It's finally April. I never thought I'd be starting a column in this final month of the regular season with a sentence like this, but nothing feels more relevant or meaningful at this point. “Dallas Mavericks is now a saying.” The team that no other team wants to see in a playoff series. Not the Clippers. Not Thunder. Not the Timberwolves. Not even the Nuggets. Over the past 25 games since the trade deadline, the Mavs have displayed the profile of a bonafide championship contender. They rank 3rd in Net Rating, 4th in Offensive Rating, 7th in Defensive Rating, and have wins over some teams that are built to win. All of it.
Currently in fifth place in the West and with the sixth-easiest remaining schedule, this team is sharp, active, dazzling, explosive, and, crucially, huge (Derek Lively II's knee injury (aside from that). There is no deficit that cannot be overcome. There can't be too much pressure in the fourth quarter. They are 1st in clutch offense, 6th in clutch defense, 5th in clutch assist percentage, and 2nd in crunch time win percentage.
This group has counters, answers, and strategic flexibility that didn't exist in October. Most matchups can be played with a lineup that at least matches your opponent's best offer. None of that would be possible without Luka Doncic. Creative, resourceful and historically unique, the 25-year-old has spent six seasons unlike any NBA player other than Nikola Jokic. (writer's notes: This declaration is subjective, but it's not wrong. )
Averaged across the league, he has the second-most points (33.8), third-most assists (9.8), and the most rebounds (9.2), while shooting 76 percent from That's nearly 40% (!). 6 people (!) step back He puts up 3s in each game. These are productivity, efficiency, and a level of difficulty that is out of touch with reality.
Just as words can't fully explain the allure of the Mona Lisa, statistics don't capture Doncic's indomitable spirit, his high pick-and-roll after high pick-and-roll, the fear and doubt he instills in defenders with his dismantling. do not have. Blitz, switch, drop, whatever range of defense currently exists. As a playmaker, he has enough size, strength, and arrhythmic electricity to invent passes and shots that no one other than Jokic would even attempt.
His plate is full, but unlike in previous seasons, no crumbs spill over the edges. Doncic's actual usage rate of 64.4 leads the league, with no other player above 60 percent. However, it's worth noting that this number hasn't gotten much lower since 2019 either. His ball completion percentage is 45.9 percent, which is also very high, but lower than his numbers from the past four years.
Downshifting is visibly adaptive and has one major ripple effect. That means Dallas doesn't feel top-heavy. Unlike before, it's now an actual team with defensive stoppers, third ball handlers, rim protectors and runners, spot-up threats, and acrobatic athletes sprinting through the open floor. There is an important role to play and I am happy to take it on. Much of that is due to a franchise player who struck a near-perfect balance between savior and enabler of a roster solidified around that greatness without relying too much on his greatness. Dante Exum, PJ Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., Daniel Gafford, Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green, and Lively will not hesitate to use the attention he draws to amplify Luka's power. .
Now, for anyone trying to predict postseason success, the heat of March can be a real fool. And as great as Doncic has been, a title fight is still a long way off if they are only supported by players who will play bright roles in the playoffs. The opposing defense is determined to stop anything that runs away during the game. regular season.
But Luka has Kyrie Irving. He's a brilliant sidekick, a game-changer, and a player who now deserves to be Doncic's most impressive teammate in history. When the Mavs traded for Kyrie, they didn't think it would work out. But a little more than a year later, he's proven effective rather than erratic on a team that has successfully strengthened its supporting cast. He hasn't missed a game since February 3rd. Since then, Irving has averaged about 26 points, five assists, and five boards per game, with shooting splits of better than 50/40/90. Throughout the season, Dallas' offense has been great when he's on the court, with or without Luka.
These combinations proved to be a great fit. I've never bought the “he only has one ball” criticism against the intergalactically talented duo. Especially when both players can shoot, dribble, and pass at a high level, and one is definitely better than the other. Irving understands that last part and has adjusted his game without any visible sacrifices.
Irving has mastered a list of dribbling moves long and complex enough to warrant its own alphabet. But without relying too much on his own virtuoso instincts and reducing the on-court benefits of a team that already features Luka, he tapered his game, which was more a result of his environment than his age. It is a product of suppression.
The guy is growing off the ball as well. He sprinted off backscreens, cut into open space, and lost none of the slippery genius best seen in live dribbling. During the 2015-16 regular season, Irving was trying to help LeBron James lead Cleveland to its first championship, but he assisted on just 29 percent of his baskets. This season, that number stands at 47 percent. If we look strictly at layups and dunks, 19 percent Some of Irving's shots were assisted during the 2015-16 season. Currently, his completion rate is at his 50%.
