This lone ranger is worth keeping an eye on
The Dallas Mavericks' 123-113 win over the Phoenix Suns is on a seven-game winning streak, and this team is worth watching.
Dallas has been a weird season, with injuries like he's been cursed: Kyrie Irving has missed 22 games, and attendance has been a concern for him; Starting center superstar Drake Lively II has missed 18 games; Another key rotation, Dante Exum, has missed 24 games and has not played in this game, but is expected to return for a four-game road trip.
Irving, who arrived with the Mavericks before the trade deadline last season, has played only 45 games with Luka Doncic combined. That's less than Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, for example, have played together this season (49).
Two weeks ago, the Mavericks had to evaluate the team at the trade deadline, and despite Doncic's MVP-caliber performance and a wave of unties, the team won a few times, lost a few and found itself in the middle of the West overall.
They chose to double down on their efforts this season and forgo future first-round picks — either directly or through swap rights — in exchange for immediate improvement. P.J. Washington was brought in from the Hornets and Daniel Gafford was brought in from the Wizards. Now, they're on a seven-game winning streak, tied with the Boston Celtics for the longest winning streak in the league, thanks in large part to their earlier lighter schedule.
However, the game against the Phoenix Suns will not be easy. Dallas will need to beat this team to secure a vital direct win-loss relationship. But nothing is more important than how Dallas won.
The Suns regularly led by double digits throughout the first half, including an 11-point lead in the final five minutes of the second quarter. But Dallas started the second half with five three-pointers, and their defense made them even better. At one point, Dallas fielded a roster with Doncic and Irving as the core star, plus Washington, Gafford and Maxi Kleber.
That's a big lineup," Doncic said after the game, "I like it." ”
This season, Dallas has been a dangerous team whenever Doncic and Irving are on the floor at the same time. If you add Lively, the team is even better: they are the second best combination of the Mavericks in a trio that have played at least 250 minutes together, outscoring their opponents by 12 per 100 possessions3 points.
But what's interesting about the Mavericks' pivotal win is that Lively — who is undeniably integral and important to the team this season, especially as a rookie center who just turned 20 — barely played in the second half. It's not because he's not important to the team's future or his alignment, but because the team has other options that work better against the Suns.
We have a deep roster," said Coach Jason Kidd, "and this is the first time in a long time that the Mavericks have that kind of roster depth. ”
For the first time since taking charge in 2021, Kidd has faced a roster selection problem, and it will be even more complicated when Exum returns. But unlike last season's outright disaster or another season's over-tired rotation, these are the issues that benefit the team:
Should Exum take time away from Hardaway Jr. or even Josh Green, despite the latter's excellent performance? Should the resurgent Kleber play as a five-out center for most of the fourth quarter today, rather than using traditional non-shooting spots like Lively or Gafford did? Jones Jr. even blocked KD's jumper today, and unlike others, he can still contribute solid one-on-one defense against top ball handlers, so what should he be in the rotation?
Washington immediately stepped into the starting lineup, bringing with him the team's most immediate selection dilemma, the good one, of course.
Especially PJ, in the last four games," Doncic said, "his defense has been amazing. In the post-game interview, when asked if today's game felt like a playoffs, Washington replied, "I don't know. I've never played in the playoffs. In the follow-up question, he mentioned his experience of playing in the play-offs twice, admitting: "[It's] definitely a little bit better than the play-offs. ”
Washington is more of a blind box than Gafford, who is the same as Lively and more experienced than a rookie (Lively will be more important against other opponents, but only Gafford will play in the fourth quarter, and Kidd mentioned after the game that if he needs to switch to a traditional center, the latter would be that option). His selling point in the draft was the space No. 4 position, but his projection wasn't consistent, but he did represent something that might be more valuable in the modern NBA, what my colleagues recently called a "two-way wing."
Washington is tall enough to grab offensive rebounds and agile enough to attack the basket, which he often did in this game, even though he shot just 2-of-6 from three-point range. What's more, he can defend multiple positions, either as a single defender or as a helper. In the post-trade deadline game, Dallas continued their previous defensive principles. But in this game, Dallas tried a new principle.
We're looking for new ways to defend and the players are doing really well with that," Kidd said, "and we revolve around one guy (in rotation). That's what we're thinking about doing right now, we're going to pick one guy to rotate and that guy is going to be our co-defender, we're going to rotate around that guy that's chosen. ”
It will take more time to understand – we'll do it soon over the weekend, and once they play a few more games, it will be easier to explain the specifics of the team's zonal defensive principles, sometimes true zone-defence – but importantly, the team's coaching staff believes that these defensive nuances will only change after the trade.
Asked if the team's new defensive strategy stemmed from trade deadline reinforcements, Kidd said, "Oh, sure. For Washington, his ability to help defend and rotate accordingly is crucial, and he agrees that the team's rotation is built for that. ”
Our task on the outside was simple, just switch and be aggressive, try to press the ball," Washington said, "and let the opponent throw a tough shot." I think we're doing a good job of that. Obviously, we have a lot of people who can change the defence, we can cover up in front of the ball. So it makes us a very good team defensively. ”
Crucially, Doncic agrees. On the offensive end, the team's backbone scored 41 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds on an ordinary night, with just three turnovers. Again, when he played with Irving, it was a picturesque sight: his partner scored 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting.
But while most people tend to focus on his scoring highlights, Doncic has increasingly turned to talking about his efforts on the defensive end in his postgame interviews. "It's not for myself, it's for my team," Doncic said. 'The team needs me and that's what I do for the team. Honestly, I felt like I did a good job [defensively] today. ”
Doncic is a potential MVP candidate and could even be the frontrunner this season if things change. He's fresh off helping the team to the sixth seed, and he's been a lifeline for the team during an injury-ridden season, despite his partner's frequent absences.
But when Irving is on the floor, and perhaps now a Maverick who is defending like never before since the Luka era, a lot of things will depend on his own input. Just like he's done for most of the season, he's delivering on his promises.
There's a lot to prove, learn, and understand about this Lone Ranger. Admittedly, there is a good chance that the remaining 26 games of the season will prove that they are still incomplete in some ways. There's no need to make a declaration or a pledge right now, especially since the performance of the previous four months is so unclear that there are no excuses for other reasons.
But at least keep an eye on them, because the Mavericks are really worth keeping an eye on right now. And, when those excuses about health and roster disappearance finally fade, the Mavericks should prove that they are not doing it in vain.