Deeper by the Dozens: The unsung depth of the Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks have been one of the biggest surprises in the Western Conference, but they’re much more than just Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis

The success of a team in today’s NBA is fairly gauged by the sum and quality of their parts. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have all-star caliber talents frontrunning the team’s success largely because of their immense talent opening the game up for themselves and their teammates.

Yet, a true success story in the gauntlet of the NBA known as the Western Conference can only be truly manifested through stout and consistent play by the roster’s complete lineup.

The Dallas Mavericks are a true success story thirty games into their NBA season and for a lack of better terms, a surprising one at that. Just the other night, the unit led by the return of second-year international Phenom Luka Doncic held off the San Antonio Spurs 102-98 to obtain their 20th victory in their first 30 games.

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While the NBA world predicted an uptick of wins in their season total heading into the 2019-20 season, none expected the Mavericks to be a top-five team in the West oh-so suddenly.

Much of the team’s resurgence from being Western Conference basement dwellers to playoff contenders can be attributed to Luka’s sophomore season of the ages. Doncic has seen an immense uptick from his point total per game from 21.2 his rookie year to 29.1 his second year. Albeit its only during a 26 game sample size, he’s doing so with just a three-shot attempt per game increase while delving out 9.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists through a 55 percent field goal percentage.

Luka’s borderline triple-double average has shown throughout the feat’s rare history that such a stat from one player can propel a team led by a star and rudimentary parts to at least a playoff berth. Yet, the Mavs are much more than just an array of simple parts. Doncic’s ankle injury that sidelined him for over a week proved the team’s depth during his four-game absence.

Mark Cuban and the Mavericks pulled off the ultimate trade heist with the New York Knicks last season to obtain their disgruntled superstar Kristaps Porzingis from an organization on the uptick to nowhere. Porzingis was an all-star with the Knicks before his ACL injury in 2017-18, which sidelined him for a whole season.

Porzingis averaged over 22 points, six boards, and nearly 2.5 blocks per game, becoming the ultimate stretch-five rim-protector that is now a new norm in today’s 21st century NBA. However, there were questions on his health heading into this season and would he be a viable duo partner with Doncic in 2019 with him being a year removed from his rehab.

Together, the dynamic duo has been a bit confusing. Porzingis stays camped behind the 3-point line as a stretch-five but his touches in the offense largely depend on Luka giving him the rock to do damage as a pick-and-pop man. He’s no longer the focal point of an offensive unit like he was with the Knicks who found versatile ways to feature him with the basketball both inside and out.

During Luka’s four-game absence Porzingis became the team’s top scorer, averaging over 22.5 points per game including double-double outputs in wins against the Bucks and Sixers on the road with 26 and 12, and 22 and 18 respectively. Yet in both matchups, the team’s depth during those wins and overall throughout the season has helped mold them into a more complete squad.

The Mavericks have the fifth-highest scoring second unit in the league at 43.2 points per game. Delon Wright and Seth Curry are their backup guard duo that leads the second unit attack and has produced solid point outputs and playmaking abilities on a weekly basis.

Their second unit has a Net Rating of 5.9, which is the best in the NBA. Seth Curry exploded against the Bucks recently, in which he scored 26 points on 16 shots. Against the Spurs, Delon Wright turned in a balanced attack in which he finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Dallas is a legit team at 20-10 currently in the same loss column as their division rivals the Houston Rockets and the title-contending LA Clippers who rank above them in the standings at No. 4 and 3 respectively.

With the Lakers fall from early-season invincibility happening slow but steady, the Mavs have an opportunity to be a top-three seed in the Western Conference which is a far cry from what they were expected to do heading into the season.

And while their superstar emergence from Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic in his sophomore season deserves an array of appraisals as being the key to the team’s success, their scoring depth, and well-roundedness as a unit coached by Rick Carlisle has his team trending upward. All of this being conducted through a chain of structure and order led by the Matador, a Unicorn and their adequate contemporaries.