CLEVELAND – If you are wondering just how Anthony Davis will fit in with the Mavericks, all you had to do was watch the way the Cleveland Cavaliers played on Sunday.

They routed the Mavericks, but that’s not the point. How they did it – and how they’ve done it all season in building a 40-9 record – is by pairing center Jarrett Allen with power forward Evan Mobley. And opponents have a hard time dealing with the physicality of those two.

The obvious comparison is having Davis play power forward – his natural position – alongside Daniel Gafford and, eventually, Dereck Lively II when he returns from a stress fracture in his ankle.

“The best thing about AD – look at tonight, how they (the Cavs) play two bigs,” said Dante Exum. “It’s a perfect example of how we can be – a defensive-minded team. And AD brings a lot of offense, a lot of rim protection, rebounding, everything. It’s going to be fun to jell and figure out how we’re going to be successful.

“I think we have all the potential in the world. AD has been saying for a while that he wants to play the four. He’s going to have two centers in and out behind him and P.J. (Washington) goes to his natural position at the three. Just looking at that, it makes it a tough front court.”

The Mavericks traded for the 6-10 Davis on Sunday and while losing Luka Doncic has left everybody wondering what the Mavericks are going to look like moving forward, the addition of Davis ensures that they will be bigger and tougher defensively.

The people who know Davis well are the Mavericks’ players, coaches and staff. They also know that he is a proven champion who can carry a franchise for long stretches.

For that reason, concerns of a fanbase that adored Luka are understandable.

“I’m sorry they’re frustrated,” said general manager Nico Harrison. “But it’s something we believe in as an organization that’s going to make us better. We believe it sets us up to win not only now, but also in the future. And when we win, I believe the frustration will go away.”

Klay Thompson has a keen awareness of Davis and his talents.

“I know AD well,” he said. “We were able to win a World Cup in 2014, with Kyrie (Irving) as well. Hopefully we can conjure up those vibes and bring them to Dallas.”

Spencer Dinwiddie played 28 games with the Lakers last season after he was traded there by the Brooklyn Nets.

He is looking forward to another stint with him.

“AD is one of the best players I’ve played with just because of what he can do on both sides of the ball,” Dinwiddie said. “You look at the Olympics, he was the best big on the USA team and one of the main standouts.”

The Mavericks will be a different team with Davis. Luka had his style and the Mavericks embodied that style, taking on his personality. When they needed points, he typically supplied them.

He wasn’t, however, a great defensive presence, although he did apply himself better on that end of the floor in recent seasons.

But even though the Mavericks will be different with Davis, they still have plenty of talent and lots of reasons to like their situation. Thompson summed up the basic needs of the team like this:

“I still got to play my style of ball. Make the right play, take the open shot, play hard-nosed defense. And then just play with joy.

“I told the guys before the game (Sunday) that this is our joy, our dream. And no matter what happens out of our control, never take away the joy we have being able to live out our dreams every day. It’s an absolute dream to play in the NBA. You got to be one of the best athletes in the world. So you can’t let whatever’s out of your control alter your joy and hard play on the court.”

X: @ESefko

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