Dallas Mavericks: The Mysterious Case of Kristaps Porzingis

The Dallas Mavericks aren’t who we thought they they’d be. A team once deemed as a Western Conference favorite, has been far from that this season. Yes, Dallas is above .500, but let us not get distracted from the fact that they are not the team we expected them to be.

Some key issues include the lack of offensive production from Luka Doncic, Jason Kidd’s game plan and the mystery of Kristaps Porzingis.

Kristaps Porzingis has yet to develop into the player the Dallas Mavericks expected when they traded for him.

One of the biggest storylines heading into this season, was whether or not KP could be the 2nd option the team needs.

Over the past three games, it seems as though Dallas has still not found its answer. Yes, the season is early, but things do not look good.

In just three games Porzingis is averaging 12.7 points with six rebounds. In the team’s first game of the season, the “unicorn” had 11 points while shooting four for 13 from the field. Not to mention he made just one of his four three pointers. For a guy who is expected to be the number two scorer, this isn’t going to cut it.

Fast forward to the second game of the season and well, not much changed. KP presented the team with a seven of 20 shooting night and made just two of his nine shots from beyond the arc.

It honestly does not look good at all.

Against Houston the same trend continued, except the numbers dipped even more. In just 20 minutes, KP hit two of his 10 shots and went one of four from three. Not to mention he missed two free throws.

While it is too early to say the experiment failed, Dallas fans have been yearning for more.

What happen to the 2017-18 KP?

Before coming to Dallas, Porzingis was phenomenal with the Knicks. Before his 2018 injury, he was seen as the next big thing.

In his only all-star appearance, the 7’3 forward had one of his best seasons. That year, he averaged 22.7 points to go with a .395 shooting percentage from three.

Transition to his first healthy year with Dallas and things seemed to be going in the right direction. In 2019 he started off hot. He was averaging 20.4 points and even had a career high in rebounds per game.

Everything seemed to be going well, then the injuries pilled up again.

In a pivotal playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, KP played in just three games after suffering a meniscus tear.

But wait there’s more!!

In the 2021 playoffs, Doncic’s sidekick suffered even more horrific torture. That series he hit just 29 percent of his shots from three and was deemed by Carlisle as a nothing more than just a bump on a log. His awful presence had NBA fans calling for Dallas to cut ties with their number two option.

With a new head coach under center, things were expected to improve.

However, this hasn’t been the case as things to have been sliding downward.

So where does Dallas go from here?

Honestly, all the team can do is hold out for a couple months and see if anything improves.

And if they don’t?

Could a divorce be waiting in the wing?

Only time will tell.