Mavericks have no hope if Anthony Davis can't capitalize on his controversial wish

When the Dallas Mavericks made the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade on February 1, it was clear the Mavericks were emphasizing their frontcourt prowess and size on defense, and getting No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg only added to the surplus of defensive talent in Dallas' frontcourt.

With Dallas already having two starting-caliber centers in Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, it's been clear since Davis' arrival that Davis would be playing power forward more often than not, even if that was slightly derailed last season due to all of Dallas' injuries. Davis will almost certainly start at the four for Dallas this season, though, but he'll need to be a fairly efficient jump-shooter for this recipe to ultimately work.

Lively II has claimed he'll start taking some open corner looks from outside or in trail scenarios, but he's far from a proven 3-point shooter up to this point in his career, which creates a bit of a spacing mess for Dallas' offense if they are starting Davis and Lively II together, especially if Davis is having a game where he's also struggling to convert on his jump-shots.

Davis must shoot decently for Dallas to keep playing double-big

Dallas just needs one of Lively II, Davis, or Gafford to be a formidable enough threat from outside that they can draw opposing bigs and wings away from the rim a little bit more, as Dallas' offense could get very clunky and predictable if they are unable to capitalize on this proposition. With Lively II and Gafford projecting to be non-threats from outside for the most part this season, Davis will bear a lot of this responsibility despite having a career average of 29.6 percent from outside.

Spacing the floor doesn't just mean Davis being somewhat of a threat from outside, but he'll need to convert on a decent amount of his face-up midrange opportunities as well, as his efficiency from the midrange has notoriously been tied to how efficient he typically is on a given night.

If Davis struggles from the midrange and outside early on into next season, head coach Jason Kidd could quickly be forced to have to start Davis at the five, which would be a tough pill to swallow considering how much of Dallas' identity and payroll are tied into mauling opposing offenses with their double-big lineups.

If this scenario presented itself, it would likely have greater ripple effects, such as Dallas seeking to move Gafford in a trade before next year's deadline, as it'd be malpractice to be paying three starting caliber centers a quality percentage of the cap, but only starting two of them.

It's not like Mavericks fans should expect Davis to come in shooting north of 35 percent from outside next season or that the season will be totally trashed if he isn't able to, but he needs to creep over 30 percent from outside and be a touch more efficient in the midrange area compared to the brief stretch he played with Dallas last season, as the implications from him not doing this are something both Davis and the Mavericks won't want to have to deal with.

The Last of Us Season 2 Ending, Explained

The Last of Us Season 2 has come to an end, but it's only just one side of the story. Following a rather tremendous work of television in Episode 6

The entirety of Season 2 has been leading up to a showdown between Ellie and Abby after the latter killed Joel so viciously that it scarred Ellie emotionally and physically. In showing her journey in Seattle to hunt down Abby,

The Last of Us wants viewers to question their loyalty. Is Ellie bound to repeat the cycle of violence that Joel tried to break after his own father? Is every action she takes to avenge Joel completely justified? Set against the background of the WLF and Seraphite war, these questions are intentionally tough to crack. There's one thing to be sure of, though: everything has a consequence, just as Ellie learns in the Season 2 finale.

Ellie Shows Her Worst Colors to Jesse

At the end of Season 2, Episode 5

Dina isn't the only one who's seeing more of who Ellie is. Now that Jesse's in Seattle, he takes the leadership role to find Tommy and get out before anyone dies, including the mother of his child. Ellie and Jesse have never seen eye to eye, and even in a moment where Jesse tells a vulnerable story about a woman he fell in love with, they go right back to square one of the usual competition of self-importance. Things come to a head when they reach a fork in the path. Jesse wants to save Tommy, and Ellie wants to chase after Abby.

Jesse reveals to Ellie that he never voted to go to Seattle in Season 2, Episode 3, to which Ellie reacts by dismissing the community's needs and calling Jesse a hypocrite for letting a Seraphite teenager die.

Despite Tommy potentially being in danger, Ellie goes after Abby. To many, this would be the moment that they fully disengage from Ellie's mission. If she's so uncaring of Tommy's well-being, then her morality has gone down the drain. But things only get worse from here. Ellie confronts Mel and Owen at the aquarium about Abby's location.

It ends horribly when Ellie shoots Owen as he grabs his gun, killing him instantly and nicking Mel's throat. Slowly bleeding out, Mel reveals she's heavily pregnant and asks Ellie to perform a C-section operation. A frightened Ellie freezes, not knowing what to do, and Mel dies. Ellie finally realizes things have gone too far.

The WLF and Seraphites Prepare for a Final Fight

While this is going on, the WLF prepares to infiltrate the Seraphites in what they hope is the final act of the war.

The Last of Us Part II, the video game the second season is based on, goes more in-depth about Isaac's plans. The WLF uses the storm as a front to ambush the Seraphites on their own island, in the hopes of wiping them out once and for all.
Ellie gets caught in the middle when she crashes on the Seraphite island and is nearly killed by a few of them, until a horn sets off a warning signal in the village.

Elise, the WLF sergeant whose son was infected by spores, questions Isaac's fixation on Abby, even wondering if he has a crush on her. He laughs it off and then explains that tonight, both he and Elise will likely be killed in the fight. His only hope for the WLF's future is for Abby to lead its army, but according to Elise, she's abandoned the group. More than likely, Season 3 will go deeper into this conflict and Abby's reasoning for leaving.

Seattle Day 3 Ends With a Tragedy

Abby does, however, show up in the Season 2 finale after being absent since Episode 2. Jesse and Tommy find Ellie at the aquarium and return to the theater, where the three discuss the path home as Dina rests from her injury. Tommy tries to reassure a guilt-ridden Ellie that Mel and Owen willingly went along with Abby to kill Joel, and their fates were decided a long time ago. But it's not enough for Ellie. Abby is still alive. Ellie says she'll have to make peace with it, but she's not happy about it.

As luck would have it, Abby shows up at the theater. It's convenient timing for Ellie, but not so much for Jesse. Ellie and Jesse race toward the lobby when they hear a commotion, yet as soon as they open the door, Abby shoots Jesse in the face.

She has Tommy pinned down and Ellie at gunpoint, while Jesse's dead body lies on the ground. At least his final conversation was him making things right with Ellie.

The Last of Us Goes Back in Time for Season 3

This is the moment that Ellie's been waiting for, and clearly it's not how she wanted it to go. Ellie explains to Abby that she killed Mel and Owen, not Tommy, and to let him go. Abby repeats to Ellie, "I let you live, and you wasted it," before shooting at Ellie. The scene cuts to black before showing the outcome of the face-off, jumping back in time.

In the final scene, Manny wakes Abby up in a library to tell her they need to meet with Isaac. She leaves the room to reveal the WLF's main base: a flourishing stadium transformed into a community. The text on the screen reads, "Seattle Day 1" as she ponders from a balcony.

The Last of Us is shifting gears to look through the eyes of Ellie's greatest enemy. Just as The Last of Us Part II did, Season 3 will likely solely focus on Abby's story in those three days leading up to her confronting Ellie.

This not only means a more thoughtful arc that rounds out Abby far beyond the woman who killed Joel, but also the possible introduction of Lev and Yara to show the Seraphites' nuance. But how fans will react to such a change is

The Last of Us' biggest mystery yet.

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