Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving Lift Dallas Mavs Into NBA Power Rankings Top 5
NEW ORLEANS – Coming of a no-doubter win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night, the Dallas Mavericks are now 8-2 through 10 games, and more people around the league are starting to take notice of the special things Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have been doing.
In NBA.com's latest Power Rankings, the Mavs are now fifth in the league, trailing only the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers.
"The Mavs still haven’t played a very tough schedule. Only two of their games have come against teams — Denver and Orlando — that also have winning records as we enter Week 4," John Schuhmann wrote. "That said, they can only play who’s on their schedule, they’re tied for the second-best record in the league. Plus, they got three relatively comfortable wins (including one in Orlando) last week."
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have elevated the Dallas Mavericks this season.
Dalton Trigg, DallasBasketball.com
Before the season began, many in the national media predicted that the Mavs would be a Play-In Tournament team at best. Although it's still early and a lot can happen between now and April, it appears that Dallas is primed to blow those predictions out of the water if it can stay healthy.
The Mavs currently hold the second-best offensive rating (121.8) in the league, and they're playing at a much faster pace (101.8) than what they've been used to in recent years. Doncic and Irving have looked like the second coming LeBron James and Irving during their Cleveland Cavaliers days, and everyone else on the roster is accepting of their roles, which is something that wasn't the cast last season.
"I think we're playing unselfish basketball," Doncic said after the Mavs' latest win in New Orleans. "We're just sharing the ball. ... That's what we have to do [going forward]."
The Mavs continue their four-game road trip by playing the Pelicans once again at Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night. It will be the Mavs' third In-Season Tournament game. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for pregame and postgame coverage.
