ESPN Predicts Marginal Mavs Improvement; Luka, Kyrie Poised for More?

As the 2023-24 NBA season rapidly approaches, many people agree that the Dallas Mavericks are poised to be better than they were four months ago when they missed the postseason for the first time in four years. The only real question is, how much better will they be?

According to ESPN's recent record predictions for the upcoming season, the Mavs' improvements will be marginal, as they have Dallas finishing 43-39, just five more wins than last year's disaster. The 43 wins are projected to be good enough for No. 9 in the Western Conference, which means the Mavs would be in the bottom half of the Play-In Tournament.

Given that the Mavs will have a healthy and rejuvenated star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, paired with key offseason additions of Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Dereck Lively II, Dante Exum, Richaun Holmes and Derrick Jones Jr., it's not hard to envision Dallas outperforming ESPN's conservative prediction.

Although the Mavs finished with a 5-11 record in the 16 games Doncic and Irving played together last season, both players were battling injuries during that span while having a lack of sufficient roster depth around them. Regardless, the offensive numbers between Doncic and Irving were stellar, and Mavs GM Nico Harrison knew it was his duty to give his star duo more to work with going forward.

Now that Harrison and the rest of the Mavs’ front office have accomplished that on paper, it’s almost time to see if it will translate to on-court success. Doncic is currently playing for Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup, but after that, it will be time for training camp, then preseason, then we’ll be getting this show on the road — quite literally, as the Mavs open the season in San Antonio — yet again.