DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks are heading into December with many of their offseason questions answered, but new in-season questions yet to be solved.
The ballyhooed Luka Doncic-Kyrie Irving combo has resulted in the highest scoring backcourt in the NBA, offseason addition of Grant Williams has eased into the starting rotation spectacularly, and first-round draft pick Dereck Lively II looks to be their long-term answer at center.
But for all of the pluses that have made their way to the court through the first leg of the season, some minuses have started to crop up to present coach Jason Kidd with challenges to conquer as the season settles in.
Dallas has made it through the first full month of play in the 2023-2024 season with a continued need for interior defense, which looks to be the Achilles heel for a talented roster as currently constructed. This past week also showed how quickly fortunes can change.
While the Mavs snuck in a three-point win against the Los Angeles Lakers prior to the Thanksgiving break, the close victory brought the first of two major injury scares for Dallas. Midway through the third quarter last Wednesday, Doncic lobbed the rock to an extended Lively – a source of success for the pair this season – but the play resulted in Lively exiting due to a lower back injury following a hard fall.
The Mavs defense bent and almost broke in the win, but Lively’s absence in the paint was immediately noticed in the 107-88 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the following game on Saturday.
Dallas may have beat the Lakers while losing the rebounding battle, but the Clippers absolutely torched Dallas inside on both sides of the court. The loss also resulted in a heart-stopping sequence for the Mavs, where Doncic seemingly hurt his hand in a first-quarter attempted steal on a James Harden drive. Doncic did finish the game but suffered a low grade sprain to his left thumb. Doncic is still cleared to play Tuesday night, but he is now nursing an ailment that could linger. Nevertheless, the 24 year-old showed his toughness and banked another 30 points even with the injury, the same as his league-leading season average.
While Doncic is irreplaceable, the Mavs can manage a short-term absence with their backcourt depth a lot better than they can if Lively misses time. Dallas is already thin along the frontcourt and the depth options do not present much confidence in their ability to pick up the slack.
The first test this week presents a give and take challenge for the Mavs. Houston comes into Dallas Tuesday near the bottom of the league in points scored (26th of 30), a welcome sight for a dragging Dallas defense. They pair that offense with a stifling defense, however, which is currently holding opponents to a 104.4 points average, best in the league. The Rockets (8-6) look to be the Mavs’ main competition in the Southwest division race thus far, and are coming off a 105-86 win over the defending champion Denver Nuggets last Friday.
The contest against Houston will also be the final game for Dallas in the NBA’s first ever In-Season Tournament, as they have been eliminated from qualifying for the knockout rounds.
The Mavericks can still play spoiler on Tuesday, however. The Rockets will be aiming for the top spot in the group with a victory over Dallas.
Ultimately, the Mavs hope to have their injury issues settled in the break between their matchup against Memphis on Friday night. The Grizzlies come in as one of the worst teams in the league. Injuries have cost them half of their starting rotation, with center Steven Adams out for the season and local defensive ace Marcus Smart not expected back until after Christmas.
The Grizzlies’ superstar point guard Ja Morant has ten games left to serve on the suspension handed down by the league office over the summer, further weakening the squad that Dallas will face this week. With three wins on the season for Memphis, this is the time for the Mavs to pad their record while waiting on the Lively-Doncic injuries to clear up.
Dallas closes out their week with the Oklahoma City Thunder crossing the Red River Saturday for a matchup against another early surprise. The Thunder are 11-5 entering the week and have surged to second place overall in the West Conference on the heels of a four-game win streak.
However, Oklahoma City has been drawn into an off-field incident with guard Josh Giddey that became known over the holiday, which may fracture the OKC locker room if the coaching staff continues to play him.
The unofficial start to the “Prime” NBA season has revolved around Christmas in the modern era. Dallas has been an upper echelon Western Conference team in spite of their defense thanks to the continued excellence of the Doncic-Irving backcourt.
Even so, the Mavs now must weather their first rough batch of injuries of the season as they try and gather momentum heading into the new year where the NBA’s actual tournament will begin to take shape.
Do you think the Mavericks will bounce back from the recent uneven stretch? Share your thoughts with Irvin on Twitter @Twittirv.
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