Man, did I not expect this. After Luka Doncic’s MVP caliber season last year, I thought for sure that the Mavs would be a top three team in the West this year. Oh how wrong I was. At the time of writing this, the Mavs are sitting at 8-10, and just outside of making the playoffs. Luka himself is playing well, averaging 27/9/9 after a rough start to the season, and KP, when healthy, has been putting up 19 points and 8 rebounds, but being on the floor has been a problem, just as it has been for his entire career. Outside of those two, and Tim Hardaway Jr, who’s averaging 17 points a game, offense is relatively hard to come by.
The Mavs have good role players, players who fit Luka’s play-style, but for some reason the Mavs haven’t been able to put away games this season. The Mavs are currently on a three game losing streak, albeit against decent teams in Houston, Utah, and Denver. The problem this season is that they are losing to teams they have no business losing to like the Bulls, Raptors, and Hornets.
I think this team has a lot to learn about winning. This team is so young, and with all of the success they’ve had so far, it makes sense that they were about to hit a wall at some point. I still have high hopes for this team in the long run. I also think that Luka has the ability to be one of the greatest players of all-time, but it may be just a bit too early to expect winning. He’s played out of his mind for his entire career, his stats always look good, and he’s had some incredible moments so far, but this league isn’t his… yet.
I think the Mavs could make a push to be competitive this year, either by trading for players like Lonzo Ball, JJ Redick, or maybe even Bradly Beal, but it may be better for the organization to develop some of the talent that isn’t named Luka or Kristaps. With the Lakers back to their winning ways, the Nets looking to take the East, and other contenders like Boston, the LA Clippers, and the 76ers hot on the trail, it might be better to hold off on taking over the league.
I could be over blowing this whole thing. Maybe KP stays healthy, and the Mavs are able to make a run and be at the top of the West standings once again. I’d like to believe that they are just one healthy player away from being as dominant as they were last year. I love watching Luka play, and I want nothing more than for him to take over the league. This year might not be his year, though.
Round The Game 
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