{"id":38596,"date":"2021-03-30T09:00:11","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=38596"},"modified":"2021-03-29T20:05:23","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T00:05:23","slug":"western-conference-playoffs-dark-horse-dallas-mavericks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2021\/03\/30\/western-conference-playoffs-dark-horse-dallas-mavericks\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Conference Playoffs Dark Horse: Dallas Mavericks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/nba-teams\/dallas-mavericks\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Mavericks<\/a> are somewhat struggling this season, currently sitting at eighth in the Western Conference playoffs standings. If the playoffs started today, they&#8217;d match up versus the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/nba-teams\/san-antonio-spurs\/\" target=\"_self\">San Antonio Spurs<\/a> in the play-in tournament. A fair share of their struggles can be attributed to players out for an extended time due to injuries and COVID-19 as well as questionable player rests on back-to-back games. With all this being said, the Mavericks&#8217; roster is still loaded and they will be a major playoffs dark horse.<\/p>\n<h2>The Dallas Mavericks are a\u00a0Western Conference Playoffs Dark Horse<\/h2>\n<h3>Luka Doncic is an MVP-Caliber Player<\/h3>\n<p>It&#8217;s no secret that the Mavericks have one of the league&#8217;s most talented players in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Luka Doncic<\/strong><\/a>. If they were a couple of spots higher in the standings he&#8217;d be vying for the league&#8217;s MVP award. This season he&#8217;s averaging 28.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game. Since the beginning of February, he&#8217;s also been shooting lights-out. Lastly, Doncic&#8217;s clutch play cannot be overlooked, as seen versus a meeting with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/nba-teams\/boston-celtics\/\" target=\"_self\">Boston Celtics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/I2Xw_2CJvr8\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Any team with Doncic will always be in contention. Even if he&#8217;s struggling to score the basketball, he&#8217;ll find a way to create offense elsewhere and hit double-digit assists. He&#8217;s a machine on the offensive side of the ball and has grown into a very solid defender. Doncic is also a fierce competitor, as seen in last season&#8217;s playoff series versus the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/nba-teams\/los-angeles-clippers\/\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>. His championship history in Europe gives him his &#8220;never say die&#8221; attitude that he will bring to the floor each and every night in the Western Conference playoffs.<\/p>\n<h3>The Kristaps Porzingis Factor is Key for the Western Conference Playoffs<\/h3>\n<p>There&#8217;s been plenty of debate on the decline of Latvian big man\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/porzikr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kristaps Porzingis<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>Injuries definitely continue to plague him, but much of the talk is exaggerated. This season he&#8217;s averaging 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.<\/p>\n<p>He showed out his last game without Doncic versus the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/nba-teams\/indiana-pacers\/\" target=\"_self\">Indiana Pacers<\/a>, scoring 31 points and collecting 18 rebounds. The Mavericks lost, but none of that blame can be shouldered on Porzingis. When he&#8217;s on his stride, he&#8217;s nearly unstoppable. Porzingis can drain threes from the logo and hit near-impossible fadeaways. Fair criticism on his game, however, is his indecisiveness in the paint. He stands at 7&#8217;3&#8243;, and needs to take advantage of that more often.<\/p>\n<p>Dallas did not upgrade their frontcourt during the trade deadline, placing clear faith in Porzingis. The time is now for him to prove his ability to be a real number two option alongside Doncic. If the playoffs started today, Dallas would most likely face the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/nba-teams\/utah-jazz\/\" target=\"_self\">Utah Jazz<\/a>. A player of Porzingis&#8217;s quality has what it takes to face off versus\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/goberru01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rudy Gobert<\/a><\/strong>, and the Mavericks will need the Porzingis of last season to compete with the Western Conference&#8217;s elite bigs.<\/p>\n<h3>A Strong, but Underperforming Supporting Cast<\/h3>\n<p>Dallas has a very solid supporting cast on paper. This includes\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/richajo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Richardson<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/finnedo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dorian Finney-Smith<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardati02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Tim Hardaway Jr.<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brunsja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Brunson<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/klebima01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maxi Kleber<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/caulewi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Willie Cauley-Stein<\/a><\/strong>, and the newly-acquired\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/redicjj01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">J.J. Redick<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Richardson is wildly inconsistent. He can drop 20 and play elite defense, or go 1\/11 on the floor like he just did versus the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/nba-teams\/new-orleans-pelicans\/\" target=\"_self\">New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>. He needs to continue to score at least 13-14 points per game along with his stellar perimeter defense. The same goes for Finney-Smith. His defense is typically solid, but his shooting has been inconsistent as well. He perfected his role last season as a strong defender, rebounder, and shooter from deep. Finney-Smith&#8217;s return to consistency is key.<\/p>\n<p>Hardaway Jr. and Brunson, on the other hand, are playing very well this season. They&#8217;re the main pieces of the Dallas bench. Hardaway Jr. is averaging nearly 17 points per game on 40 percent shooting from deep, while Brunson is averaging roughly 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists per game.<\/p>\n<p>The two key big men outside of Porzingis are Kleber and Cauley-Stein. Kleber is playing decently, bringing his typical strong defense and deep shooting. Cauley-Stein, however, remains as inconsistent as Richardson. One game he may look like a legitimate starting center, and the next a stash on the bench.<\/p>\n<p>Redick will be key to the Mavericks&#8217; revitalization. They desperately need a sniper who could thrive off the ball alongside Doncic. Redick has done this his entire career, and although he&#8217;s aging, he&#8217;ll see plenty of open looks in this offense. If he can shoot in the 40-45 percent range from three, the Dallas offense may be as scary as it was last season.<\/p>\n<p>Main Image: <a id=\"5DjWrz5XTjRPqcbZ0tUIAg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1184294751\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'5DjWrz5XTjRPqcbZ0tUIAg',sig:'ZIWSLKtQLYpWZJnS9o1gay6Cg4ld9yYBmO7IGOSOabw=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1184294751',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Dallas Mavericks are somewhat struggling this season, currently sitting at eighth in the Western Conference playoffs standings. If the playoffs started today, they&#8217;d match up versus the San Antonio Spurs in the play-in tournament. A fair share of their struggles can be attributed to players out for an extended time due to injuries and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2248,"featured_media":38597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,1608,62],"tags":[138,1133,4210],"class_list":["post-38596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mavericks","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-kristaps-porzingis","tag-luka-doncic","tag-mavericks-featured"],"modified_by":"Chase Gage","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2248"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}