Dallas finally assembled a worthy roster around it’s MVP candidate to vanquish the Clippers
When the Dallas Mavericks lost in consecutive years to the Clippers back in Luka Doncic’s first two playoff runs in 2020 and 2021, the consensus was clear — the team was not good enough.
The Mavericks made a big swing with the Kristaps Porzingis trade, but then worked the margins to fill the rest of the gaps. Dallas relied on second round picks, undrafted free agents, and buy-out candidates to fill the gaps around their budding superstar. In those first two series, Doncic was spectacular, averaging 33.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 9.5 assists in those 13 playoff games while shooting 55.4 percent on two pointers and 39.2 percent on three pointers.
It was everything else that seemingly didn’t work. While Paul George and Kawhi Leonard enjoyed productive moments from role players like Nicholas Batum, Marcus Morris, Ivicia Zubac, and Patrick Beverley, the Mavericks role players were almost no where to be found. This was after years of Dallas tip-toeing around upgrading the roster, trying to bargain shop for players in a league that places a premium on talent. In the NBA playoffs, there is no where to hide.
So when you look at the Mavericks Friday night thumping of the Clippers in Game 6 to clinch a first round series win, it’s hard not to compare and contrast. Dwight Powell is on the bench, not starting, replaced by a two-headed monster of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively. Jalen Brunson has turned into Kyrie Irving, who has reminded everyone why we all used to call him the most offensively talented guard in all of basketball not that long ago. Dorian Finney-Smith and Josh Richardson are now P.J. Washington and Derrick Jones Jr., who put the clamps on George and James Harden unlike what any Maverick did against George and Leonard in the prior series. The Mavericks biggest offseason addition for the 2021 season, Josh Richardson, played a scoreless six minutes in the Mavericks Game 7 loss to the Clippers three years ago. The Mavericks biggest offseason pickup before this season, rookie center Dereck Lively, played 24 minutes, with 10 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and one steal in Game 6 on Friday night. What a difference a few years make.
Meanwhile, look at Doncic — he played perhaps his worst playoff series to date just now against the Clippers, shooting 40 percent from the field and 24 percent from three. Now, he still did great things, passing the ball well, generating looks for his teammates, scoring in the paint, and being a plus defensively for the majority of the series. But if Doncic shot that poorly in 2020 or 2021, the Mavericks might have gotten swept each time. Now, in 2024, the Mavericks have not only won a playoff series with Doncic struggling from the field, but won a series decisively. There was no room for doubt in Games 5 and 6, which the Mavericks won by a collective 43 points. The Mavericks roster is finally good enough.
A team anemic to athleticism and talent for most of Doncic’s run now is overflowing with it. Jones, Washington, Gafford, Lively all standout and had their moments in this series. Dallas averaged a combined 13.5 steals and blocks per game in this series, an unfathomable a year ago when the Mavericks were one of the worst defensive splash play teams in the league.
Now the Mavericks have a wing that can do this to Paul George.
Funny enough, Jones is one of those bargain bin shopping pickups, but Washington, Gafford, Lively were all acquired with valuable draft capital. It’s a neat party trick for an NBA team to be competitive without spending more, but that strategy can only work for so long, with the playoffs revealing all. You have to pay more for better players, regardless of how smart you think you are, and the Mavericks finally paid for better players. Dallas played a seven man rotation in Game 6 after Maxi Kleber injured himself early in the first half. All seven of those players aside from Jones were brought to Dallas by spending a first round pick. While that makes Dallas perhaps more all-in than some would like with Doncic still at 25-years-old, it also makes them good, because the only way to get this good in the NBA if you can’t grow all your own talent is to spend money and picks.
It also helps to finally nail the co-star, which the Mavericks did with Irving. After years toiling away with the awkward chemistry and fit of Doncic and Porzingis, then losing a homegrown talent in Brunson, the Mavericks have stabilized the second best player spot greatly. Irving is perhaps the only Doncic teammate that could have splashed down that absurd four-point play in the third quarter, when the Mavericks smacked the Clippers into submission.
But what’s perhaps more notable than this shot, which will likely lead every highlight and get all the buzz, was this defensive play earlier in the third quarter, when Irving stole the ball before diving on the floor to try and secure possession.
That’s a 31-year-old Irving diving on the floor like he’s 20 again. Much like Doncic’s repeated stonewalls against the Clippers isolation offense earlier in the series, when the two stars buy in to guard, it makes things much easier. What also makes things easier is having better players. The Mavericks have them now, after searching and scrambling for the better part of five years. Dallas might not win the championship this season, but they’re good enough. For a team with a talent as good as Doncic, that’s all you need.
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