So far this season, the Dallas Mavericks are playing fantastically. The Mavs, who had a much-maligned season finale, are already in the running for the playoffs. Dallas is also well on their way to winning the Southwest Division, even though that may not mean much in the current NBA.

In the offseason, Dallas had to contend with a lot of skeptics. Nobody anticipated that the Mavericks would compete in the Western Conference, not even the NBA General Managers or other media sources.

Another doubter of Dallas has surfaced this time. Although the Mavs’ “B grade” in this piece isn’t entirely demeaning, they still merit a B+, especially in light of last year’s catastrophe.

Bleacher Report’s most recent grade denigrates Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.

The most current grade was obtained from the article “NBA Report Cards: Grading Every Team’s First Quarter of the 2023–24 Season” published by Bleacher Report. Dallas is above.500 because of Luka Doncic’s domination, according to Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey.

Even though Doncic has amazing numbers, the team as a whole has improved significantly from the previous season. In his brief description of Dallas, Bailey named Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kyrie Irving but did not name any supporting players.

When discussing the contributions other than Doncic, Irving, and Hardaway Jr., the Bleacher Report writer concluded the Mavericks part by stating, “The roster sort of falls off after that (at least from a statistical perspective)”.

Analyzing Dallas from a statistical perspective is not that difficult. A more thorough investigation, however, might highlight the less well-known contributors.

Dereck Lively II, the Mavs’ new starting center, has performed exceptionally well, for example. The 19-year-old power forward leads the team in scoring, rebounds, and blocks per game on average. Although his numbers might not look impressive, Dallas’ success depends heavily on his rim-running abilities and backline defense.

With Lively II on the court, Dallas is a far superior squad. When Lively II is on the court as opposed to when he sits, the Mavericks are superior by more than ten points.

But there are other excellent role players on the team besides the former Duke big man. Derrick Jones Jr., Grant Williams, and Dante Exum—all acquired in the offseason—have been essential to the Mavericks’ success.

Jones Jr. has developed into a useful 3-and-D player. The quick wing is scoring 9.6 points per game on average, which is a career-high. In addition, he is making a career-high 1.6 3-pointers per game at a percentage of 37.4%. For context, prior to this season, Jones Jr. has never made more than 0.7 threes per game in any other season.

Williams is a huge asset as a floor spacer for Doncic and Irving, despite his little downturn in recent weeks. He is making 5.7 attempts per game from downtown, shooting over 40% of the field.

And lastly, Exum has been outstanding lately. With a plus/minus of plus-4.6, Exum leads Dallas and is among the top 45 players in the NBA. When Exum plays, the Mavericks are an astounding 20.6 points better each game.

Dallas has undoubtedly outperformed expectations this year, even with the B grade. The Dallas role players have performed admirably, and the relationship between Doncic and Irving has blossomed. Anticipate more advancements from Lively II and Exum. Furthermore, Jaden Hardy, a second-year athlete, still has plenty of time to develop.

GET MORE NEWS HERE