The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2021 offseason with a chance to sign a couple of trustworthy reliables into their roster. They ended missing up on most of their rumored targets, but they were able to add two tremendous three-and-D players in Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown. However, their acquisitions have been abysmal so far along with some of their holdovers, which has caused the Mavs to currently have a disappointing 15-16 record.
At the early juncture of the season, they were still one of the top teams in their conference, but injuries to Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis have caused them to lose some critical games. Moreover, some of the individuals on their team like Tim Hardaway Jr., Bullock, and Doncic entered healthy and safety protocols as well. As Christmas Day approaches, there are many wishes that the Mavs need.
Luka Doncic must lose weight
After leading Slovenia to a bronze medal finish in the Tokyo Olympics, Doncic admittedly relaxed too much, which caused him to balloon to 260 pounds in training camp. Doncic has been known to succeed in the association despite his stocky built. He uses it to his advantage by maneuvering through defenders and initiating contact and getting to the 15-foot line.
By getting into playing weight by January, Doncic will be able to withstand the wear and tear of an 82-game grind. There have been numerous matches already, wherein he looks exhausted in the final period because the focal point of defenses are mainly on him. By increasing his conditioning and being more efficient, it would raise the confidence of his teammates and likely elevate the status of the Mavs.
Shooters will finally find their rhythm
Ever since Doncic entered the league, the Mavericks were built to suit his playing style, meaning he is usually surrounded by three or four shooters on the floor. That has been a massive asset over the past seasons because defenses would not know what to sacrifice when constructing their schemes. Over their 2021-22 campaign, their shooting has been at a dismal 32.5% on 38 attempts.
Mavs head coach Jason Kidd's style is to utilize the shooting prowess of the players on their lineup, but they have not been capitalizing on their opportunities. Some media personnel and fans had Dallas exceeding expectations and possibly even being the third seed in the West, but if they plan to reach that goal, they must convert their long-range bombs consistently. From their high volume shooters, Dorian Finney-Smith has the highest percentage at 36.7%, which is not even impressive for NBA standards.
Kristaps Porzingis' utmost health
Ever since tearing his ACL in his last game with the New York Knicks, Porzingis would incur soft tissue injuries that would drastically affect his performance. These games that Porzingis has continually been missing are not serious or scary injuries, but his body has not been healthy for a long period of time. His rhythm and confidence get affected as it also continues until the most important junctures of the season.
Over the past three seasons, Porzingis has only played for 122 total games excluding the playoffs. The Mavs are in dire need of him to play at least more than 60 games this year as he is currently in the midst of a bounce-back performance from his horrendous performance in the playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers. His efficiency is still is not at the highest level, but for him to find his niche, he must be on the floor consistently for him and his teammates to grasp playing together for long stretches.
If Porzingis and Doncic are healthy for the majority of the rest of the season, they could easily ascend to a top 4 spot in the West as their counterparts are not performing at a high level as well.
Health and safety protocols and injuries have been a headache for Kidd to find the perfect rotation and plays in his first year at the helm for the Mavs. As one of the best point guards of all time, Kidd can relate more to these players, and it is still plausible for them to compete with the best in the West. With Doncic being the leader of the franchise and these three wishes being accomplished, anything is possible for Dallas to make some noise at some point this season.
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