DALLAS — The first round journey is reaching its climax for the Dallas Mavericks, and the prospect of moving on to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since the 2011 championship season looks to be a very real possibility.
After going the distance in a first round defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers a season ago, the Mavericks have returned with a stifling defense and a rejuvenated roster feeding off each other with new head coach Jason Kidd fostering a winning attitude.
The Mavericks of a year ago went toe-to-toe in seven games with the Clippers largely on the back of Doncic’s video game numbers. This year, they return pairing Doncic with a talented defense and an emerging star in Jalen Brunson.
A year ago, Brunson couldn’t get off the bench, averaging 8 points in 16 minutes against Los Angeles. Now he is the fourth-leading scorer in the playoffs, averaging 28.6 and eclipsing Utah’s number one point guard Donovan Mitchell, who was supposed to be giving Doncic a run for his money.
Brunson has continued to pour it on even with Doncic back in the lineup after missing the first three games of the series with a tweaked calf. The pair have completely mitigated the absence of the injured Tim Hardaway Jr. and helped assuage Spencer Dinwiddie’s rough playoff streak to energize the Dallas offense while opening opportunities for their wings to feast from behind the arc.
The roster is clicking in every facet and couldn’t look more together. The defense has continued to bend Utah into submission, with Dorian Finney-Smith all but neutralizing Mitchell in the last couple of contests. Led by the undrafted turned All-NBA Defensive team contender, the D continues to rise above previous playoff iterations.
After worrying the faithful with his absence until Game 4, Luka looks to be fully back and so is the trash talking. The “I’m going to score on you cause you can’t stop me” attitude was on full display in the 102-77 Game 5 victory.
Just a year ago, Doncic joined Michael Jordan and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar as players that had scored at least 300 points in their first nine playoff games. He ended his first two playoff series with 436 total points. He’s now added 63 in his two games so far in this series.
Easing back into things was never really an option for Doncic.
When things got heated with Hassan Whiteside in the Mavs Game 5 rout in Doncic’s 2022 home playoff debut, the entire organization and fans in the stands let the Jazz hear it. The 2022 playoff motto of “All In” was cemented as a collective buy-in from players and fans alike.
Now the Mavericks arrive back in Salt Lake City with Doncic and Brunson looking to close out the Jazz in front of their fans to serve notice to the rest of the NBA that Doncic is no longer a one-and-done player in the NBA playoffs.
Is tonight clinch night for the Mavericks? Share your predictions with Irvin on Twitter @Twittirv.