The Dallas Mavericks are rounding into form at the right time
The Dallas Mavericks could emerge as a dangerous team heading into the playoffs.
The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2020-21 season with high expectations. Luka Doncic was considered the early MVP favorite, Kristaps Porzingis was expected to be healthy and at full strength as the type of player the team envisioned playing alongside Doncic as the Mavs were one of the teams in the Western Conference to make huge strides considering the success they had last season.
Things didn’t quite start off as planned for the Mavs as they started the season with an 8-13 record which included a six-game losing streak. The Mavs didn’t panic and as of late has seemed to right the ship as they have vastly improved going 16-9 in their last 25 games.
During that stretch, the Mavs had key victories against the Clippers, Blazers, Spurs, Celtics, and Nets as they are currently in 7th place in the Western Conference. The Mavs struggled with consistency early on but that was largely due to injuries to key players Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Richardson, and Maxi Kleber.
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Injuries are an issue the Mavs have had to overcome especially dealing with Porzingis staying healthy as he is the team’s second best player behind Doncic and is a critical component to the team’s success.
The Mavs added guard J.J. Redick at the trade deadline which was a huge acquisition due to his skill-set and his ability to fit right in with the dynamics of the team’s offensive scheme. Redick is a career 40 percent shooter from behind the arc, is deadly coming off of screens with his ability to catch and shoot while also coming off of dribble handoffs as he should create more spacing and opportunities for Doncic and Porzingis.
While the Mavs rank in the top 10 in offensive rating, their main issue and concern remains to be on the defensive end. The Mavs rank dead last in the NBA in steals per game, are 8th worst in 3-point percentage allowed, are 11th worst in blocks per game with the 9th worst defensive rating.
It’s surprising that the Mavs front office didn’t acquire a rim protector or a quality 3-and-D player such as Trevor Ariza, Aaron Gordon, Victor Oladipo, or even Andre Drummond to help out defensively because there will definitely come a time when they will have to get crucial stops late in close games because they won’t be able to just outscore every opponent they face.
Despite their defensive struggles the Mavs are top 3 in the league in opponents points off turnovers which indicate that they are taking care of the basketball ranking third in the NBA with just 12.2 turnovers per game. The Mavs are also top 5 in the NBA in points allowed in the paint.
Even though Porzingis seems to struggle with his mobility and guarding players in space on the perimeter, he does serve as a decent rim protector and his presence in the paint as a 7-footer makes a huge difference. But it all starts with Doncic and his ability to dominate at a high level with his ability to get in the paint and apply pressure on the opposing defense.
Whenever teams collapse the paint in an attempt to cut off Doncic’s driving lanes, that’s when we see “Luka Magic” right before our eyes as he dishes out incredible jaw-dropping behind the back and no-look passes racking up assist after assist as he is known for his knack for finding open teammates.
Guarding Doncic one on one seems like a tall and impossible task for any defender as he uses a combination of strength, shooting, creativity and craftiness to get buckets. Doncic is also great in transition as smaller defenders don’t stand a chance guarding him. This could very well be a dangerous Mavs team come playoff time as we watched how this same team pushed the Clippers to the brink in last season’s NBA bubble.
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This a Mavs team that nobody should want to face and they will go as far as Doncic takes them. If other teams aren’t on notice and realize just how good this team could be and take them lightly, then the Mavs could very well pull off some upsets in the postseason.