The Mavs Superstar is born.
Ever since Luka Doncic started taking the league by storm, we’ve all been wondering how far he can take the Dallas Mavericks? Last year we got a glimpse of what the Mavs and Luka can do when everything goes according to plan. We also saw him hit the wall that many all-time greats have struggled with. That wall is a good reminder that this is still a team sport and there will always be a team that has more talent and more experience who will expose a Superstar’s weaknesses.
So how do you get over that wall? You need talent, a lot of chemistry and some more talent. Superstars can’t carry a team all year, every year by themselves, they need help.
An unexpected deep playoff run.
They surprised the Utah Jazz in the first and forced them into a rebuild. Then in the second round they shocked the word by beating the #1 seed Phoenix Suns in seven games. Everything was going great for Luka as the Mavs were headed to the Western Conference Finals. But alas it was not meant to be as they ran into the wall in the form of the Golden State Warriors who happen to have a whole lot of talent and a ton of experience. Losing to the Warriors was not a problem but a sign of where this team was at. They relied heavily on Luka for that deep run and bringing in some help would greatly improve their chances.
The Mavs need help!
After a long playoff run the hope was that Dallas would keep their core players and add some pieces. Instead, they lost their second most important player Jalen Brunson and failed to make meaningful acquisitions during the off season. They still managed a decent start this season and were the 4th seed in the West up until the trading deadline when they traded for controversial superstar Kyrie Irving. Regardless of what people have to say about Kyrie, the fact remains that he is one of the best players on the planet. And while I understand the risk involved with adding Kyrie, the chance of seeing him play next to Luka was a risk worth taking.
Let’s be honest here, before the trade that Mavs team was unlikely to win a championship this year. But to say they would’ve’ missed the playoffs was almost unthinkable, specially with Luka having an MVP caliber season. Yet the Mavs did just that, going 9-17 since the trade and 5-11 with both Luka and Kyrie on the floor. They dropped all the way to the 11th seed and “failed” to win at least one more game to have a chance to qualify for the play-in tournament. Their horrible tanking effort warranted a $750,000 fine by the NBA for conduct detrimental to the league. Now they find themselves out of the play-in tournament and done for the season.
Was it all for nothing?
Well, not quite. By missing out on the playoffs the Mavs have secured a top 10 pick in this year’s draft, had they made the playoffs they would’ve owed their pick to the Knicks, as part of the Porzingis deal. The draft pick gives the Mavs an option and right now they need all they can get. While Luka said he’s happy to be in Dallas during his exit interviews, Kyrie declined to do the interviews. A sign that he might not be back next year as he goes into free agency. Even if Kyrie does leave, the Mavs had to give themselves a chance to pair Luka with another superstar. They had to execute and show him that at the very least they tried.
Text Sources: nba.com, espn.com
