Playoff experience for an NBA player is like barbecuing for a pitmaster.
You don’t prove your chops until you ruin a few briskets.
In other words, there’s no substitute for being there. And there’s no getting around the fact that the head chefs for the Mavericks – Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis – have never cooked in an NBA playoff game.
Yes, it’s true that there will be eight games to finish a disjointed regular season as the Mavericks and the other 21 NBA teams begin practices in the Orlando bubble. The Mavericks’ first one is set for Friday.
But this congregation of the best teams from before play was stopped on March 11 knows this party is all about the playoffs that will begin in mid-August.
For Doncic, Porzingis, Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith and Justin Jackson, this means they will have to learn on the fly.
Obviously, Doncic has played in high-level playoff games in the European League. He won the championship and the MVP with Real Madrid in 2018. And Porzingis has played in a slew of pressurized international and European League games.
But it’s a little different in the NBA, which is where J.J. Barea comes in.
He has by far the most playoff experience of any of the healthy Mavericks. Seth Curry, Delon Wright and a few others also have been there, done that. And their words of wisdom about what to expect in the playoffs will be must-listen gospel to Doncic and Porzingis.
“They’re going to be extremely important,” coach Rick Carlisle said of his small group of playoff-savvy veterans. “We are a young team that’s gained a pretty significant amount of experience the last couple years. This year, in particular, has been important because KP has been in the mix.
“Luka and KP have been involved in a lot of European and international competition that’s very significant. So it’s not like they haven’t seen some high-level situations. But this is going to be really important. J.J., who is one of the leaders of our team in the locker room and on the floor. He can paint the picture of what we’re getting ourselves into.”
What they’re getting into is a little more than a month of a ramp-up to the playoffs that includes three weeks of workouts, along with three scrimmages starting on July 23.
Then there will be eight games that will provide the opportunity for the Mavericks to move up from the No. 7 seed they occupied when the season was stopped by the COVID-19 crisis.
Assuming they win two games of the eight that begin on July 31, the Mavericks cannot move down in the standings. Win five or six and they might have a fair shot at moving up from the No. 7 seed. If the playoffs had begun right away, they would have played the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.
“As we approach training camp and scrimmages and the eight-game schedule,” Carlisle said, “we’re going to be thinking about being aggressive, playing our game and trying to move up in the standings if we can.”
Barea in particular has been using this whole season to be in the ears of Doncic and Porzingis. Barea has 49 games of playoff experience, and, of course, a championship with the Mavericks in 2011. He started the final three games of that NBA finals series against Miami.
“They’re going to be fine,” Barea said before the season was interrupted. “The playoffs are different. But they’re going to figure things out in a hurry. They’ll learn about the calls and the physical play. It comes with experience, no question.
“But it helps when you’re great players like they are.”
Hardaway said before the Mavericks headed to Orlando that the key for Doncic and Porzingis handling the playoffs when they arrive will be to control what they can control.
“There’s going to be a lot of calls not going your way that you may get in the regular season,” Hardaway said. “And guys are going to key up on you in a seven-game series. You just got to find ways and lock in.”
And, one more thing: “Defense is definitely going to win those ballgames,” Hardaway added.
Twitter: @ESefko
The best teacher
They say there’s no substitute for experience, so here’s who has it in the playoffs for the Mavericks.
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