Dallas Mavericks: Are they a playoff team?

The Western Conference is viewed as the more dominant conference in the NBA, and it is hard for a new team to break through as a legitimate playoff contender. The Dallas Mavericks have not been in the playoffs since the 2015-16 season, where they were defeated in the first round. Is this their year to once again become a playoff team?

Last season, the Dallas Mavericks ended the year with a subpar record of 24-58, placing 13th in the Western Conference. It just seemed as if the talent on the team would not click. The Mavs lacked an “it” factor.

That “it” factor arrived during the 2018 NBA Draft, when the Mavericks made a trade with the Atlanta Hawks to acquire the rights to the third overall pick, Luka Doncic.

Doncic was an accomplished phenom coming out of the EuroLeague. Since the age of 14, he was playing ball with grown men — experience no other draft prospect had.

So far, the 6’7″ rookie is averaging 19.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. The 19-year-old is a clear frontrunner for Rookie of the Year with numbers like that. With his size and maneuverability, he can really play any position from point guard to power forward.  This makes him unguardable at times.

Another offseason addition made by the Mavericks was the signing of big man DeAndre Jordan, an All-Star in the 2016-17 season. Dallas seized the opportunity to bring much-needed height to the team, and with franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki sidelined due to ankle surgery, Jordan was exactly what the Mavs needed.

So far this season, Jordan is proving his worth, averaging a double-double. In 32 minutes per game, he’s posting 10.8 points, 13.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Another astonishing stat is that the big man is shooting at an extremely efficient rate of 63.4 percent.

Another key asset for the Mavericks is Dennis Smith Jr., who is entering his second year in the league. The 20-year-old is an extremely underrated and underappreciated player in the league and is truly capable of remarkable things.

Smith, a point guard, is one of the best dunkers in the league. He is known to fly through the air and pull off some truly remarkable acrobatic dunks.

So far this season, Smith Jr. is averaging 14.5 points, 3.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. He is improving his field goal percentage from last season and is now shooting a respectable 44.3 percent.

Another player often slept on by NBA fans is Harrison Barnes. The 26-year-old has stepped into a leadership role on the young Mavericks team and is becoming a mentor for future stars Doncic and DSJ.

So far this season, Barnes is averaging 16.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Those solid numbers allow the Mavericks to consistently rely on his ability to play good basketball.

The 32-year-old veteran Wesley Matthews is also a big contributor on this squad. Averaging 16.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game this season, the undrafted nine-year vet is proving he still belongs in the league.

With key role players like Dorian Finney-Smith, Dwight Powell, J.J. Barea, and Jalen Brunson coming off the bench, and Nowitzki returning from injury at some point, the Mavericks are a quiet beast of the Western Conference.

In their most recent game, they upset the defending champion Golden State Warriors 112-109 after game-clinching free throws by Doncic. After starting the year 1-7, Dallas is now sitting at 7-8.

The struggles at the beginning were due to low team chemistry after the addition of new players to the roster. It is clear they are getting more comfortable, as the Mavericks are currently dominating, and on a four-game win streak.

One of the more noticeable games was against the Utah Jazz, when they were able to blow out Donavan Mitchell and company by 50 points.

This young Dallas Mavericks team are finally clicking, and it is time to view them as a dangerous group in the Western Conference. They very well could be in the playoffs come this postseason.