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After climbing their way up to fourth place in the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks are set to take on the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs. In his first season as head coach, Jason Kidd has instilled a new culture and turned the Mavs into one of the most efficient two-way teams in the league.
In their final game of the season, franchise superstar Luka Doncic suffered a strained calf. With the uncertainty of Doncic's return hanging in the balance, Dallas will need the rest of their squad to step up in a major way. Let's now discuss three reasons the Mavericks will beat the Jazz in the opening round of the playoffs.
3 reasons Mavs will beat Jazz in first round
Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie will lead the charge for Dallas on offense
Outside of Doncic, the Mavs possess plenty of backcourt depth in Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie. All season long they've both been vital to Dallas' success and will definitely play a crucial part against the Jazz. Between their dynamic playmaking and timely scoring, Brunson and Dinwiddie will be able to hold down the fort. With the increased likelihood of Luka's absence, Brunson and Dinwiddie will form a lethal pairing.
This will also allow them to create more scoring opportunities for Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, Davis Bertans, and Maxi Kleber. It won't be easy for them to match the offensive firepower of the Jazz, but given the recent success they've seen this is a challenge the Mavericks definitely can handle.
The Mavericks will play smothering defense against the Jazz
During the second half of the season, the Mavericks witnessed a complete turnaround and fought their way into the upper echelon of the Western Conference. In the latter half of the regular season, Dallas became a top-five defensive unit and used this to capitalize on several big wins. Their aggressive team defense will allow them to grind it out against Utah and come away with some critical stops throughout the series.
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It'll be hard to achieve this if they're going to be playing without Luka, but they've got plenty of capable lockdown defenders on their roster. Guys like Finney-Smith, Kleber, Dwight Powell, and Josh Green have stepped up for them on this end of the floor during pivotal moments throughout the year. So it can definitely be expected that the Mavs will play suffocating defense against the Jazz.
Dallas will be the cause of another postseason meltdown for Utah
If one thing's for certain, it's that the Jazz have had their fair share of postseason woes. Not to mention their team chemistry issues are starting to show and may be a sign of good things to come for the Mavericks. The Mavs are a squad that started to get hot at the right time where as the Jazz began to falter late in the season.
Even with superstars like Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert leading the way for them, and a two-way veteran guard in Mike Conley at the helm, the Jazz still haven't been able to produce in the playoffs. Given all the struggles this squad has endured over their past few playoff runs, they may have finally reached the boiling point if they endure another early exit.
If the Mavericks are able to get Doncic back at any point during this series, then it'll surely spell trouble for them – especially if they're inconsistent play continues. Without Doncic though, the Mavericks still possess plenty of depth and quality two-way talent to overtake them with sound team play and smothering defense
