DALLAS, TEXAS — The break is over and the march to the NBA postseason begins tonight as the 18-16 Dallas Mavericks face divisional foe and in state rival the 18-14 San Antonio Spurs. Dallas finished the first half of the season with a win last Wednesday without All-Star Luka Doncic in the lineup who was sidelined to nurse lower back tightness but participated in the All-Star festivities over the weekend. I assume this was to give Doncic the optimum amount of rest from that point through the break so he could return refreshed and ready to face the strenuous schedule that is ahead of the team.
Strenuous is the best way to describe the Mavericks upcoming schedule.
To finish the month of March the Mavericks will play 8 games on the road compared to 5 home games which is eerily similar to the schedule Dallas was dealt to begin the season which resulted in a slow start. If you haven’t realized, the Mavericks are a much different team at this point. The Mavericks were arguably one of the hotter teams in the NBA before the all-star break.
Playing in mostly home games and rarely having to travel possibly played a role in their recent success. The roster has come together nicely and players on the team are comfortable with their roles which are the ingredients needed to make a run towards the postseason.
Luka Doncic finished the first half of the season 28.6 points, 9 assists, and close to 9 rebounds per game reasserting himself as one of the best players in the NBA and could possibly be a dark horse to win MVP. It took some time for Kristaps Porzingis to find his rhythm after missing the first few weeks of the NBA season but finished the first half of the schedule averaging 20 points and 8 rebounds regaining the momentum he possessed during his time in the NBA bubble.
Josh Richardson has been an instrumental part to the new found defensive culture the Mavericks adopted grabbing 4 steals in their win against the Thunder last week. The Mavericks are 13-5 when J-Rich scores more than 10 points and 7-3 when he scores more than 15 points, which is an encouraging statistic being that the Mavericks brought Richardson in to be a productive player on both ends of the floor and this statistic proves how valuable he is to the Mavericks cause.
Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber don’t possess the gaudy numbers on the offensive end, but the pair have played exceptional defense and hit big shots at the right time. Jalen Brunson has come into his own this season leading the Mavericks in fourth quarter scoring claiming his throne as the leader of the Mavericks bench mob that has played much better in recent games.
The Mavericks have taken four of the last five regular season matchups recently winning their last matchup in San Antonio 122-117. Dallas took the 2019-2020 regular season series 3-1 winning a season series against the Spurs for the first time in a decade. The matchup in Dallas will be the first since December of 2019. Coincidentally, a year ago today the Spurs defeated the Mavericks to avoid being swept by the Mavericks for the first time ever which was Dallas’s final road game before the NBA season was suspended due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
The Spurs enter tonight 1st place in the Southwest division with the Mavericks trailing right behind with one game separating them from their first place aspirations and are currently ranked 8th in the Western Conference.
With a grueling schedule ahead of them, it’s time to act fast and play with a sense of urgency. Although the Mavericks dug themselves out of a hole, it’s no time to get comfortable with what was done in February and March. It’s officially go time in Triple D and the Mavericks have two months to solidify their position in the Western Conference ranks and in the NBA.
