(Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
After reaching the Western Conference Finals a couple of years ago, the Dallas Mavericks and superstar Luka Doncic appeared to have officially arrived as one of the best teams in the NBA, with a bright future ahead.
Unfortunately, last season, the Mavericks were brought back down to earth with the team failing to make the NBA playoffs, even though they had acquired fellow superstar Kyrie Irving to play alongside Doncic in Dallas.
It was a major setback for such a promising young player and team, but the Mavericks might be back on the right track this season after starting the 2023-24 NBA campaign with a record of 15-8, which has them currently in the third seed in the Western Conference behind the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder.
It’s early in the season for the Mavericks, with the team having only played 23 regular-season games thus far, but things are definitely looking up, with a better supporting cast around Doncic, as Tim Cato of The Athletic points out.
The Mavericks are more than Luka Dončić.
Yes, he is still the orchestrator. But Dallas’ supporting cast deserves some props too.@tim_cato explains: https://t.co/VWnTDQbUBL pic.twitter.com/EHJA4V40vk
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) December 13, 2023
Along with Irving starting to look like the perfect partner for Doncic, the Mavericks have made some great moves in order to put the right talent around their Sloevian superstar in order to get the best out of this team.
Tim Hardaway Jr. has played exceptionally well this season in his role off the bench and is actually in the running for NBA Sixth Man of the Year, while veteran newcomer Grant Williams has fit in nicely, and rookie Dereck Lively Jr. has been the ideal big for Dallas.
The real question now is if the Mavericks can continue to play consistently well and make a solid case to be a legitimate title contender in the West.
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