By DaVince “Dino” Wright
Moving Forward
I can share a lot of things said by former NBA players, Mavericks fans and news outlets about the Mavericks moving forward after the trade, but I won’t! The team is locked in and is ready to make a run for the playoffs. What’s ideal for the Mavericks is to finish the season in 6th place in the Western Conference and get into the playoffs with this young team. Keys for Dallas for the rest of the season will be rebounding, post defense, creating turnovers and scoring in transition.
Dallas at the All-Star Break
The Dallas Mavericks are 30-26 and currently sitting in the 8th spot in the Western Conference, a game and a half behind the 31-25 Minnesota Timberwolves and 2 games ahead of the Sacramento Kings at 28-27. The Mavericks have played some pretty decent ball since trading Luka away for AD while hitting the break on a 2-game winning streak. The team has basically found a way to incorporate some of their young talent by giving them huge minutes. Who knew that Dallas had all of those hidden jewels sitting on the bench. Young guys like recently acquired Max Christie to Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy, Naji Marshall and Kessler Edwards. The team will be better when Dereck Lively II, Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford come back from injuries. It’s been a crazy journey up to now. When Luka was the captain before the trade he led the team in points, rebounds and assists. Now the stats read like this: Points: Kyrie Irving 24.6, Rebounds: P.J. Washington 8.2, Assists: Kyrie Irving 4.8, Steals: Kyrie Irving 1.3 Blocks: Daniel Gafford 1.4. Dallas will eventually make the playoffs but will not win the championship this season. They have the talent but they are still missing one more piece to take the title.
So, what’s going on in Dallas?
With all of the stories and critics spewing their thoughts about the Mavericks since the Luka trade, us Mavericks fans will never know the true reasoning behind it. Moving forward Dallas has 5 key players on the IR and listed as game time decisions right now. Center Daniel Gafford is out for an extended period of time along with power forward Anthony Davis. Dallas has 3 key players listed as (GTD) game time decision: SC Klay Thompson, PF P.J. Washington and C Dwight Powell. Dallas will need to go deeper into their bench while these players are healing to keep the train rolling. Dallas has 2 games this week: Friday at home against the New Orleans Pelicans and Sunday on the road against the Golden State Warriors.
Dallas Mavericks vs New Orleans Pelicans
2/21 – Friday – 7:30 p.m. – TV: Channel 29 (DFW area)
This will be the 4th and final game against the Pelicans this season. Dallas is 2-1 and they need this game to close the gap in the playoff race and continue their winning streak. Dallas will need to out rebound the Pelicans to have a chance at a victory. The Pelicans are a dangerous team so Dallas can’t look past them in this one. Player matchup: Pelicans CJ McCollum vs Mavericks Kyrie Irving. I’m taking Dallas by 10+ Final Score: Mavericks 120 – Pelicans 95
Dallas Mavericks vs Golden State Warriors
2/23 – Sunday – 2:30 p.m. – TV: ABC/ESPN+
This will be the 4th and final game of the season between these two teams. Dallas is 2-1 against the Warriors this year and a win on the road will keep Golden State in 10th place in the West. ESPN has the Warriors with a 77.3% and they are correct! Dallas will need to play tough on the defensive end and corral the Warriors 3-point shooters. I’m taking the Warriors by 12. Players to watch: Warriors Steph Curry vs Mavericks Kyrie Irving. Final Score: Mavericks 115 – Warriors 127
