Mavs Will Be Better Next Season: 3 Big Reasons Why
After losing Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks in free agency, the Dallas Mavericks have still not made a move that helps them fill that void. There’s still time for the Mavs to address that issue before the season begins, assuming Donovan Mitchell and/or Kevin Durant get traded between now and then.
Even if that doesn’t happen, though, Dallas could still end up being better next season even without Brunson. Here’s three big reasons why:
Best Version Of Dinwiddie On The Way?
After coming over from the Washington Wizards in a trade to the Mavs in February, Spencer Dinwiddie was fantastic for the remainder of the regular season, averaging 15.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 23 games while shooting 49.8 percent from the field, including 40.4 percent from deep. That was a significant efficiency boost from what he displayed in Washington for the first half of last season, and those numbers eventually wore off in the postseason, although Dinwiddie still had some impressive, clutch moments.
It’s not fair to Dinwiddie to expect those kind of end-of-the-season shooting numbers as the norm going forward, but science, as well as common sense tells us he should still have an overall better season in 2022-23 than he did last year.
According to our DallasBasketball.com medical expert, Jeff Stotts, players returning to action from ACL tears usually don’t get back to their prime forms until the second year removed from recovery.
Factor in that Dinwiddie is going to be playing with Luka Doncic a lot more after taking Brunson’s place in the starting lineup, and it’s easy to see why he could be in for a big year. The floor spacing of Christian Wood should help both Doncic and Dinwiddie next season as well, which leads us into our next point…
Major Big-Man Reinforcements
The hype over the Mavs trading for Wood kind of got drowned out by the negativity of losing Brunson, but it’s still a big reason for Dallas to be excited for next season.
Dwight Powell was super-efficient as the Mavs’ starting center last year, as he shot 67.1 percent from the field and Doncic’s pick-and-roll man. Given Wood’s talent level, he should flourish when paired with Doncic, whether it’s in the starting lineup or off the bench throughout the game. Not only will Wood be good in the pick-and-roll game, but his 39 percent shooting from deep will enhance the Mavs’ offensive spacing as well.
The addition of 34-year-old JaVale McGee wasn’t met with a bunch of fanfare, but he averaged more points, rebounds and blocks than Powell despite playing six less minutes per game with the Phoenix Suns last year. Dallas lacked in the big-man department last season, but that shouldn’t be the case this year.
Doncic Putting It All Together
There’s not much to critique when it comes to Doncic’s game these days. The guy is a three-time All-NBA First Team player at the age of 23, already has a handful of signature playoff performances on his resume, and has even improved his defense that used to be a liability. However, even the best of the best can always find things to improve on.
Last season, the Mavs didn’t get off to a good start for a number of reasons, but the biggest was due to Doncic not being in the best shape he could’ve been in coming into training camp. Doncic is fully aware of the things that were said about him last season, and GM Nico Harrison said he “would bet” Doncic comes into next season much more prepared.
Given how Doncic looked for the Slovenian national team during World Cup qualifiers a few weeks ago, it appears that Harrison was onto something.
If Doncic finally pairs peak offseason conditioning with his already stellar on-court skills, not only will the Mavs win a lot of games, but there might be a brand new league MVP as well.
There are a handful of other reasons the Mavs could still take a step forward despite losing Brunson, including the return of Tim Hardaway Jr., who could be in for a bounce-back season, the continued development of Josh Green, and the addition of 20-year-old talented rookie guard Jaden Hardy, who could have a chance to provide value off Dallas’ bench … but the main three reasons listed above seem to be the safest bets heading into the 2022-23 season.
The roster could still change between now and opening night, but even if it doesn’t, the Mavs are still in pretty good shape as they try to capitalize on a season where they made it to the Western Conference Finals.
