DALLAS — As families gather around the country to give thanks this week, it’s good to remember that the Dallas Mavericks have a lot that they can show gratitude for, even as they try to work their way back from a down year.
With several noteworthy triumphs from the other local teams marking the last few months, things for the Dallas basketball squad have been relatively quiet over the season’s first month. Count that among the blessings for Mark Cuban’s franchise. The Mavericks are often asked to try to survive in chaos.
Instead, there has been no scandal to maneuver to date this season, but plenty of the doubts from its offseason seem to be going the Mavs way as we head into the holidays.
Here’s a better look at what the Mavericks have going for them as they get set to feast on the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of Thanksgiving:
Double the superstars
After a brief free agency period, Kyrie Irving re-signed with the Mavericks and that represented the best addition that the team has made in the Luka Doncic era. Irving did not come into the season with the look of someone on a downswing, despite some troubles integrating with Dallas after last year’s trade to join Doncic, and yet his return to the Mavs was met with side-eyes due to his past breakups.
The chemistry in the backcourt has been worlds better from the outset, with last year’s lost season now looking like more of an aberration. A full training camp together, and a collective team buy-in along with better talent throughout the roster, has seemed to allow the two dominant scorers to play off each other while getting their respective looks.
Doncic has amassed the most points by a guard to date this season with 428 total points in 14 games entering the road trip to Los Angeles, and while Irving has sat a few games due to injury, he is close behind Doncic’s league-leading 30.6 point per game average with 23.9 points, giving Dallas the highest scoring backcourt in the league.
Irving is on the Dallas books through next season with a player option in 2025. After a shaky start last spring, he appears ready to remain a Maverick through his prime and be the running mate for Luka’s mid-twenties.
Rare draft impact
The Mavs have struck out more often than not when trying to land a serviceable big man in the NBA Draft. If judging by eventual All-Stars, and if you don’t count Dirk Nowitzki, one would have to go back to the 1985 draft when Dallas selected Detlef Schrempf out of Washington with the 8th overall pick. Enter Dereck Lively, savior of Dallas’ scouting reputation.
The 19-yr old, 7’1” frontcourt performer Lively showed immense potential at Duke, and the Mavs were quick to flip Davis Bertans in a draft night trade for his rights. Early in training camp, it was obvious that Lively was better than advertised.
Now deeply rooted as the Mavericks’ starting center, Lively has outperformed expectations in his rookie season, where he is currently 4th in the league in Offensive Rating. With his combination of shot blocking, lob catching, offensive efficiency, and rebounding, he truly looks like a baby version of his mentor Tyson Chandler, and the Mavs are happy to let him continue to learn on the job.
Offseason wins
Irving was the big fish that the Mavs were opportunistic to get when Brooklyn made him available, but Dallas played his signing game with the advantage as a result of the in-season trade. Grant Williams found his way to Dallas by way of perennial playoff contender Boston, where he was an integral part of the Celtics rotation. He wasn’t able to entrench himself as a starter, something he has done with Dallas in every game to date.
Williams’ perimeter defense arrived as expected, but he also brought a three-point stroke that has given him the majority of the minutes thought to be allocated for Josh Green. Above all else, Williams looks to have filled the vibes void left by the departure of Jalen Brunson ahead of last season. Williams took a chance in leaving Beantown and the Mavs are the benefactors.
At the other end of the roster, journeyman forward Derrick Jones Jr. was brought in on a minimum deal as a result of missing out on Matisse Thybulle. Value signings rarely result in a major addition, yet Jones has been the surprise of the season to date.
The former All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk champion has been meshing well on lobs that come via the Kyrie-Luka connection, while also providing defense and a newly discovered three-point shot of his own.
Conference shakeup
The Mavericks missed the playoffs last year for the first time since the 2018-2019 season. With one of the top five players in the league on the roster, there is an intense pressure to return and show that the franchise is improving rather than spiraling.
As Doncic reaches his mid-twenties, the old guard of the league is seemingly making way for Dallas to rise again. Perennial playoff franchises like Golden State and the L.A. teams are bringing up the bottom half of the Western Conference.
Portland’s offense is the worst in the league after trading out Damian Lillard. LeBron James is still scoring 27 per game but turns 39 before the new year. The Clippers have pushed all of their chips into making the Paul George - Kawhi Leonard pairing work by pulling the James Harden desperation move that contenders seem to try before blowing up their roster. The opportunity for the Mavericks to leapfrog in the West is right in front of them.
The return of meaningful rivalries
There’s no sugarcoating it, the Southwest Division is in shambles, and those circumstances bode well for Dallas to collect another division title. While San Antonio made waves drafting their next great big with No. 1 overall selection Victor Wembanyama, the rebuilding continues for the South Texas franchise, which does not feature a single 20-point scorer while they have allowed the most points per matchup in the entire league.
The Spurs find themselves in the bottom of the Western Conference, bringing up the floor with the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies. The Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans seem to present the stiffest competition for Dallas, but neither seem built for the long haul.
Nevertheless, the Pelicans have been a pest for Dallas so far this season but they just lost CJ McCollum to a collapsed lung. Houston’s free agent additions and offseason plan to focus on improving their defense seems to be paying off but they perhaps lack star power.
Young Rockets center Alperen Sengun looks like he could be a long-term problem for the Mavs’ interior defense, and the Dillon Brooks-Fred Van Vleet combo will be tasked with countering what Doncic and Irving bring on offense.
The league is better when the in-state rivalries are at their peak, and while San Antonio needs more time to marinate, there is an opportunity to take the upstart Rockets behind the woodshed as they slowly return to relevancy.
What are you most thankful for when it comes to the 2023-2024 Dallas Mavericks? Share your thoughts with Irvin on Twitter @Twittirv.
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