The tail-end of the Dallas Mavericks’ current stretch of away games sends them back out west to California — where they just played two games against the Sacramento Kings last week — to face the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night in San Francisco.
The Mavs have been playing very strong team basketball lately, as Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving lead the charge with consistently elite-level play.
There are only eight games remaining in the regular season and all of them are going to count as Dallas is battling for playoff seeding which will decide first-round matchups, something that could make a world of difference in their upcoming playoff journey. Aside from the most pressing questions, like what will they wear and what are they listening to right now, here are a few things to look for as the Mavs ride into San Francisco to take on the Warriors.
Will Doncic, Kyrie continue to lead the charge?
During the Rockets postgame press conference, when directly asked if he felt like he’s playing MVP-worthy ball, Luka Doncic answered like he always does.
“That’s a question for you guys to answer,” he said. “I’m not voting.”
Doncic has been setting the standard for excellence all season long. When he has the (very) occasional poor shooting game, he tends to follow that up with what seems like an oath of vengeance against whatever demi-god had suppressed his shot. His performance this season has reached a new level of sustained distinction, and he deserves to win the MVP award for the year, in my humble opinion. However, the ultimate goal is to win the NBA championship, so the more paramount element of focus for Mavs fans right now should be continuing to win games. Of course, Doncic’s efficiency tends to be the cardinal reason for their success on a night-to-night basis, but that efficiency translates just as well to overall game orchestration, helping secure victory even when he’s not the one taking the shot. It’s obviously paid off having someone as inconceivably talented as Kyrie Irving in the lineup next to Doncic, but they’re also finding other ways to win games, and perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that this is the case when you have two guys like that.
Whether the plays are coming via fast-break points, pick and roll ‘oops to the big boys, or finding the open man for spot up shooting, it’s becoming evident that these two have found a rhythm together on the court as co-orchestrators, and it’s not easy to stop their music once they get rolling.
Will the Mavericks defense continue to improve?
The Dallas defense has limited opponents to less than 100 points in four of their last ten games. That might not sound like a big deal to you, but it’s only happened two other instances during the entire 2023-24 campaign.
In today’s NBA, it’s also just not an easy task. During those four recent matches, the team has out rebounded their opponent in all but one of the games, in which they tied in that category. They also produced impressive steal and block totals. It seems as if a message has proliferated within the locker room that has galvanized the unit, as a whole. While these are things to feel positive about, I believe this defense hasn’t yet lived up to its full potential. They’ve only just begun to settle in and gel. No doubt, it is great timing for such a congealment to occur. As such, they’re 9-1 of their last 10, the one loss being a game that Doncic did not play and in which they turned the ball over 19 times. Between Doncic, Irving, and a very strong pick and roll game, there haven’t been questions this year regarding the team’s offensive output. Now that defense is becoming a strong suit, as well, the wins are stacking up and they’re positioning themselves well to clinch a playoff berth in the Western Conference.
I’d suggest this is a team that has more control over its destiny than luck does, at the moment, and if the defense reaches its ceiling in the next two to three weeks, there could be a good amount of Dallas basketball left to watch this spring.
Can the role players keep it up?
Lately, it seems that on any given night, someone different shows up to chip in a solid shooting performance for the Mavericks. Doncic and Irving consistently dominate the offensive output, as everyone knows, but there are times when someone else must take advantage of the fact that those two are being doubled.
This very thing is occurring at a higher clip than it has all season, and it’s not just coming on threes alone. We’re seeing the Dallas bigs score in the paint, we’re seeing wings drive to the cup or take higher percentage shots closer to the rim, rather than settling for contested jumpers. Dallas also happens to be a very strong three point shooting team, for the most part. The overarching point is, the Mavs are seeing offensive output from players other than their superstar duo. This support will remain a key ingredient to this team’s overall success. It’s been very good to see P.J. Washington looking confident and scoring of late. Dante Exum has returned to the form he was in prior to being shelved with an injury. Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively are getting it done when they’re called upon.
The situation the Mavericks now find themselves in is one in which everyone on the floor is locking in, becoming attuned to collective in-game anticipations, and developing a feel for exactly when it’s their turn to shoot the ball. It’s been a lot of fun to see this development take shape. For me, Derrick Jones Jr. has been my favorite non-Luka or Kyrie Maverick to watch on offense this season. Who’s yours?
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