The Dallas Mavericks have a Texas-sized chip on their shoulder

The Dallas Mavericks are tougher than you thought

The Mavs got rough-housed in the first few minutes of the game but quickly snapped out of their funk and sucker-punched the Clippers with one of their patented offensive maelstroms. They displayed a rare ‘f-you’ attitude that so few teams possess in modern basketball, and Luka Doncic—their 21-year-old superstar, their future MVP, the soon-to-be best basketball player in the world, the key to their success, whatever you want to call him—was the one leading that stank-faced, ‘f-you’ charge.

With a healthy Kristaps Porzingis and a sufficient group of running mates by Doncic’s side, the Mavericks are destined to succeed in the current NBA. Most importantly, similar to the pre-dynasty Warriors, the playoff experience the Mavs are receiving at this very moment against a vastly superior team will only push them to reach their potential.

By watching the Mavericks, it is beyond evident that the chip on their shoulder is already enormous. With this probable series loss at the hands of the Clippers, that chip will somehow only get bigger. And one or two years from now—with an older, hungrier, and more experienced Luka Doncic—there is no telling how terrifying this Mavericks team can become.

It won’t be this year. It probably won’t be next year, either. But in due time, the already lethal Dallas Mavericks might just well turn into a full-blown atomic bomb that nobody can stop.

Take heed, NBA. You’ve been warned.