I unplugged my earpiece and packed my bag after a 40-minute Mavericks postgame show on Bally Sports. The show had been an odd one because we had no footage from a Jason Kidd press conference or any players at the podium, both things we carry live after every game. It was March 5 and the Mavs had just lost to the Indiana Pacers at home 137-120, their fifth loss in six games. After winning four in a row after the trade deadline, the Mavs were spiraling. We didn’t have any coach or player interviews because a team meeting immediately followed the game. Kidd, Kyrie Irving, and Markieff Morris spoke to the team. Those meetings can go one of two ways. The Mavs have responded since then by becoming “that team” no one wants to face in the playoffs. What have been the keys to this run and how did they turn it around?
The image of Luka Dončić and Irving embracing Sunday after their overtime victory against the Rockets encapsulates so much of this season for the Mavericks. Both players exhausted and tired, celebrating a resilient win, respecting game, and loving playing with each other. I said back in October that this team would go as far as that partnership could take it. Any question about their fit together seems silly in retrospect.
They are the highest-scoring duo in the league and Sunday combined for 85 points, their most as teammates. They put defenses in a bind. Play straight up, and either player has the ability to win his one-on-one matchup. Switch, and they hunt the mismatch. Trap and blitz, and the Mavs are happy to play four-on-three advantage basketball. They trust their teammates. And their teammates know it. Just watch that “hug” footage to the end. The whole team joins in. Dončić and Irving are working as a pair and individually.
The chatter is getting louder. I outlined a few weeks back why Dončić should be this year’s MVP. His case has only grown stronger. His back-to-back Player of the Month awards place him as only one of two players with more than one (along with Jayson Tatum). His four Player of the Week awards place him alone on top. You want numbers? My podcast partner and Mavs TV voice, Mark Followill, outlined them on our latest “Take Dat Wit You” podcast. He has the most points created per game (points and points assisted) at 57.3 since the stat was created 28 years ago. He has the most points, rebounds, and assists combined since 1972. He is on pace to the be the seventh player ever in the Top 20 in per-game rankings in points, assists, rebounds, and steals. He currently is on pace to have the 20th highest-scoring season ever. But it isn’t just Dončić.
Going back to last season, Irving has played in 76 games as a Maverick and is averaging 50/40/90. He leads the league in fourth-quarter scoring, adding a Mavs season-high 19 against the Rockets to force overtime. “4QK” hears the bell for the fourth and turns it on, giving Dončić a rest and playing aggressively, finding his shot and leading the offense. Irving, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, is a huge reason the Mavericks have the top clutch record in the league at 23-9 and shoots as a team eight of 10 in shots to tie or take the lead in the last 30 seconds.
His leadership is seen on and off the court. Tim Hardaway Jr. told the radio broadcast after the first Sacramento road win that Irving encouraged him during a recent rough stretch, and those positive words helped him find his stride. Hardaway had a key defensive rebound late in the Warriors game on Friday and that assist to P.J. Washington at the end. After that Washington go-ahead bucket with seconds to play, Irving immediately implored his teammates to remember they still had “one stop” to get. Leadership. Remember that team meeting? His voice resonates.
Outside of the play of the two superstars, the most important aspect to the turnaround has been defense. Against Toronto early in the season, Paskal Siakim scored 31 of his 32 points in the paint, as the Raptors scored 72 points inside. Since the trade, the Mavs are seventh in defense, blocks, and opponent points in the paint. Since the Indiana game, the Mavs are tops in defense, second in defensive rebounding, fifth in blocks, and fourth in opponent points in the paint. Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II have provided rim protection and adjusted shots. Sacramento faced a very different Mavs team when the Mavs took two from them in late March. Domantas Sabonis shot 20 of 25 in his first two pre-trade Mavs games, 9 of 22 in his last two. Opponent paint field goal percentage since the trade is first.
I have been asking for average defense. This is elite. This team knows what it can do on the offensive end. Add this level of play on the other end, and things get interesting. And it’s not just the bigs. Derrick Jones Jr. had three blocked shots on the perimeter versus the Warriors. (Just ask Steph Curry.) The last defensive stand on the Warriors Friday night was a masterclass, not allowing the Warriors a clean look. P.J. Washington has taken on Nico Harrison’s challenge and plays stifling defense, able to guard one through five.
Which brings us to the front office. The Warriors win was noteworthy as it was without Dončić. What’s different about this team, and why can they now win without Dončić? All five starters that game were added to this team in the last 14 months. Irving joined the team at last year’s trade deadline. Dante Exum was plucked from Serbia in July. Jones was the last player signed to the roster, in August. And Gafford and Washington were added in February in deals that for some reason left national pundits scratching their heads. Each has been essential. Exum is a third ball-handling connector, runs downhill, has length on defense, and isn’t afraid of the big moment. After Sunday’s game-tying three at the buzzer, he is now also a closer. Exum is eight for 12 in clutch threes and is shooting 50 percent from three overall. He came into this season shooting 30.7 percent in his NBA career from deep. Jones is this team’s best on-ball defender, can sky for dunks, be a threat from deep, and penetrate the lane. Gafford is a lab-grown perfect center for Dončić, and Washington has locked down the four. Washington had his best game as Mav Friday night leading a Dončić-less team, stuffing the stat sheet with 32 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks. All while chasing the ball and body movement of the Warriors. If his three continues to fall, he will join the center position as consistent scoring threats. To that end, he is 12 for his last 23 from deep.
It all comes together on the court and in the locker room under the leadership of Kidd. He is a steady hand. This team is loose. You can see it in pregame warmups. Loose doesn’t mean not taking things seriously; it means not uptight or anxious. Extra pressure wasn’t added for those two huge games on the road versus the Kings. Kidd knows his team wins when they execute on both ends like they know they can. It is important to note that that meeting after the Pacers game included Kidd. This teams listens to and respects him, and it starts with his relationship with his two best players.
The Mavericks enter this final week of the season looking to lock down the fifth seed and a probable first-round matchup for the third time in five years with the Los Angeles Clippers. This is the best team the Mavs have built around their MVP-caliber superstar and the pieces, roles, rotations, and schemes are all clicking at the right time.
That team meeting on March 5 might well have gone another way. But the chemistry and trust built throughout this organization allowed it to take on the challenge and springboard them to this hot streak. We well may look back on that meeting in a couple of months as a tipping point to much grander things. If so, that hug we saw Dončić and Irving share Sunday will be emulated by Mavs fans throughout Dallas.
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