.S. about that. That dude loves basketball and loves the Dallas Mavericks and loves this team because obviously his fingerprints are significantly there in terms of putting it together. And so he's he's there. He's as wild and crazy as ever. And I love these guys and lives and dies with the results. So, you know, in that regard, obviously, he's a minority owner now, not the majority owner of the team. But but, you know, other than, as you said, the piece of paper, nothing's really changed in terms of his presence and his tremendous enthusiasm for seeing these guys get over the hump again, because he's he's obviously been there once and and wants to be part of it and see these guys be part of it again. Now, it's cool and unique. I wonder if we'll see, you know, future organizations that are put together in such a way.

I know people, they put the money in, they want all the power. So maybe not. But how that works. Right. I know. Right. Sure. A unique situation. But hey, it's it's it's Mark Cuban.

Hey, Mark, thank you so much for the time. Where can people follow you when you work and listen and watching all that good stuff? Well, I wish that people could look and watch right now. But, you know, we're you know how it is on these these theories for the NBA after the first round, our local television broadcasts go away. So sadly, no, no, no listening and watching right now, although I do my my summer side work of MLS Apple TV soccer broadcast. So doing a few of those and have a podcast called Take That With You, which is a a thing that Dirk Nowitzki had about 15 years ago on one of our broadcasts. So I do a podcast and tweet about that and the games and all sorts of stats and stuff that and follow well on Twitter. So, you know, and then all my food recommendations, of course, I got to get those out there as well.

So that's that's how you can check it out. We appreciate that. Everybody got to eat.

I think they want to go and travel somewhere and have a crappy meal. So that's that's what I'm trying to do to help folks out of the world is give people some good food recommendations from time to time. Good, good, man. We appreciate that.

I've had my share of crappy meals all over the place. So thank you, Mark. We'll talk to you down the line when that happens. I know. Don't tell me.

And most of the times it cost a lot of money. Let's have another chat if they advance another round. We'll see. OK. Any time. Yeah. Please reach out any time. Good.

Good to talk. And, you know, I think it's going to be great series. So looking forward to it. The wait is over.

That's right. Season five of the Kardashians is here. Just when you thought life couldn't get any faster, they're punching it into overdrive. Chris, Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie are back and continue to defy expectations in all their endeavors. So get ready to go behind the glitz and glamour of the most iconic family on television. The all new season of the Kardashians premieres May twenty third streaming on Hulu. Kick off your summer and shop in store or online at Whole Foods Market today. We'll be right back.