The Mavericks have a legitimate superstar in Luka Dončić, one of the top players in the NBA, for sure.
They do not have a clear lieutenant to support their general.
But what the Mavericks do have is a collection of really good players who can handle the No. 2 job by committee.
Kristaps Porzingis, Jalen Brunson and Tim Hardaway Jr. are all capable of filling the role of secondary scorer behind Dončić. And all can be the generator for the offense when defenses decide to get the ball out of Luka’s hands.
This is an experiment that is going to be very interesting to see play out. Unlike the Lakers (LeBron James, Anthony Davis), Golden State (Steph Curry, Klay Thompson), Utah (Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert) and Phoenix (Chris Paul, Devin Booker), the Mavericks are trying to become playoff noisemakers with one all-star level player and collection of solid players around him, any of whom can have star-level outings on a given night.
In this respect, the Mavericks are similar to the Memphis Grizzlies that on Sunday will visit American Airlines Center. They have Ja Morant but lack any other legitimate star-level players.
Winning big in the playoffs can happen with one dominant player. The Mavericks did it in 2011 behind Dirk Nowitzki. But it’s not easy. Usually, a couple of stars is needed to play for all the marbles.
Lately, the Mavericks have been doing a wonderful job of showing that the one-star recipe can be quite tasty, winning 11 of their last 13.
And it helps when somebody like Brunson has taken a next-level leap with his level of play.
“Next to Luka, playing without Luka or KP, he’s having an incredible season. What we envisioned when we put him next to Luka was another ballhandler, another decision-maker and he’s checked all the boxes with that. It’s helping Luka, but not just Luka. It’s helping the team. I’m happy for him.”
And with that commentary, we’ll get to your questions.
From ANDREW M.: Easy one, DFS or Brunson in the offseason?
SEFKO: Yeah. Real easy. Geez. All right. The bottom line is you want to keep both of them. But barring some sort of roster maneuvering that we don’t know about yet, there’s not going to be enough salary space to pay both of them. Dorian Finney-Smith is one of the most underpaid players in the league at $4-million. Brunson is finishing off his rookie deal, which was beyond team-friendly. He conceivably could 10X his salary of $1.8 million this season. Let’s assume for a moment that the Mavericks don’t find a way to keep them both. My preference is to keep Brunson because he’s three years younger and, frankly, is the equal of Finney-Smith when it comes to being a leader in the locker room. He’s not the defender that Finney-Smith is, but Brunson’s pedigree – he’s played for and won two championships – give him the nod if you have to make a choice. But I’m glad I don’t have to be the one to make that decision. If Nico Harrison can figure out how to keep both without going deep into luxury-tax territory, he’ll jump into the MVP conversation of this team.
From ERICA T.: What’s your honest opinion of Kristaps Porzingis?
SEFKO: Glad you phrased that question like you did. It keeps me from giving you my dishonest opinion. Honestly, Porzingis is a fabulous player. He only really has one problem. He can’t stay healthy, at least not for long stretches. The 7-3 Latvian has missed 16 games this season. He missed 29 (out of 72) last season. It’s just exasperating that he’s in and out of the lineup so much. But when he is in the lineup, the guy produces. He’s got a tough playing field in Dallas. Any 7-footer (or taller) who can shoot in these parts is going to get compared to Dirk Nowitzki. That’s a losing proposition for everybody. But in terms of reasonable expectations, Porzingis has put up very solid numbers, just not often enough.
From DOUG S.: What odds would you put on the Mavericks making a trade before the deadline next month?
SEFKO: This goes against what you normally get out of me. I’m usually very reticent to endorse deal-making. But in this case, the odds are about 99.9 percent that something will happen. The Mavericks have to be concerned about their ability to keep both Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith (see above). And if you have a decent feeling that you’re going to lose one of them in free agency, then the right thing to do for the franchise is to get some value for one of them now. The Mavericks have lots of favorable contracts they could package with either of those players. I don’t like the idea of breaking up this bunch right now when they are on such a nice run. But sometimes, tough decisions have to be made.
From Mo B.: How do you think the Mavericks will finish this stretch of three hard games against the teams with the best records in the league, Phoenix, Memphis and Golden State?
SEFKO: I actually got this question back on Thursday morning, before the Mavericks played the Suns. I was in an argument with @DwainPrice, who said the Mavs would go 2-1 on this stretch. I told him he was nuts and that 1-2 would be a likely finish to the run. But no matter how they do in this stretch, the Mavericks are going to find themselves battling for a position in the top five of the Western Conference the rest of the way. Maybe higher. But I don’t see them having to worry about the play-in tournament.
From JOHN M.: A Texas question. Who do you see getting back to the Mavericks’ level first, the Spurs or the Rockets?
SEFKO: Interesting debate. Neither team is particularly close to moving up to relevancy. But if you ask me (and you did), I’d say the Spurs have the best shot at improving the fastest, mostly because they’re the Spurs and they always seem to rebuild quickly and get a little lucky (sometimes, creating their own luck). It’s not a slam dunk for them. But I like their young talent just a little better than Houston’s. And I’ll say this – the Mavericks’ window of opportunity is going to last a few years with Luka entering his prime.
Twitter: @ESefko
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