DALLAS — With the holidays behind them and the All-Star Game mere weeks away, the Dallas Mavericks are coming off an eventful stretch that depicts their season to date.
After two close losses to Cleveland and Minnesota that proved frustrating due to winnable scoreslines, Dallas closed the book on 2023 with a dominant 132-122 win in San Francisco. The story wasn’t just beating Steph Curry and the dynastic Warriors, but that Dallas put together one of their most complete team wins of the season.
Yes it was the Luka Doncic show as it will be in any game in which the Mavericks have a chance at victory, but season surprise contributor Dante Exum continued his excellent play, with Tim Hardaway Jr. pitching in with a hot hand. Dallas’ final victory of the old year also saw the return of Josh Green’s moxy that brought a sense of renewed optimism to the rotation to pair with Hardaway’s shooting, Exum’s hustle, and the return of Dereck Lively II to patrol the paint.
Then came the New Year’s Day surprise.
A week after getting their rookie center back to anchor the frontcourt, Dallas welcomed their co-general Kyrie Irving back into the fold, returning to the starting lineup after missing the previous 12 games with a foot injury. The stat line was secondary as Irving got his feet back under him, and he definitely looked like someone who had missed a month of playing time. The stroke was there, as Irving was able to hit two of his three shots from deep on his way to 14 points in 32 minutes of floor time.
The collective post New Year’s hangover seemed to spread to their matchup against Utah, however, for an unfortunate 127-90 rout. The optimism from defeating the Warriors evaporated as they got destroyed by one of the conference’s bottom-tiered clubs. It was an ugly game all around, with even Doncic failing to score at least 20 points for just the third time this season.
Alas, it was just one game, and the goal for the Mavericks has been to get healthy again so Irving’s return was a plus. Count it as one of those “Shrug it off” matches that come up in the schedule, as Dallas will work to make sure that the blowout was not a harbinger of a January to come.
Ultimately, there won’t be many nights where the Mavs are so thoroughly outpaced, not with Doncic and now Irving back to devastate defenses and with their role players continuing to gain ground. The key now is to figure out how to play consistent basketball with everyone together.
Doncic’s last performance of 2023 in San Francisco was in line with his entire December: a near-triple-double of 39 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, a block, and a steal. The loss to Utah shouldn’t be seen as proof of the team being better without Irving, of course. Opponent defenses sure don’t think so. Kyrie’s return to the lineup will make things easier for the Mavs’ shooters to get open looks, especially Doncic, who is already having an otherworldly season.
December for the 24-year-old recent father consisted of averages of 37.5 points, 11.1 assists, and 8.9 rebounds on 48% shooting from the floor and 38% from deep. Doncic remains in a close fight for the league’s scoring title with Joel Embiid and is third in Assists (9.4 per game) behind Tyrese Haliburton (12.7) and Trae Young (11.3), continuing to showcase an affinity for making his teammates better and providing them with open looks.
Through 31 games, his step-back three’s are also hitting better than they ever have, shattering his previous averages from deep significantly. Doncic is a near-certainty for the December edition of NBA Player of the Month and will likely ascend to even greater heights with his superstar backcourt mate returning.
One contest into 2024, Dallas sits at 19-15 and are currently seeded 5th in the packed Western Conference. The Mavericks will now begin a seven game homestand beginning Wednesday evening with the Portland Trail Blazers arriving for back-to-back matches before concluding the first week of 2024 with another showdown against the Timberwolves.
Portland is fighting off San Antonio to avoid the cellar in the West, losers of ten of their 13 games in December, and 0-1 in 2024 following a loss to Phoenix. The Portland two-step is the perfect opportunity for the Mavs newly strengthened rotation to start to mesh and stack wins to keep pace before dealing with Minnesota’s stifling defense again. The Timberwolves remain at the top of the Conference on the strength of the league’s best in both defensive rating and opponent points per game.
The Mavericks next road game won’t come until January 17 in Los Angeles against LeBron’s In-Season Tournament Champion Lakers. Between now and then, the team is at a critical point to continue building their chemistry, and if need be, assess its roster to look for upgrades ahead of the February trade deadline that is fast approaching.
Do you think the Mavericks have the pieces in place to be a top team in the Western Conference? Share your thoughts with Irvin on Twitter @Twittirv.
