The Dallas Mavericks don’t need a crowd to win games

Assuming the NBA season restarts at some point this summer, it will probably be done without the presence of a live audience – that’s no problem for the Dallas Mavericks

Like a lot of us, the Dallas Mavericks are on standby. The 2019-20 NBA season is on a pandemic induced hiatus currently and no clear plans have been issued to change that. We expect the season to eventually re-start at some point because the idea of having an unresolved season with no crowned champion is downright unacceptable.

That’s about all we know. We certainly don’t know when exactly the season will restart for the Dallas Mavericks but we do have an idea of the conditions will be different. Levels of quarantine and social distancing mean travel will be different, coverage will be different, locations could be different, the schedule will be different, the playoff format could be different, and the fan experience will be different.

Luckily for the Dallas Mavericks they’re built for this. “Built for this” is a reoccurring theme as of late. First we discussed how having young stars capable of starting and stopping at a moment’s notice is an advantage the Mavs hold.

Then we discussed how their deep bench is an asset during a restart since conditioning will be at a low (across the league) and minutes will be reduced. Now we’re saying the Dallas Mavericks are built to win without the benefit of the typical home court advantage in place.

It seems whenever the season restarts it will be done in empty or at best, half-empty, arenas. For the sake of public health it’s hard to envision a shoulder-to-shoulder fan experience that we’ve grown accustomed to in the NBA Playoffs.

Home court advantage is a big thing in the NBA. The friendly confines of one’s own court isn’t just helpful because it’s familiar, but also because it’s welcoming. In the same way road games aren’t just uncomfortable because of the foreign setting, but because the environment can be downright hostile.

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Yet, for some odd reason the Dallas Mavericks are immune to this. The Dallas Mavericks are a staggering 21-12 on the road this season. In the Western Conference, only the Los Angeles Lakers have more wins on the road.  This is significant because the Mavs are currently the seventh seeded team in the West. Chances are they are going to enter the playoffs as the lower seed and will be required to win games on the road in order to advance.

Unlike a lot of teams, the Mavs don’t rely on their home court. In fact, they don’t do great with their friends and family packed around them anyway. Home courts have never been a big deal and neither have away games. Dallas is just built to win without fans.

When the 2019-20 season restarts, the Dallas Mavericks are going to be in position to make some noise. Even if the fans aren’t.

• Published on 05/13/2020 at 17:01 PM
• Last updated at 05/13/2020 at 14:21 PM