When Makar is at his very best, IMO he's the clear cut 2nd best player in the league. I don't think we saw that last year with any consistency. Maybe a few games here or there, but not a stretch of 20-30 games like we have seen in the past. He's going to put up bonkers offensive numbers regardless... he's very dynamic, he's paired up with 2 elite forwards very consistently, and he gets a ton of PP time. The offense is just going to be there unless some massive regression happens.
The defense is just the huge question mark... his first 3 seasons, he was at least very good and sometimes elite defensively. The last two seasons have been steps back. Going from arguably elite to very good to good... it isn't horrible, but it is noticeable. It might be more noticable because the Avs are a high end defensive team. For all the screams, most certainly a top 10 team and on the verge of top 5. When Makar was on though, certainly a top 5 if not top 2 or 3 defensive team. It just shines a light on the issue when that happens.