The Dallas Mavs are in a difficult situation because they lack the second star that a team needs in the playoffs.

Luka Doncic is a phenomenal talent, and there's a case to be made that he might be a top-five player in the NBA if certain people perceive him that way. Obviously, there are probably ten individuals who you might claim are better than him, but the fact is that he is somewhere in the 5-10 player bracket.

The most straightforward answer to the Mavs postseason success will be if Luka can consistently be the best player on the court. It won't be easy for him since he'll be up against players like Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Ja Morant, Donovan Mitchell, Nikola Jokic, and even LeBron James if the Lakers can straighten things out. It's never easy to outperform any of those guys, and Luka isn't going to be able to do it by himself, no matter how good he is.

The Mavs aren't going to have an easy time in the playoffs, but if their regular-season performance is any indication, this team has the ability to succeed if everything comes together at the right moment.

Let's look at three reasons why, despite not having that second star, the Dallas Mavericks still have a chance to win the Western Conference.

Winning an NBA title is never easy. As we have seen with the past 20 champions, every team is going to need something significant to go their way. Whether that is an unfortunate injury to someone, or having guys on the roster step up more than they ever have. There is a reason why winning a championship is so hard, and a reason why we have seen crazy upsets in the past. If a team is going to win a title, they’re going to need everyone on their roster to be playing the best basketball they possibly can, and even sometimes that isn’t enough to get the job done.

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Mavs Western Conference

 3. Luka Doncic has been playing some of the best basketball of his career

Coming into the season, Luka Doncic was playing elite basketball, and everyone wanted to mock him because of certain photos that appeared on the internet. People believed he was out of shape and didn't care about basketball since he was preoccupied with other things in life.

Luka's reaction to those people is currently averaging 27.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9 assists per game. He is sixth in the NBA in points, 17th in rebounds, and fifth in assists. Whatever agenda he had throughout the offseason has been plainly put to rest.

He's playing some of the best basketball of his career, and there's a case to be made that he's also playing the best he ever has.

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Although he isn't averaging as many points as he was the previous two seasons, the rest of his game has improved dramatically. He still has similar assist stats the last few seasons, but everyone who has been following the Dallas Mavericks knows that he has a different approach to get his teammates open than he has in prior years.

Luka will have to be the best player on the court during every postseason series for the Dallas Mavericks to win, and there's no reason to believe he can't.

2. The defense is performing admirably

The Dallas Mavericks' high-level defense is definitely one of the reasons why they are having some success this season. Many people thought it was a horrible move to hire Jason Kidd as a coach for a variety of reasons, but it appears that those concerns have been put to rest. Jason Kidd has done an outstanding job with this Mavs team, leading them to be one of the league's best defenses.

Because, as previously said, they lack the second star, the defense will have to continue to perform well during the playoffs. When you don't have a second star who can truly take over a game, your defense has to play at an elite level, and there's no reason to believe that the Mavs defense won't do that.

1. The Western Conference is open

Outside of the Phoenix Suns, the Western Conference is in an interesting spot. It isn't as strong as it has been in recent years, and if Phoenix doesn't play as well as they have in the regular season in the playoffs, anything can happen. You'll always have to be concerned about players like LeBron James in the playoffs due to his proven track record. However, given the uncertainty in the Western Conference outside of the Phoenix Suns at the moment, the Dallas Mavericks might be in contention to win the conference.

Obviously, it would be unfair to dismiss what the Phoenix Suns are accomplishing right now, but anything can happen in the West if their team suffers an unlucky injury or simply goes on a crazy tangent.