Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce Impressed By Mavs Trade Additions: 'They're Scary!'
Few people understand the game of basketball better than NBA Hall-of-Famers and former NBA champions Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
On their podcast, Ticket & The Truth, they broke down the Dallas Mavericks' chances of making a run this season. While they're both high on the Mavs and think they could reach the Western Conference Finals, Garnett and Pierce believe that's the best-case scenario, and that Dallas still one more player away from being capable of truly competing for a championship.
"Dallas is one of those teams that you get that continuity turning early and get some momentum, they're going to be scary," Garnett said. "Not a threat, but they're scary. You don't want to see Luka [Doncic] and Kyrie [Irving] show up to your [place for] seven games."
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Pierce added: "They could put a wrench in somebody's plans come playoffs. We already know Luka is a great team away from being MVP. If he can make a top-three seed one of these years, his numbers scream MVP every year."
The Mavs have won six straight games, and at 32-23, they're currently seventh in the West and a game away from escaping the Play-In Tournament. Along with the return of Kyrie Irving from a thumb injury, Dallas' trades for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford have sparked its run, as it has outscored its three opponents since they arrived by an average of 22 points per game. Garnett is high on Washington and thinks he can be a key contributor for the Mavs during their playoff push.
"P.J. Washington can hit the corner three and get 20-25 points when you least expect it," Garnett said. "I'm not saying he's one of these forces where he's got to be double-team, but he's an upgraded Christian Woods to me. I like P.J. Washington...He's just a solid player."
While Doncic and Irving are clearly the engines that make Dallas go, Garnett also expressed that he feels it can be a problem with how ball-centric they are. He also emphasized that Dallas needs a player or two to step up and take some pressure off the duo before he views them as a championship contender.
"I feel like sometimes [it's] too heavy on Kyrie and Luka, and they don't have that third-tier player that can step up," Garnett said. "They dominate the ball so much that nobody else has a rhythm. [Tim] Hardaway Jr. normally has a rhythm. I'm just looking for somebody to be the third [or] fourth piece in Dallas for them to be serious."
Pierce echoed Garnett's sentiment that the Mavs need one more player if they want to be the last team standing in the West. He also noted that with how many good teams there are in the conference, Dallas could reach the conference final or get bounced in the first round of the playoffs.
"I think that's their ceiling though, [making the] conference finals," Pierce said. "I think that's their ceiling. They can get to the conference finals, or they can lose in the first round. That's how good the West is. I think they're a piece away from really being a contender."
The Mavs' six-game winning streak has them better positioned to make a run in the second half of the season. If Dallas can carry its momentum all the way into the playoffs, it can have a chance to surpass Pierce and Garnett's expectations.
