Dallas Mavericks: Opportunity for Kristaps Porzingis arises

The Dallas Mavericks are Luka Doncic’s team. I don’t think anyone would argue that. But for as obvious as that is, it’s not always easy for players to adapt to, even if they fully accept it.

Kristaps Porzingis has always been “the man” in his basketball career. Think about it, KP hasn’t ever needed to take the backseat to anyone. He’s The Unicorn, after all. So when Porzingis came to Dallas it marked a significant role change for the 26-year-old Latvian big man.

Playing second fiddle hasn’t been something he’s fought or even something hard for him to accept. It’s just been difficult to adapt to it when his whole life the offense has filtered through him.  This was a difficult situation exasperated by Rick Carlisle last year when he essentially wrote KP out of the offense all together.

If Luka Doncic misses time, Kristaps Porzingis will get the opportunity to find himself again with the Dallas Mavericks

In Monday night’s thriller, the Dallas Mavericks quite possibly earned their signature win of this young season. KP shot over 50% for the third game in a row, he led the Mavs in scoring and also pulled in 11 rebounds. Unfortunately he finished the game without Luka who went down with a left foot injury.

We don’t know whether or not Luka Doncic will miss time and the Dallas Mavericks have another day before they have to say much of anything. But if Doncic does indeed miss time, it offers KP a chance to step up and build on his last few games.

For the season, KP is down across the board. He’s averaging just under 20-points and eight rebounds – not what we were hoping for from him this year. But as we mentioned earlier, he’s turned it on as of late and seems to be finding his confidence and groove.

While the idea of losing Doncic for a game or two is bad on all counts, it could be prove to be good in the long-term if KP steps up and carries the Dallas Mavericks.

This team’s floor is held up by Luka. They will never be bad as long as he’s on the court. But the ceiling is set by the players around him – namely Kristaps Porzingis. If KP can be that second star he was expected to be when the Mavs traded for him, the sky is the limit with this club.

In the current situation, if KP effectively leads this team in the potential absence of Luka, it would do wonders to his psyche (undo some of that Carlisle damage). And it’s in the best interest of the Dallas Mavericks to have two star players happy and confident than just one. At the very least, it would display KP still has “it” and potentially boost his trade value should the day ever arise.

No matter how you look at it, if KP has to carry the load, it’s a great opportunity for him and for the Dallas Mavericks