{"id":37389,"date":"2021-02-16T11:23:31","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T16:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=37389"},"modified":"2021-02-16T11:23:31","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T16:23:31","slug":"the-dallas-mavericks-are-waking-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2021\/02\/16\/the-dallas-mavericks-are-waking-up\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dallas Mavericks Are Waking Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been a rough start to the season for the Dallas Mavericks<\/a>. A lot of this can be attributed to\u00a0Kristaps Porzingis<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>missing the beginning of the season and important players like\u00a0Maxi Kleber<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Josh Richardson<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Dorian Finney-Smith<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Jalen Brunson<\/a><\/strong> being out for COVID-related issues. They’ve had some poor games with all of the players back, however. If the last five games are any indication, though, the Mavericks are finally peaking.<\/p>\n

The Dallas Mavericks Are Waking Up<\/h2>\n

The Last Five Games<\/h3>\n

Dallas has won four out of their last five games. The one loss went to the bitter end versus the Portland Trail Blazers, but\u00a0Damian Lillard<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>came up in the clutch. At the end of the day, that is often inevitable.<\/p>\n

The four wins came versus the Golden State Warriors<\/a>, Atlanta Hawks<\/a>, Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>, and New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>. Luka Doncic<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is the main reason for those victories, but more will come up regarding that later.<\/p>\n

The team’s collective effort is showing. Porzingis is playing well (outside of the Portland game) while Brunson is emerging as a potential starter. Finney-Smith and Kleber are making it rain from deep.\u00a0Tim Hardaway<\/a> Jr<\/strong>. is thriving in his sixth-man role.<\/p>\n

Richardson has been a tad inconsistent. His shooting and defense are down from last season, although every now and then he’ll look like his old Miami Heat<\/a> self. He needs to be better, especially to justify losing\u00a0Seth Curry<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The shortened rotation has been successful. In the long run, however, it may not be sustainable. The tide is shifting, and the Mavericks offense is firing, but the team still needs help on defense and with rebounding. They can certainly make the playoffs with an offense like this but have to make some changes for a deep playoff run.<\/p>\n

Luka Doncic is the Dallas Mavericks Star<\/h3>\n

Everyone knew this coming into the season. Doncic, of course, was one of the favorites for the MVP trophy. He started the season with a couple of rough patches (for his standards) but has changed it up.<\/p>\n

The games versus Minnesota and Atlanta were “average” for Doncic. In those wins, he finished with 26-8-5 and 28-10-10, respectively. Those wins came on very poor three-point shooting, however.<\/p>\n

The wins versus Golden State and New Orleans were fantastic for Doncic. He finished with 42-7-11 and 46-8-12, respectively. Those wins came on 58 percent and 62.5 percent three-point shooting.<\/p>\n

Doncic was incredible once again in the loss versus Portland. He went for 44-7-9 on 62.5 percent from the three-point line. The loss came due to a lack of contribution from his teammates.<\/p>\n

As good as Doncic is, it can’t be expected for him to drop 40 points every night for a win. He can do this if need be, but his teammates have to continue to improve, especially Porzingis. If this can be done, the Mavericks will be a scary sight.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Embed from Getty Images<\/a>