This change helped turn Dallas into a powerhouse with Doncic and Irving sharing the floor. Their net rating since the trade deadline as a duo is +11.9, third out of 42 teams with at least 600 minutes, boosted by their improvisation, technical skill and purposeful showmanship. It is being In Beyoncé's words, they're colder than the water on the Titanic.
Jason Kidd shifts Irving and Doncic early and often, but when they're together it's rarely “your turn, my turn” and one is free and the other is cooking. There is almost no such thing as doing so. Instead, we luxuriate in an increasingly kaleidoscopic system that is diverse enough to satisfy everyone. Early action and kick-ahead passes are also a big part of their success. The faster they move, the more opportunities each has to break down the defense and create quality shots. Dallas' transition frequency off defensive rebounds is the eighth-best in the league after three consecutive seasons in which they finished 29th or last.
The Mavs are smart. They look for mismatches as soon as they get past half court, forcing the defense to either hit the ball for two high up the floor or make a switch. Neither answer is a solution. The former will almost certainly cause a ping-pin sequence that will end in a wide-open three. The latter is an invitation to steam roll if he can help the defense stay home, especially for Doncic, who was the league's highest scorer alone. 533 points against single coverage, according to Synergy Sports.
From there, Dallas' non-star players work together to score closeouts, draw help, hit the open man, and constantly use each other's gravity to play to their strengths. Especially with the emergence of his Exum, that ceiling has been raised. He is an essential playmaker when opponents are foolish enough to hide his weaknesses. As one of the most talented bit scorers in the league, he hits big shots and doesn't flinch when Doncic or Irving calls him into action. Exum is comfortable with the ball and he can rotate well when given a 4-on-3 advantage.
The same goes for Lively, a rookie center. He understandably makes better decisions from short rolls than he did in the first few months of his career. When he's in the paint without a clear advantage, he avoids contested floaters and opts for quick passes that are sprayed to the perimeter.
Over the past few years, I've found it difficult to reconcile two different realities about the Mavericks. I'm someone who would never bet on Doncic, believing he's too special to never win a title. I'm also skeptical of franchises that make their best player's impatience their north star. The Mavs have been desperately aggressive for most of Luka's career, but as long as he's been good, his chaotic moves make it difficult to gauge how high Dallas' ceiling really is. It has become.
How they got this far this season: enough shooting to complement two notable players who regularly do literally unstoppable things that lead directly to playoff basketball; Adding athleticism, versatility is still surprising considering how mediocre they were before the trade deadline. Injuries to Maxi Kleber, Green, Exum, and Irving obviously didn't help. It wasn't a strong season for Hardaway or the disastrous Grant Williams trade.
But as a Mavs pessimist who spent the past two months on maternity leave, it's still particularly jarring to see them discover a winning identity on both sides of the ball. The night my daughter was born, Doncic roasted the Atlanta Hawks at temperatures hot enough to melt the rest of the league, but it was somewhat unfairly dismissed as a byproduct of the way the NBA game is run. It used to be that whenever someone scored his 73 points, it was cause for celebration. Now it's oversaturated and gimmicky. That last word also summed up the Mavs. One-dimensional and unserious. (Atlanta scored 143 points in that game.)
A few weeks later, the Mavs faced a potentially prohibitive trade deadline. Their futures were being mortgaged in favor of small short-term upgrades. The Mavericks would trade Williams, Seth Curry, Richaun Holmes, a 2027 first-round pick protected by the top two, and Dallas' own first-round pick for Washington and Gafford. He gave up the 2024 first-round pick he acquired in the agreement. -2028 Thunder round pick.
Later that night, after scoring 39 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and four steals in a win over the Knicks, Doncic seemed pleased with his front office's performance.The long-awaited backup center has been created. [for] It's been about three years now, so I think both players can really help us. ”
He wasn't wrong. Since then, the Mavs have held opponents to a league-high 61.2 percent from the rim. (They ranked 29th in this category before the trade deadline!) Offensively, they are second in shooting percentage at the rim at 72.4 percent. not bad! As a tag team tandem, Gafford and Lively provide relentless pressure and protection at the basket. They create second chances, induce fast breaks, and give Luka and Irving vertical pick-and-roll partners.
When you combine the length and dynamism that Jones and Washington provide, the space Kleber provides as a small-ball five, and the way Green's ball pressure accelerates the tempo, something special could be brewing in Dallas. One thing is clear. By some measure, this is the best team Doncic has ever led. He’s also better than ever. There is no guarantee of a return to the conference finals or beyond. Matchups are important in the postseason, and the West has become a place of torture. But Dallas has enough size, shooting, and star power to beat anyone. The reigning champion Nuggets are a different beast, but even Denver isn't immune to this iteration of the Mavericks. This team now creates problems that other teams don't know how to solve and solves problems that once worked.
