Dallas Mavericks: 5 reasons to be excited for the 2018-19 season
By Amaar Burton
5. Rick Carlisle is a great coach
Talent and teamwork wins titles at the highest level of basketball. However, a great coach can take a team that may be lacking in those two categories and win at least a few games with his own wizardry from the bench.
Rick Carlisle is one of the best coaches in the sport, a brilliant game-planner and master of adjustments. The Mavericks will win a handful of games this season that they otherwise have no business winning thanks to Carlisle’s coaching ability.
Last season’s team was worse on paper than this version and Carlisle guided them to victories over the star-studded Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs (with Kawhi Leonard in the lineup); a win over the Portland Trail Blazers at a time when Portland was one of the hottest teams in the league; and a four-game December win streak over four eventual playoff teams: the Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Pelicans and Thunder.
Three of those four games were on the road.
If you’re an X’s-and-O’s aficionado, you’ll enjoy watching Carlisle work.