Another NBA regular season is history and the Mavericks can look back fondly on this one.
A year ago, they couldn’t sweep away the 82-game grind of the 2022-23 season fast enough. It was a miserable experience for proud players like Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, not to mention the coaching staff, management and pretty much everybody else on the team.
But that was then.
Now? It’s a different story as the Mavericks brim with confidence going into the playoffs, which will begin against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
How did this turnaround happen?
It’s time to give you our three takeaways that shaped the regular season, in no particular order:
It starts at the top: The front office led by Nico Harrison had a superior season, starting way back at the draft and, really, before that.
When it became apparent that the Mavericks were not going to make the playoffs last season, they did what they had to do for the good of the franchise. They worked on developing young players and took the losses that usually come with such decisions.
And kept their No. 10 overall draft pick, which would have been lost had it been any lower.
That turned into Dereck Lively II with the No. 12 pick when Harrison parlayed the 10th selection into two picks in a trade with Oklahoma City.
The move set up a fast-track growth process for the 7-1 Lively, who turned in an all-rookie level season and helped keep the Mavericks afloat early in the season while they were learning to swim.
Then came the trade-deadline deals for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, both of whom became starters and would anchor the Mavericks’ newfound defensive grit that helped them win 16 of 18 games from March 7 to April 10.
That run secured a playoff spot without having to survive the play-in tournament.
All of that has put the Mavericks in the Western Conference top five and turned Harrison into a viable executive of the year candidate.
“Nico has done an incredible job putting the pieces together and building this,” coach Jason Kidd said. “This isn’t a one-year (thing). This is a plan of building a championship organization and team and that just doesn’t happen in six months. This is continuous building.
“The trade, we got two good players that fit what we’re trying to do. We’re building something, when you talk about Kai and Luka. You got talent. And you have to have talent to win in this league.”
And that’s what Harrison has worked on.
Let’s not forget some under-the-radar but crucial additions, like Dante Exum and Derrick Jones Jr., both of whom have been integral parts of the Mavericks’ season and are on team-friendly contracts.
Any way you slice it, it’s been a banner year for Harrison and his staff that includes Michael Finley, Dennis Lindsey and others.
Coaching strategy worked: The Mavericks stressed pace early in the season. And they did play faster. But it wasn’t completely an attempt to get the Mavericks into a run-and-gun mentality.
Part of it was to make sure they got into the best condition they could, and that translated later in the season to the defensive end of the court.
With the trade for Gafford and Washington, the Mavericks stressed defense and that took a physical toll on everybody. Frankly, the Mavericks had been skating defensively in the first half of the season.
That no longer was the case and they had the stamina to apply themselves at both ends of the court, starting with Dončić. It said something that the most-viewed play on social-media platforms this season was Luka’s dive on the floor for a steal, over-the-head pass to Irving and, in turn, Irving’s lob pass to Derrick Jones Jr. for a slam. That was a defensive gem that turned into an offensive highlight. That’s exactly what Kidd was preaching about when the transformation came.
The Mavericks had the No. 1 defensive rating in the league during their 16-2 stretch.
Rest assured the same handcuff strategy will be on display when the playoffs open on Sunday.
Star power carries the day: Both Harrison and Kidd were clear about one thing all season – nothing great in the NBA happens without talent.
The Mavericks have talent.
Dončić had an MVP season, pure and simple. To average a shade under 34 points and more than nine rebounds and assists per game is simply absurd. And while Irving knows this is Luka’s team, the wily veteran still found ways to be dominant.
They were the highest-scoring duo in the NBA. They had a 33-16 record when they were in the starting lineup together.
More importantly, they were 15-1 when starting alongside Washington, Gafford and Jones.
That’s the lineup the Clippers can expect to see at the jump ball of Game 1 on Sunday.
And, by the way, the Mavericks had other stars during the course of the season.
When they lost five of six games shortly after the All-Star break, they got a real-life talk from veteran forward Markieff Morris. The way Morris uplifted the locker room in that rough patch is largely credited with keeping the Mavericks together when weaker-minded teams might have splintered.
That’s part of what makes a team, a team. And the Mavericks have stressed that camaraderie and chemistry ever since pulling out of that February tailspin.
Since then, they have developed into a trendy pick to make a deep run into the playoffs after a season built on heart, smarts and talent.
X: @ESefko
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