Photo Courtesy: Michael Kolch
Brought to you by: Big Shucks
The Dallas Mavericks’ season finally reaches it’s conclusion. They finish 33-49. Dallas didn’t finish their season swinging, despite winning their final game. They went 7-13 in their last 20 games this season. This is the first time since the 2012-2013 season that they’ll be missing the playoffs.
At one point, Dallas was 2-12, the second worse start in franchise history and it didn’t seem like things were going to get any better. Dallas then found themselves 28-36 and it looked as though a playoff berth had a very slight possibility, but Dallas did not play well enough. Basically the season started out horrible, got better only to fall back to being horrible to finish it out.
However, there are a bit of positives from this season. Longtime Maverick and favorite Dirk Nowitzki reached the 30,000-point milestone in a 122-111 win against the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the sixth player and first international player to accomplish this goal. Another one is Yogi Ferrell.
In late-January, Dallas signed Ferrell to a 10-day contract. The un-drafted and talented player made his debut the next against the San Antonio Spurs, scoring nine points in 36 minutes of playing time. In his next start, he scored a then career-high of 19 points in a win against the Cleveland Caveliers. He scored a new career-high of 32 points in 108-104 win against the Portland Trail Blazers, becoming the third un-drafted rookie to score 30 points in a game anytime in his first 15 games. Of course, he also won the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for February. No doubt, he’s a young and bright star for Dallas. At the conclusion of the 10-day contract, he signed a long-term deal. He may be the future of this team along with the likes of Seth Curry and Harrison Barnes.
Despite the rough season, head coach Rick Carlisle had the blessing of coaching some young and uprising players. Perhaps, he’s found some pieces to the puzzle to building a team that can reach the NBA Finals and bring home another title. He may have the intention of building a team much better than the 2011 squad that won the championship. No doubt, Ferrell, Curry, and Barnes are big pieces of the puzzle. Barnes led the team with 19.2 points per game. Nerlens Noel may also be another piece, however he’s got much to learn. Same thing with Ferrell.
It is now time for Dallas to set their sights on next season.
