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The Dallas Mavericks reached the NBA Finals during the 2023-24 season. Dallas was ahead of their expected timeline, as there were not many people around the NBA world who thought they would contend at such a high level a season ago. Yet, Luka Doncic and the Mavs silenced the doubters and reached the championship.
The Mavericks were ultimately defeated in five games by the Boston Celtics. Still, the future was bright. That future only became more enticing following an offseason that saw Dallas add four-time champion Klay Thompson and impactful players such as Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie. The Mavs' preseason featured plenty of buzz, with some predictions stating that Dallas would repeat as Western Conference champions.
However, the Mavericks' record is currently below .500. Doncic's defensive struggles have been a primary talking point, overshadowing Thompson's play early in the season. Dallas has failed to take care of business in many of their competitive games as well, something that was not the case in 2023-24.
So what's the issue? Sure, injuries have not helped matters but the Mavs' stars have still played in most of the team's games. Is this simply a slow start, or is there reason for serious concern?
Why Mavericks fans should not panic despite team's slow start
Stats via NBA.com.
The Mavs have not played well so far to begin the season. Still, there is reason for optimism.
Beginning with the offense, Dallas is going to score at a respectable level. Any team that features Doncic, Thompson and Kyrie Irving is destined to feature a high offensive ceiling. Defense was the primary question mark heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
However, Dallas' defense has performed better than it may seem. The Mavs currently have the 11th best defensive rating in the NBA. Sure, they are not exactly dominating the competition, but with their incredibly high offensive ceiling the Mavs just need to play a respectable brand of defense.
Dallas is fifth in opposing points off of turnovers, 11th in opponents' second chance points and 16th in opponents' points in the paint. The one area where they have especially struggled on defense is on the fast break, as opponents are averaging 17.5 points per game off the fast break which places the Mavs 26th overall in the category.
Regardless, the Mavs are either near the middle of the league or even above league average in a number of defensive categories. Is there room for improvement? Yes, but defense is not the reason the Mavericks are struggling at such an alarming rate.
The reason for the Mavs' early season struggles
The injury element of the Mavericks should not be ignored, but it also is not the primary reason for the team's struggles. Mavs head coach Jason Kidd has previously called out both the team's rebounding performance and the play of the second unit.
Dallas is only 21st in rebounds per game. The Mavs need to find more consistency from a rebounding standpoint. However, the primary culprit behind the Mavs' struggles has been the lack of help around Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson.
The Mavs are near the bottom of the league in bench points per game. Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie are still trying to find consistency in Dallas. Jaden Hardy has also endured his share of ups and downs early in the season.
The Mavs also need more from other starters such as PJ Washington, although he has been dealing with an injury. Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford are one of the better center duos in the NBA, but they do not always provide the most scoring production.
Doncic, Irving and Thompson are often left carrying the bulk of the offensive burden. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but the Mavs need more than three players to step up throughout the course of an entire 82 game NBA season.
It is worth noting that Naji Marshall has played well. He was among the Mavs' offseason additions and his impact has been immense. Marshall's play has given the Mavericks another player who they can trust either as a starter or bench player.
Nevertheless, the Mavericks will need further contributions from their entire team.
