Dallas Mavericks
The 2020-21 Dallas Mavericks season can be defined by the fact that both Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle have left the building.
What did we learn?
There was a lot of turmoil rumbling within this organization.
Long before any of that came to light, there was the horrid protocol-laden and terrible shooting start to the season for Dallas. The seas began to even out in February, and by March and April, the Mavs were back to humming along, led by The Don himself.
Luka’s numbers are extremely similar to his sophomore season, but by the time it was all said and done, his three-point shooting actually climbed to 35 percent on 8.3 attempts per game. That 35 percent from 3 was the highest of his three-year career and really doesn’t take into account all of the ridiculously difficult shots he regularly takes. WonderBoy was first in the league in usage rate, and in some cases never looked better — more in control than ever. He finished with thirteen games of 35+ points and twenty-six games of 30 or more. And there were four Luka 30-point triple-doubles, including a 30-point 20-assist triple-double masterpiece without KP. (Against the Wizards, but still.)
Speaking of Porzingis, his mobility after the meniscus surgery? Shot. He has basically turned into just a 7-foot-3 camp out at the perimeter guy who can no longer really help on defense. The contract gets more worrisome by the day with injuries forever a concern. Cuban once said he hoped Luka and Porzingis would play together in Dallas for the next twenty years. We wonder not only what Cubes thinks of that statement now, but how many years does KP actually have in him? There is also the sentiment that he and Luka don’t really like each other.
While we’re on that subject, it sure sounds like Luka butted heads with Rick Carlisle, and that he’s not a fan of Haralabos Voulgaris, the professional gambler turned “Director of Quantitative Research and Development” for the Mavs who has Cuban’s ear. (They say the one who has the owner’s ear is the one truly pulling the strings.)
There is the classic line reported by Tim MacMahon that Luka yelled at Carlisle during a game: “Who’s in charge!? You or Bob!?”
Luka is a generational talent ready to win now, and you have to do everything that you can capitalize before it’s too late. This is the day and age of player empowerment after all.
So how did the rest of the roster fair this season after excelling and overachieving in 2019-20?
The Josh Richardson-Seth Curry trade was a disaster. Richardson has not been the same since he left Heat Culture. This year in Dallas was no different. We understood the idea of getting Luka a defensive-oriented perimeter guy, but it was glaringly evident that Seth’s Curry’s three-point shooting was missed in the worst way.
Tim Hardaway Jr. played really well a lot of the time, but let’s be honest, he should be the #4 option on a really good team. He was the Mavs #2 scorer far too often than not. Yet THJ’s improvement since his wildly inefficient Knick days cannot be overlooked.
Jalen Brunson is a really good role player, and he was a key cog off the bench for the Mavs, even earning some buzz for Sixth Man of the Year. Brunson was important in allowing Carlisle some flexibility with his lineups, providing enough offense and shot creation in non-Luka minutes to (mostly) get by without him.
Dorian Finney-Smith was solid on D again with his length, and after a poor shooting start to the season, DFS ended up at 39.4 percent from 3 on five attempts per game.
While Porzingis camps out along the perimeter, Luka has much better chemistry in the two-man pick-and-roll game with Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell. Even though the scoring numbers dropped for both Kleber and Powell, they were asked to do a lot of the nitty gritty. And Kleber quietly shot 41 percent from 3 on four attempts per game. We still wholeheartedly adore his “Call-me” 3 celebration.
Trey Burke was a bubble anomaly.
Boban was taken for a good spin in the playoffs with that zone against the Clippers to decent success.
The trade for J.J. Redick didn’t amount to anything.
The rookies, Josh Green and Tyrell Terry, didn’t contribute much at all thanks to Carlisle’s unwillingness to play them.
It’s no secret that Luka propelled these guys — all the way to the 5th seed in the West.
Looking at the Game Results bars on Basketball-Reference, there are a lot of tall green bars for big margins of victory and a bunch of really big red bars where the Mavs got demolished. A lot of all or nothing.
Speaking of, the Mavs were up 2-0 on the Clippers with a 30-11 lead in Game 3, it was seriously looking like a wrap! But the Clippers persevered and stormed all the way back, winning that Game 3 and eventually outlasting the Mavs in a wild and wacky 7-game first-round series.
Maxi Kleber, the Mavs primary defender on Kawhi who did a stand-up job, was injured and had he not gotten hurt in one of the million What If’s of this NBA season, perhaps the Mavs make it past the Clips and who knows against the Conley-less Jazz.
Instead, Donnie Nelson is out as GM in Dallas after 20+ years. (Another successful hit-piece from The Athletic.)
And Rick Carlisle is gone after 13 seasons and a Chip.
The Mavs actually have not been out of the first round of the playoffs since that Championship season in 2011.
That ain’t going to cut it so long as Luka is on this team.
WonderBoy is ready to win and ready to win now.
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
Over 41.5 wins. We really don’t like to bet against Luka.
Mavs 2020-21 Record: (42-30)
YES, our preseason Over/Under prediction hit! We really squeaked that one out.
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What’s Next?
A blank check for Luka! The first rookie in NBA history to sign a rookie-extension over $200 milly. His extension won’t kick in until the 2022 season, so this is the last season with real cap flexibility for new Mavs GM Nico Harrison to take advantage. A lot of pressure for a first-time GM that was previously an executive at Nike. But like Monty Williams so profoundly recently stated: “Pressure is a privilege.”
We thought FOR SURE the new head coach would be previous Mavs assistant coach Jamahl Mosley. Ya know, considering that was Luka’s guy and all. But instead, a familiar face for this franchise returns in Jason Kidd. J-Kidd does know a thing or two about running point in the NBA, though.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is the main free agent here while Josh Richardson has an $11.6 million player option. The Mavs were once pondering the possibility of going after Giannis this summer, so they could potentially have up to $33 million in cap space. Although the available free agents now are rather lacking.
OH, Boban is also a free agent. You have GOT to bring back Boban!
Dallas does not currently have a 2021 NBA draft pick.
The Porzingis trade rumors have been flapping in the breeze. But with $100 million left on his max contract, that’s going to be a tough deal to pull off.
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Favorite Mavs Highlight from the 2020-21 Season:
LukaMagic.
Still real and still spectacular.
