House Money.
There’s no better feeling for a gambler than knowing you’re ahead of the game and can afford to take a few more risks.
The Mavericks are the gamblers right now.
They are enjoying the luxury of having already been winners in the 2019-20 season as they head into the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2016.
As a rising team with two young superstars, they are in position to let it all hang out in the first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers, which starts Monday at 8 p.m.
All of this doesn’t mean they can’t be bigger winners, of course.
Things have been so crazy in 2020 that the thought of the Mavericks upsetting the Clippers in their best-of-seven matchup doesn’t sound all that impossible. We’ve all seen magic before. Who doesn’t remember what happened in 2011 when the Mavericks weren’t given much of a chance and all they did was win four series, and they weren’t favored in three of them?
As Luka Dončić said: “It’s the playoffs. Anything can happen.”
Completely true. But there are a few things that must happen if the Mavericks are to take advantage and make a bigger splash than they already have. They were in the hunt for a top five seed down to the final week of the season that lasted 10 months, albeit with a four-month intermission.
So they’ve done plenty after almost every prognosticator had them missing the playoffs back in the preseason.
What must they do to go farther and reach higher?
First, they need their two superstars to embrace the moment and achieve even bigger and better things. Kristaps Porzingis was terrific in the last month of the season before it was halted on March 11. He’s been even better in the eight seeding games, although he played only six of them. The Mavericks wanted to make sure his health was as good as it possibly could be when the playoffs began.
Mission accomplished.
Now it’s time for Porzingis to show that the giant-sized pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop he does with Dončić can be as lethal as anybody’s in the league.
And speaking of Dončić, all he has to do is be the best player on the court. Better than Kawhi Leonard or Paul George. It’s a lot to ask of the 21-year-old Slovenian. But it was a lot to ask of him when he was 19 years old and leading Real Madrid to the European championship as the MVP of those playoffs.
Just being his usual triple-double self won’t be enough. The Clippers were 3-0 against the Mavericks this season. He’s going to have to work his Luka Magic at both ends of the floor.
Another need in the next two weeks? Shooters got to shoot.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Seth Curry have to be healthy and on their game. They’re going to get open looks. Dončić will make sure of it. If the Mavericks don’t get their three-ball going into the pocket, then this is going to be a short exercise.
Taking the Clippers to five games or more will be an important thing for the Mavericks. Their young stars need every morsel of playoff experience they can get so they’re better prepared next season and beyond.
But the interesting thing about these playoffs is that they are coming after the most interesting (and maddening) regular season in NBA history.
“It’s unlikely we’ll ever have a season quite like this, but everyone found a way to complete it,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “I think it’s safe to say we’ll never see a season exactly like this one.”
In that kind of season, wacky stuff might just continue to happen. Remember, the Clippers haven’t won a championship since . . . ever.
That’s 50 years encompassing three cities (Buffalo, San Diego, LA). In fact, they have never reached a conference finals.
That kind of Clipper curse is strong and for that reason, the Mavericks must believe that they have more than just a puncher’s chance in this series.
It may be a fact that these Mavericks have their best days and years in front of them. But when you’re playing with house money, anything’s possible.
Twitter: @ESefko
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