NFL
By: Greg Rector
Blessed with one of the best players in the world Luka Doncic the Dallas Mavericks didn’t have the supporting cast around him to be a true championship contender. Far too often Doncic has had to carry the load with little help. The Mavericks decided to make changes. Only time will tell if it works.
Starters
PG- Luka Doncic
SG- Tim Hardaway Jr
SF- Reggie Bullock
PF- Dorian Finney-Smith
C- Javale McGee
Definitely a veteran group that will start games for Dallas this season. McGee will likely see a few minutes with this group before going to the bench. He does however start games with very good energy and can provide some inside scoring early. Setting a different type of tone. Too often we’ve seen the Mavericks’ “bigs,” all try to be Dirk Nowitzki’s and start jacking up threes early and often. When they didn’t fall, the Mavericks would be behind and rely on Doncic to lead them back. That’s simply exhausting for just one guy night in and night out in the NBA.
The Bench
Here’s where the Mavericks drastically improved in my opinion. Acquiring Christian Wood gives the Mavericks another “big,” who plays inside quite nicely but can still stretch the floor at a very decent 38% from three career percentages Continued improvement by SG Josh Green will also benefit the Mavericks. The biggest change though will be Spencer Dinwiddie coming off the bench. Dinwiddie will allow a lower usage rate for Doncic, plain and simple. That’s been a missing ingredient in Dallas. That should help the Mavericks come playoff time especially.
Outlook
I believe the Mavericks will be one of the better teams in the Western Conference because they will be improved with their inside game. Health will be a key definitely as this is also a veteran-laden roster. If you watched any of the EuroBasket tournaments Doncic is in excellent shape, something that has not always been the case. With more talent around him, and not needing to be used as much in the regular season the Mavericks just might be able to go quite deep in the playoffs once again. They certainly want to have a much tougher team to play against than the one that was out-classed by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors. I can see 57 -25 in the regular season.
