Mavs Have Reasons for Optimism, But Much to Work on Before Season Opener
The Dallas Mavericks showed some flashes of potential in their brief three-game preseason that was capped off with a 115-101 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
Luka Doncic appears to already be in mid-season form as he chases an MVP and a title. He averaged 20 points, three rebounds, five assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in just 24 minutes per preseason game (he played in two of the Mavs' three games). He shot 57.7 percent from the field, Including 35.7 percent from deep.
Through all three games, Christian Wood, who will come off the bench in a sixth-man role to start the season, averaged 17 points and 8.3 rebounds in 22.5 minutes while shooting 53.1 percent overall and 41.2 percent on his 3s. Defense is still very much a question for Wood in his first season with Dallas, but so far, his offensive game fits the team like a glove.
There are other reasons for optimism as well, including Spencer Dinwiddie's passing (he averaged a team-high 5.3 assists in 19.8 minutes per preseason game), the return of Tim Hardaway Jr., who looks as confident as ever, the development of Josh Green, who led the team in steals, and the potential of 20-year-old rookie Jaden Hardy.
All that said, though, the Mavs know they have a lot of work to do in order to reach the level they want to be at.
“We got to see some different combinations, a lot of good stuff," said coach Jason Kidd after the Mavs' win over the Jazz. "We talked at halftime that we got to do a better job of protecting the paint and the rim. In the second half, we started to play the way we’re capable."
Adding Wood and JaVale McGee over the offseason was supposed to alleviate the Mavs' rebounding woes from last season. Although that duo will surely help a lot this year, they can't do it alone. Rebounding is a hustle stat, and everyone will need to pitch in if they want to avoid being out-rebounded by a 52-36 margin like they were in their preseason finale.
“We weren’t a good rebounding team last year,” Kidd said. “We got to do better. Everyone in that room knows that. We’re getting teams to miss. We just got to finish the play.”
Wood echoed his coach and knows the Mavs are capable of big things if they can refine a few areas of their play going forward. The new players becoming more comfortable with their teammates and establishing chemistry will be key to Dallas reaching its potential as well.
"We have a lot to work on ... but I think we're going to be a deep team, a scary team at that," said Wood. "There's so much space on the floor for Luka, (and) how deep our bench is with shooting. I think we'll be great."
Building chemistry to the level last season's Mavs had will take time, but the chances of it reaching that level again are high when the team leader easily adapts to new roster pieces.
“Some guys have been with (Luka) from the start and that helps,” said Kidd. “We have some new pieces and C-Wood is going to have to get used to him. Reggie (Bullock), it took him a couple weeks, or months to figure him out. Our shooters understand that he’s a late passer, so you have to be ready. I think it’s just a matter of continuity with Luka. When you look at continuity, it’s going to be huge for him because he’s only 23.”
The Mavs only have three more days until they face the Phoenix Suns on opening night at Footprint Center. It's unlikely Dallas will have cleaned up all of its areas of concern by then, but it will be interesting to see what tweaks are made based on what we witnessed in preseason play.
Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com and our Mavs Step Back Podcast for extensive opening week coverage.
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