DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Where do the Dallas Mavericks fall when it comes to the true contenders in the West?
Are the Mavericks an actual threat to win the Western Conference, THIS year? Will Luka Doncic win NBA MVP? Can Jason Kidd lead them past the first round of the NBA playoffs and beyond, etc.?
Those and many more questions will have to be answered as the season plays out for the 2021-22 Mavs.
With that being said, can the franchise ACTUALLY represent the West in the NBA Finals THIS season?
The answer is truly…it depends. Let’s examine.
Dallas SHOULD finish in the top four of the west standings this season. It’s expected that the Mavs will win 50 games after finishing 42-30 last year in the shortened 72-game season. The Mavs blew a 2-0 series lead to the Clippers after pushing them to seven games and exited the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Luka Doncic returns, fresh off signing a five-year, $207 million supermax extension in the offseason. After putting an emphasis on the defensive end of the floor last season under former head coach Rick Carlisle, new head coach Jason Kiss is renewing that emphasis on that end of the floor in his first year at the helm (Mavs finished 21st in defensive rating last season). And most importantly, Kristaps Porzingis appears to be healthy at the outset of the season. Combine that with the additions of Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown, two 3-And-D-type players, the return of Tim Hardaway, Jr. and a fully healthy Maxi Kleber, the Mavs have the ingredients to make a deep Western Conference playoff run.
In order to be successful in the postseason, Dallas must cut down on the 39.1% usage rate of Luka Doncic last year in the NBA playoffs to provide balance and efficiency offensively.
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That is where the much-maligned Kristaps Porzingis comes in. Even if you are a detractor of Porzingis, the Mavs ultimately need him to get back to his All-Star form he had in New York to be a true contender in the West (or at least what he was in the Bubble against the Clippers). The 7-3 Latvian can increase his ceiling if he becomes a better mid-range shooter (Porzingis is a career 40.6% shooter between 16 feet & the three-point line) and becomes a force again defensively. If Porzingis can remain healthy for most of the season and into the playoffs, there is optimism the Mavericks could get to the Western Conference finals this year.
Doncic will be firmly in the MVP discussion and with a supporting cast that should be healthy, a year of growth, and with playoff experience, the Mavericks can threaten to win the West THIS season.
The Mavs will need to catch some breaks along the way, yes, but with one of the five best players in the NBA in Doncic, there’s no reason to believe they couldn’t shock the West this year.
