DALLAS — So much for early season blues. With another week in the books for the 2023-2024 season, the now 6-1 Dallas Mavericks continue to find themselves at the top of pretty much every offensive category.
There aren’t many other versions of the Mavs that have started this hot. As a result, the prime real estate at the top of the Western Conference has a surprising tenant that is showing all the signs of a legit contender.
The one blemish on Dallas’ ledger so far came via a rude awakening from the defending NBA Champion Denver Nuggets on Saturday in the opening contest of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. While Dallas superstar Luka Doncic went toe-to-toe with Nikola Jokic, there was plenty of meat left on the bone in anticipation for their rematch in mid-December.
With back-to-back wins in response to their humbling in Denver, the Mavs offense continues to pass the eye test and looks scarily elite. The opportunity to show that they are for real will be high as they return home to face the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, with a Friday matchup against James “I am the system” Harden and the revamped Los Angeles Clippers looming.
While Los Angeles may win the household names battle from a decade earlier, the Mavs offensive rating is currently the best among the West teams, slightly edging out the Conference-leading Nuggets. The bad news for the rest of the league is that it seems to be on track to get even better as Kyrie Irving regains his shooting touch.
While it was assumed Irving would take it easy a day after playing 34 minutes in the Charlotte win, he not only played on both sides of the East Coast back-to-back, he led the team in minutes with 36:55 logged against Orlando on Monday night, his highest of the season. Irving chipped in 21 to Doncic’s 29 and distributed out a team-high 10 assists for the second time in as many nights.
The new wrinkle in 2023 is this team has players feasting off the available shots when Doncic or Irving distribute.
Tim Hardaway continues to thrive in the bench scorer role that he had been reluctant to accept during his Mavs tenure. Nevertheless, Hardaway has scored at least 16 points in every game except for the loss to the Nuggets, and has settled in nicely at about thirty minutes per night while becoming the team’s third scoring option behind the two All-Star guards. He’s done a lot of that damage with Irving on the court, too.
In what’s become the clear signing of the offseason for the team, Grant Williams went two-for-five from three against Orlando after coming into the match-up averaging a ridiculous 56% on makes from deep. The former Boston Celtic is averaging over 15 per game and playing the resilient defense that he’s known for. Josh Green has entrenched himself in the rotation so far, as well, and Jaden Hardy continues to make the most of his playing time, joining Green as near double digit scorers in the young season.
All of this has led to an offense that ranks first in the Western Conference in points per game, is fourth in field goal percentage, second in three-point percentage, with Dallas enjoying an average point differential margin of victory of 6.6, sixth highest in the league.
Hardaway’s early season success has spelled DNPs in the box score for Seth Curry, who has made one 3-pointer to date in his third stint with the Mavs. The talent above him on the depth chart means that he will continue to get heater looks to see if he can score one on a whim, but will otherwise continue to ride the bench.
While that may not be the role that Curry envisioned for himself when he returned to the Mavs yet again, it’s a boon for the depth of a roster that seemed to run out of shooting outside of its starters just a season ago.
The schedule bodes well for the Mavs to continue their success as the in-season tournament continues into December. Look for Irving to ramp up his attempts as he gets his legs back under his shots. The Dec. 18 sequel in Denver seems to be a more reasonable timeframe to check back in on how his offensive performance is shaping up for his 14th season.
That matchup may well prove the same for the Mavericks, since the Christmas season has generally been the time contenders begin to separate themselves from the early season success stories. But that was before the introduction of the in-season tournament, which will culminate on Saturday, Dec. 9.
The Mavs look to have ample opportunity to continue to showcase themselves as a top-four seed in the Western Conference.
Do you think the Mavericks will continue to display their offensive prowess throughout the season? Share your predictions with Irvin on Twitter @Twittirv.
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