5 biggest surprises from first month of 2019-20 NBA season
2. Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis have Dallas Mavericks thinking playoffs
The Dallas Mavericks have missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. Not only that, but they haven’t won more than 33 games during that stretch.
Despite the lack of success, the Mavericks had a couple of reasons to be optimistic coming into this season. One being the sophomore campaign of Luka Doncic, who earned Rookie of The Year honors last season after posting averages of 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per contest.
As solid as his rookie season was, Doncic has been even better this season, with averages of 29.9 points 10.4 rebounds and 9.7 assists per outing. He’s also shooting 49.3 percent from the field, up from 42.7 percent in 2018-19.
Furthermore, Doncic is just the fifth player in NBA history to average a 30-point triple-double in a 10-game span, and he did so before the age of 21. Taking that into consideration, it’s of little surprise why he’s in the early conversation for the league’s most valuable player.
Meanwhile, Kristaps Porzingis (18.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per outing), who was nursing an injury when the Mavs acquired him last season, is fitting in rather nicely as a secondary scoring option alongside Doncic. While his overall shooting (40.7 percent) is a few percentage points below his career conversion rate (43.5 percent), KP is knocking down 36.8 percent of his attempts from 3-point range.
Led by this formidable duo, the Mavericks are right in the thick of the playoff hunt. If they can sustain this level of play throughout the season, earning a postseason berth will be all but a formality.