Preseason Record: 4-0
The Dallas Mavericks are primed for a monster season and should push for the NBA Finals. Luka Doncic is the real deal, an offensive superstar who is still only 22 years old. The last time Kristaps Porzingis had knee surgery he was much better a full season removed, so he should be much sprier defensively this year — as indeed he has looked this preseason. The team added 3-and-D players this offseason in Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown who are the perfect fit around a star like Doncic. Finally, the Mavs are unlikely to have another COVID outbreak that completely derails their season.
The Dallas Mavericks are primed for a massively disappointing season. The team did nothing to truly upgrade around Doncic, hoarding that cap space just to add a role player and re-sign Tim Hardaway Jr. Jason Kidd may have been the worst head coach in the league when he was in Milwaukee and is a significant downgrade from the tactical genius of Rick Carlisle. Doncic handled an insane load all of last season and then did the same in the Olympics in a summer shorter than normal by a month, a sure recipe for wear and tear to catch up to him.
Which of the two above scenarios is correct? Time will tell, and the Mavericks’ ranking is attempting to straddle those two realities. The Mavericks could make the Western Conference Finals or lose in the play-in tournament; Jason Kidd could be the terrible coach we expect or be competent enough not to get in his players’ way. Your guess is as good as ours.
Bold Prediction: Kristaps Porzingis is an All-Star. The one bet we are going to make is the one on Porzingis being more athletic with an offseason to rest and be completely healed from his latest surgery. He is moving well in the preseason, and the Mavs didn’t add anyone in the frontcourt to limit his role or minutes. He will have every opportunity to average 20-10 and once again be an All-Star.