Experience is crucial in the NBA playoffs. It is the primary reason why the Dallas Mavericks would benefit from facing a younger team in the 2024 postseason such as the Oklahoma City Thunder. It's also why veteran teams that have underperformed are still intimidating heading into the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
The Mavericks defeated the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday and now hold a 40-29 record. That mark is good for seventh in the Western Conference. Dallas narrowly trails the Sacramento Kings for the No. 6 seed, though.
If the season ended today, Dallas would host the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Mavs are obviously hoping to clinch a playoff spot, as opposed to a play-in position. In a perfect world, Dallas would clinch the No. 6 seed and hope that the Thunder fall to the No. 3 seed.
This would allow Dallas to battle OKC in the first round. Again, the Thunder are a talented team and should not be overlooked. Their lack of playoff experience would give the Mavs a better chance of winning, though.
So what is the worst playoff/play-in scenario for Dallas?
Avoid LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant on the road
The Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors are all in the playoff conversation. All three teams have not played up to their expectations in 2023-24. The last thing Dallas wants to do is face one of these teams on the road in an NBA Play-In Tournament clash, however.
The Mavs would still rather play on the road as a No. 8 seed than a No. 10 seed obviously, but either position would be far from ideal.
According to StatMuse, LeBron James has appeared in 282 playoff games. Meanwhile, Curry has seen 147 games of postseason action, while Kevin Durant has 166 games played in the playoffs.
Kyrie Irving has the most postseason games played for Dallas with a mark of 74. Luka Doncic has just 28 postseason games. Kyrie and Luka are both clutch performers who can hold their own against these veterans, but the playoff experience is still pivotal.
The other element of a play-in game would be that Dallas may need to face the Denver Nuggets in the first round if they escape the tournament.
For example, if the Mavericks fall to the No. 10 seed, they may realistically need to face two of the aforementioned three teams on the road. Dallas could then have to play the Nuggets with home court advantage to begin the actual 2024 NBA Playoffs.
So avoiding that route will be important. Fortunately, the Mavs are playing well at the moment and are on the verge of moving up in the standings.
Mavericks gaining more confidence
Dallas has won six of their past seven games. The one loss during that span came against the Thunder on the road without Luka Doncic. The Mavs still made things interesting in that affair, losing by a final score of 126-119.
This team is playing a confident brand of basketball right now. Kyrie Irving recently summarized that confidence following his incredible game-winning buzzer-beater against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
“I feel like we match up with everybody well, especially on the defensive end,” Irving said of the Mavs. “We have the ability to switch one through five and we also have a foundational defense we’ve been going through pretty much the whole season. I felt like we just consistently worked on our communication and the trust that we have in the intangible skill sets to be able to stop teams. Then, we also have the skill sets offensively to dominate teams and really get out in transition, and not so much playing half-court and the iso game.
“If we get a few fast break points, if we score 15 fastbreak points, it’s gonna be a hard night for any team. We are gonna keep playing to our strengths and when it gets tough and we face a little adversity throughout the game, we’re able to slow the game down and throw it to the post or go to our comp plays.”
Irving and Doncic are the leaders. The Mavs also received big performances from role players in recent action such as Daniel Gafford and Dante Exum. Of course, rookie Dereck Lively II has positively impacted the Mavs throughout the season as well.
Dallas is currently in a good spot. They are trending in a promising direction. Still, the Mavs know they cannot take any team for granted.
The Mavericks will host the Utah Jazz on Thursday before heading on the road for a four-game trip. Dallas' road trip will present a challenge as they look to avoid a nightmare playoff seeding scenario.
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