Mavericks: A Season in Review (So Far)

DALLAS- Anticipation abounds in the city of Dallas as Luka Dončić and the Mavericks enter the second half of the NBA season fifth in the west with a record of 35-24 and a recently retooled roster.

During the offseason after 2020-21, Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle resigned and general manager Donnie Nelson was fired. Nelson’s firing was likely a result of the Mavericks not winning a playoff series since the championship in 2011.

Carlisle was replaced in the head coach role by former Maverick Jason Kidd and former Nike executive Nico Harrison was hired as general manager.

The new front office got to work quickly, re-signing Tim Hardaway Jr. to a four year contract in addition to re-signing fan favorite Boban Marjanovic to a two year contract. The Mavericks also added Reggie Bullock, Sterling Brown, and Frank Ntilikina to serve bench roles and supplement their existing roster.

To open the season, the Mavericks stumbled out the gate and didn’t get off to a great start, experiencing two thirty-point road losses at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks and the Denver Nuggets. Even when winning games, the Mavericks didn’t win those games all that impressively and the month of October wasn’t very exciting for them as a result.

In November, the Mavs began to play better with one of the most notable moments of the month occurring when Luka Dončić hit a game winning three pointer against the Boston Celtics over three defenders. Despite the better run of play, the Mavericks went six and seven in the month of November.

In December, the Mavs improved upon their play in November by winning seven of their 16 games during the month. During December it seemed as if the Mavs were starting to play better than they had in previous months.

Prior to the all-star break in the month of February, the Mavericks traded a second-round pick and Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans because the organization felt Porzingis didn’t work well with Dončić when it came to team chemistry.

During the portion of the season in January and February, the Mavericks have gone on an 18-7 stretch as a result of the team’s level of play improving. Most fans in Dallas believe that this stretch is primarily a result of Luka Dončić playing at an elite level since January 1st, where he has averaged 29 points during that period of the season.

The Mavericks play their third game post all-star break on March 1st against Lebron James and the Lakers after they take on Stephen Curry and the Warriors on Sunday.