Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
Dallas Mavericks won four of their last five games. There are plenty of statistics and lineup shifts which factor in the early season success.
The Dallas Mavericks are amidst the best run in the Harrison Barnes era. After the embarrassing home loss on Nov. 2, suffered by the injury-riddled New York Knicks, the Mavericks responded by winning five of their last seven games. Saturday night was easily the best win of the season for the 7-9 playoff-hungry team.
Dallas had an uphill mountain to climb with the rumored radioactive Golden State Warriors in town, despite the absences of two-time regular season MVP Stephen Curry and former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green. Rookie Luka Doncic didn’t play as his NBA experience suggest, though. A rookie being the best player on a team is both a positive and a negative.
Doncic is easily the best player on the depth chart. The Smoking Cuban‘s preseason consensus would have put him as the third or fourth best player. Dallas went from “freezing out Luka” play, to a more fan appeasing “give the ball to Luka in clutch time” style.
Dallas sits at a surprising 7-9 record, but it’s even more mind-blowing how a rookie-led team is winning games. Either tanking isn’t in the plans, or Luka Doncic is willing a battered squad to a respectable start.
To put this run in perspective, the Mavs were three blown games away from a 10-6 record.
There is much to break down in this seven-game stretch. For the readers’ sake, here are the three more important points.
