The Mavericks have spent the first stretch of the season forcing people to rethink what this team is supposed to be.
A 4-2 start to October is already well beyond what many expected, and it has Dallas sitting in a far better spot than projected after six games. The schedule eases up over the next six, which gives the Mavericks a chance to keep building momentum in the Western Conference without having to survive a brutal early gauntlet. It’s still early, and nobody should get carried away, but the first month has already put a few Dallas names into the kind of award chatter that seemed far-fetched not long ago.
The biggest reason is simple: this offense looks nothing like last year’s version. Dallas was one of the league’s worst units a season ago, but right now it’s operating as a top-10 offense and shooting league-average from three.
That shift has come with a roster that still hasn’t even reached full strength. Santi Aldama, Tarik Biberovic, and Dereck Lively II have yet to play, which only adds to the sense that there’s more coming once this group settles in.
Kyrie Irving is a major part of that change. The Mavericks have played just one clutch game so far, a 116-111 win over the Houston Rockets, and Irving took over late with 16 points in the fourth quarter.
That kind of finish matters for a team that lost more clutch games than anyone else last season. With Irving back, Dallas suddenly has a closer who can control the ball and settle things down when the game tightens.
Then there’s Cooper Flagg, who has already looked like a problem for opposing teams. In five games, he’s putting up 26.8 PPG, 6.6 APG, 6.0 RPG, 2.6 SPG, and 1.2 BPG, and that comes even with him playing only the first half against the Indiana Pacers because of injury.
He arrived with plenty of hype from Duke, but the way he’s scoring right now has caught attention even by those standards. Flagg is getting to his spots whenever he wants, showing off a full scoring package, and even the three-point shot is starting to come around.
Friday night offered another example. He went right at Tari Eason and buried a tough turn-around push shot from the elbow in the final 30 seconds.
If Dallas keeps winning and Flagg keeps producing like this, the conversation around him is only going to get louder. At 20 years old, he’s already playing like someone who could force his way into MVP talk by season’s end.
The rest of the roster is feeding into that rise, too. P.J.
Washington, Zaccharie Risacher, Caleb Martin, and Marcus Sasser have all shown signs of career resurgences, even if the sample size is still small. Risacher, in particular, has become one of the early stories.
Dallas essentially landed him for free, sending the Atlanta Hawks a second-round pick and Ryan Nembhard in the deal. Even with the expectations that came with being the first overall pick, he always had clear upside, especially defensively.
Dusty May and his staff have helped unlock that side of his game. Through six games, Risacher has 12 steals and 10 blocks, putting him among the league leaders in total stocks.
Offensively, he’s still finding his way, but he’s averaging 9.5 PPG and 6.0 RPG and looks more confident with each outing. The scoring hasn’t exploded, but the overall package looks sharper, and the defensive impact is impossible to miss.
That’s how Dallas has gone from a team people were ready to write off to one with multiple players already showing up in award conversations. The record is real, the offense is real, and the early signs suggest the Mavericks may still have another level to reach once the roster is complete.
In Other News...
Daniel Gafford Is Masking A Mavericks Defensive Concern
Daniel Gafford has given the Mavericks exactly what they hoped for on the defensive end, and then some. His rim protection has been a major reason Dallas looks so much sturdier when he is on the floor, with opponents having a far tougher time finishing inside and the overall defense settling into a much better rhythm around him.
The concern, though, is what happens when Gafford sits. Dallas has not consistently forced turnovers, and the defense has not held its shape as well without him, which puts a spotlight on the rest of the frontcourt depth. The other big men have not come close to matching his impact, leaving the Mavericks with a real interior question they will have to keep managing as the season goes on. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Martin Gives Mavericks What They Need If One Thing Holds Up
Caleb Martins return has given the Mavericks a jolt on the wing just as theyve needed one. After missing the first four games with a right thumb sprain, he stepped back in and immediately looked like the kind of two-way piece Dallas had in mind, bringing the sort of perimeter defense that can change the tone of a game and help stabilize a group still sorting out its identity.
What makes Martin especially important is that his value does not stop at one end of the floor. The Mavericks view him as their best perimeter defender, but his offense will help determine how far that defensive edge can carry them, and early signs have been encouraging. He has looked fully healthy after dealing with shoulder issues before, and in his first two games back he has already shown enough scoring punch to suggest Dallas may have found a key rotation answer if his shot keeps holding up. [Read more 🡒]
Kyrie Irving Is Making Mavericks Trade Talk Much Harder To Ignore
The Mavericks have opened the season 4-2 and sit seventh in the Western Conference, and Kyrie Irving has been a big reason why the early picture looks so encouraging. He has settled in as a steadying force on both ends, giving Dallas a more efficient offense and a sharper defensive edge while the group around him continues to look increasingly comfortable together.
Irvings play has also made the trade conversation around Dallas harder to dismiss, because the case for making a major move gets murkier when the current core is working this well. With the Mavericks already showing real cohesion and Irving producing at a high level, the front office has a more complicated decision on its hands than it did a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]