Dallas Mavericks: 3 big questions heading into 2019-20

1. Will the Doncic/Porzingis duo be as good as advertised?

In case you forgot, Luka Doncic was last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year.

Posting an uber-impressive stat line of 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game in his initial campaign, Doncic took the league by storm. His stepback jumpers and heroic antics quickly won over the hearts of Dallas Maverick fans everywhere. Having one of the greatest rookie seasons in NBA history, expectations for the 20-year-old are sky-high heading into year two.

Kristaps Porzingis last played in an NBA game on Feb. 6, 2018. Spending the rest of 2017-18 and all of the 2018-19 season recovering from a torn ACL, he’s expected to be fully healthy as this season draws nearer.

Standing 7’3″ and weighing 240 pounds, how his body reacts to full-contact basketball after around 20 months away from it will be very telling early on. Averaging 22.7 points per game before going down two yeara fo, The Unicorn was just getting his feet wet as a star in this league.

This duo has the potential to be elite. Porzingis has yet to play with a facilitator of Doncic’s caliber and Doncic didn’t have anything remotely close to another star on the team last season. Doncic is a guard and Porzingis is a big, so there’s no positional overlap.

While Doncic wasn’t a lethal three-point shooter last season, he’s plenty good enough to keep defenses honest. Unlike most 7-footers, Porzingis thrives on knocking down shots from deep as a career 36.1 percent outside shooter.

If Doncic and Porzingis gel quickly, the Mavericks could immediately improve by 5-to-10 wins. That would put them at 38-43 wins on the year without accounting for offseason acquisitions or returning players. A playoff berth may not be out of the question in Big D.