INDIANAPOLIS: Dallas generated more excitement than any other club at the NBA All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City the previous season.
But during the All-Star weekend of this season, here in Indianapolis? Not a word about the Mavericks was spoken.
The Mavericks finished 31-29 and trailed by three games at the end of the previous season, but they had only played five games under the Luka Doncic-Kyrie Irving tandem. With two All-Star starters, they were the only team in the league.
The Mavericks are 32-23 this year. With six games remaining, they share ownership of the NBA’s longest winning run with Boston. Dallas has improved to 3-0 since acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, and they have also been strengthened by the recent injury returns of Irving, Dereck Lively II, and Maxi Kleber.
And it looks like Dante Exum will soon make a comeback after sitting out the previous 19 games.
Compared to this time last season, there is obviously a lot more cause to be optimistic about Dallas’ post-All-Star prospects.
Regarding the winning run, Irving remarked, “It’s about us and everyone that’s in that locker room and continuing to get that work in on off days.” “And taking the small steps to ensure that you are ready to play for however many minutes the coach asks you to.”
“I think some really successful basketball is being played now that we’ve matured enough to be able to lock into our roles.”
But what do you know? The Mavericks were sixth in the Western Conference at the end of the previous season’s All-Star break.
They are currently in seventh place, however they are only one game behind Phoenix in fifth place. Dallas will play Phoenix on Thursday night as both teams start their post-break schedules with 27 games left.
Following the East’s 211-186 victory in Sunday night’s All-Star Game, Suns player Kevin Durant commented, “Good test for us.” “They’ve been performing admirably lately. They will put us to the test with some of their recent recruits to the team.
“This is a fantastic game to kick off the second half of the season.”
Aside from Nikola Jokic’s resignation following his friend Doncic’s seven-point performance, that may have been the longest Mavericks-related statement made at All-Star Weekend by a non-Dallas player: “Luka’s really bad for this game.” He truly is worse than I am.
Maybe Doncic intended to help the Mavericks stay under the radar, in contrast to previous year in Salt Lake City, when Irving set a franchise All-Star record with 32 points, 15 assists, and 7 rebounds. He also expressed distaste that nobody tries defense in All-Star games.
Doncic was by no means the first All-Star to play poorly in Indianapolis, but he did nothing to raise his profile in the conversation about Most Valuable Player.
In addition, Dallas’ attempt to climb up the conference standings and his capacity to sustain his averages of 34.2 points, 9.5 assists, and 8.5 rebounds will primarily determine his chances of winning MVP.
The Mavericks trailed third-place Sacramento by just 2.5 games at the half of the previous season, but their buzzkill results soon followed.
Ten of their next fifteen games and six of their following nine were losses. Their 6-15 record following the break knocked them out of the postseason after they had finished as Western Conference finalists the year before.
A near-50-win season seems far more possible than a recurrence of last season’s collapse, if they can stay reasonably healthy for the next 27 games—far from a certainty, given how this season has gone.
In the event that the former occurs, the lack of excitement surrounding them in Indianapolis will be inconsequential, much like the All-Star Game on Sunday.
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