The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2023 NBA All-Star break on a 3-game losing streak, and sit at 31-29 and 6th place in the Western Conference standings. The state of the franchise is much different than when the season began. Let’s overreact, underreact and properly react to the season thus far, and to the Mavericks’ chances for 2023 NBA Championship contention.
OVER
Plenty of the Mavericks’ flaws going into the season have still not been solved. They remain reliant on two ball-handlers, albeit Kyrie Irving being a much higher level player than Spencer Dinwiddie. You can make the argument that Josh Green has emerged as the 3rd ball handler that Dallas has desperately needed for large portions of this season. However, in a 6-game sample size since the trade for Irving, it’s apparent that Green is being overextended and the teams’ need for him as a playmaker might be affecting his overall contributions on the defensive end. This won’t change going forward and they are at risk of running Green into the ground with high minutes and physically taxing defensive assignments. Although Maxi Kleber is returning after the All-Star break, a 30+ year-old veteran coming off of hamstring surgery will not be enough to elevate the Mavericks’ defense to contender-level. Their big-man rotation is still chaotic, in large part to head coach Jason Kidd’s attempts to alienate Christian Wood, and their don’t seem to be any reinforcements on the way outside of Kleber. Above all else, coaching is an aspect of the game of basketball that gets overlooked far-too-often, and the Mavericks are a net-negative in that arena. In a highly competitive Western Conference, with an abundance of star power and sleeping giants, the Mavericks will be outmatched in too many areas to make a deep playoff run.
UNDER
What is there to be worried about? The Mavericks sit only 2.5 games back of the 3 seed in the West and have the easiest remaining strength of schedule in the entire Association according to tankathon.com. The NBA is all about star power, and with the addition of Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline, the Mavericks might have the best duo in the NBA. Maxi Kleber will reinforce their defense and alleviate pressure for his teammates on the court, and they look to be fully healthy once play resumes later this week. In a WIDE OPEN Western Conference, the Mavericks have as good a chance as anyone to represent the West in the NBA Finals. Healthy Luka + motivated Kyrie + less rotation minutes for players who won’t see the floor in the postseason = a championship level team.
MY REACTION
As is with most things in life, I believe the proper reaction is somewhere in the middle. Yes, there has been little consistency with this team, unless you count being consistently inconsistent as a consistency factor. While I see the flaws the team still has, we have yet to see a fully healthy Mavericks team in over 2+ months. We have never seen the new Luka & Kyrie led squad with a full complement of regular role players. Players such as Theo Pinson, JaVale McGee, Frank Ntilikina & McKinley Wright IV will no longer see normal rotation minutes. Tim Hardaway Jr., Dwight Powell & Reggie Bullock will be able to settle into normal roles for players of their caliber and not have to do more than they’re capable of. Luka will be rested and we’ve already seen earlier in the season how well lineups with Luka-Wood-Kleber do in terms of net rating. Take all of that into account, pair it with the easiest schedule in the league post-All Star break, and you have a recipe for a strong 2nd half push going into the playoffs. This year’s Western Conference playoff is going to be a crapshoot, with unpredictability and a virtual guarantee for multiple upsets throughout the process. My belief is this current make-up of players, combined with a couple of newcomers, is primed to prove their run to the Western Conference Finals last season was no fluke.