Dallas Mavericks: Five things to be thankful for

Since Thanksgiving is soon upon us let’s highlight five things Dallas Mavericks fans should be thankful for right now

The Dallas Mavericks are below .500 and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, but that doesn’t mean it’s all bad news to report. Quite the contrary. Times are changing and there’s multiple reasons we MFFL should be thankful for our Dallas Mavericks

So here are five:

1 Luka Doncic

It all begins and ends with Luka Doncic. The ball handling forward rookie is this team’s alpha and omega. The offense is already flowing through this potential rookie of the year and his positionless game and spectacular vision match up perfectly to today’s NBA.

He joins second year guard, Dennis Smith Jr, as a core building block and offers fans a show today and hope for the future.

2. The DeAndre Jordan Experiment

With an emphasis on “experiment” Dallas Mavericks fans should be thankful for the DeAndre Jordan experiment. For the past four seasons we’re collectively been thinking “what if?”

What if Jordan didn’t flake out and back out of a verbal commitment with the Mavs? What if the Mavs could have mounted one more attack before Dirk Nowitzki’s decline? What if one free agent lead to another, led to another… ?

While we can’t answer all of those, we can see how a player like Jordan fits this team. And playing on only a one-year deal, it’s an experiment rather than a commitment. Thank goodness (more on that next week).

3. The Second Unit

It’s been difficult for Rick Carlisle to smash together all of his new pieces into the starting lineup. Every starter has been on the negative end of the +/- per 100 possessions. That’s why Mavs fans should be thankful for the cohesiveness of the second unit. Beacuse every player on the Dallas Mavericks second team is on the positive end of the +/- per 100 possessions.

While all of the new starters learn to play together, the second unit already has chemistry. That’s why Rick Carlisle refuses to mess with his second team. And that’s why the Mavs have found the success they have this season.

4. Cap Flexibility

Mark Cuban has built the Dallas Mavericks to compete for a playoff spot. Whether they actually do or not remains to be seen, but what we can all take comfort in is there’s realistic hope for this season, without the cost of financial flexibility for next season.

The Mavs are well positioned for free agency next summer and will be able to afford any free agent on the market.

Ditto for summer of 2020. The only thing to worry about now is how to lure the future object(s) of their desire to the city of Dallas.

5. Dirk

God bless Dirk. He may have yet to make his regular season debut, but the day is fast approaching. And we’re blessed for it. Dirk is playing for the love of the game these days. He’s not trying to compile stats or latch onto an outside contending team. Nope, Dirk is staying at home in Dallas and helping the Mavs develop the next generation of champions.

Next. Thank these Mavs for the recent turnaround. dark

Given what’s gone down the last few seasons, it’s easy to get down on the Dallas Mavericks. But the needle is pointed up and there’s plenty of reasons to be thankful for our beloved Mavs.

Published on 11/20/2018 at 19:09 PM
Last updated at 11/20/2018 at 19:11 PM

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