The Dallas Mavericks had quite a bit to look forward to this season, but also had a lot of questions. What has gone right, and needs to be addressed so far?
The Dallas Mavericks are 5-2. Not even 10 games into the 2019-20 campaign, there is already plenty to discuss about the fresh-faced Mavs.
Offense has not been a problem so far for the Mavericks. You have to go back to the preseason, to find the only game this season in which Dallas has scored under 100 points.
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Already, the Mavericks look to have one of the best offenses in the league.
Their victories have come against the struggling teams in New Orleans and Washington, but Dallas handed Denver one of its two losses this year. The Mavs set their season-high point total with 131 in a victory against Cleveland
Most recently, the Mavericks snagged a 107-106 win against Orlando.
The losses? A two-point setback against Portland, and an exciting overtime loss to the Lakers.
While the offense looks phenomenal, Dallas has also given up 100 points or more in every contest this season.
Defense looks like one of the rough patches that Dallas will have to address soon.
Let’s keep looking on the bright side.
Luka Doncic does not seem to have skipped a beat from his rookie campaign, as he is currently in the top 10 in the league, averaging 26.7 points per game. In addition, his 9.1 assists per game rank third in the league.
The Kristaps Porzingis comeback tour is off to a solid start as the Unicorn is averaging 19 points to go along with 8.1 rebounds per game. So far, he looks healthy and confident playing 32.6 minutes a night.
Unfortunately, health will always be in the back of fans’ minds as Porzingis carries on through the season.
While Porzingis and Doncic look like a deadly pairing so far, they have been the only two players to take more than 15 shots in a game this season.
Delon Wright has been playing consistently, averaging 9.3 points per game and spending 23.7 minutes on the court every night.
Wright also is second the team in field goal percentage at 58.1 percent. Players like Seth Curry and Jalen Brunson have been seeing less time but look equally as reliable.
The paint was a concern going into the season, but depth has proven to be a true savior . As the two only true centers, Maxi Kleber and Boban Marjanovic are averaging a combined slash line of 15.0/12.0/1.6. This is really all the Mavericks can ask for given what they have.
Dwight Powell‘s return has given the Mavericks even more depth than before and a small injury to Kleber will allow him to take on a larger workload right away.
The Mavericks have a relatively easy schedule in the early part of the season, notable games being against the Celtics, Raptors, and Spurs in the month of November.
It is far too early to deem this team worthy of a playoff spot, but there is also no sense in diminishing their composure so far.
The Mavericks have been a somewhat scattered team ever since the decline of Dirk Nowitzki. The fact that the team now has two stars to count on is a fresh and comforting sight in itself. The young cast around those two stars still need to prove their worth and that they can maintain the pace set by No. 77 and No. 6.
Looking at the rest of the league, he Mavs may be able to take advantage of some early slip-ups. Of course, the Warriors look like a mess from the top down and squads like the Jazz and Spurs don’t appear as formidable as many analysts thought.
The Clippers, Nuggets, and Lakers look as good as most thought they would and the surprising Suns may be a new threat to address later on in the year.
This of course all has to come with the awareness that we are less than 10 games into the regular season.
Barring anything catastrophic, the Mavericks look poised and ready to make noise when playoff time comes around.