Dallas Mavericks: The wonderful impact of KP’s absence in Dallas

After a brilliant start to 2022, the Dallas Mavericks have remained one of the hottest NBA teams during the month of February. Throughout the month, the Mavs have won six games and lost a mere two contests. Both losses were winnable situations as they dropped an overtime game to the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 2nd and suffered a two-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on February 12.

The team only has two games left in the month, after the week layoff from the all-star break. This is key because after the month of February, the Mavs only have a month and a half left until playoffs begin.

Yet, the Dallas Mavericks have been on a consistent roll without a clear number two all-star.

The question remains:

Could the injuries and trade of Kristaps Porzingis be a blessing in disguise for the Dallas Mavericks?

You see the last time KP took the floor in a Mavs uniform was back on January 29th. Since then the Dallas squad has been 6-3. When the Unicorn was on the court in January, Luka Doncic and company went 6-2.

So what has changed? 

Honestly record wise not much, but player intangibles have greatly improved.

There are three key players who have been impacted by KP trade.

1. Luka Doncic 

Doncic has been on a tear since the trade of his former counterpart. Over the past four games he has scored, 51, 45, 21 and 49 points.

Excluding the game this past Tuesday, Doncic has hit over 45 percent of his shots. His best performance came the day of the NBA tradeline when he made 65 percent of his shots and knocked in 50 percent of threes.

Along with that he is averaging 12 rebounds a game and 7 assists.

His defensive game has also improved, as he is measuring close to one block per game.

The Mavs’ all-star has really taken it upon himself to level up his individual game and team game overall.

2. Dorian Finney-Smith 

Another player who has benefited from the big trade is Finney-Smith. The day after KP was traded, the Mavs guard/wing signed a four-year 52 million dollar extension.

Not bad for a player who went undrafted out of college.

Like Doncic, “DoDo” has proven he is here to stay. Over the past four games he is averaging 10.7 points per game and 1.5 steals.

Over the past two games he has scored 14 points per contest and averaged at least one steal or block.

His best game came last night against the New Orleans Pelicans. Against NOLA, he put in 14 points on 83 percent shooting and hit five of his six threes. Not to mention he snatched up three steals.

The Mavs can only hope he continues to live up the worth of his money.

3. Maxi Kleber

One final player who has floured over the past couple of games is Maxi Kleber.

His minutes per game has greatly increased from five to nearly 12.

This has proven to beneficial because over the past four game he is scoring almost 12 points and hitting 43 percent of his shots.

Against the Pelicans Thursday he put up 20 points and notched in 70 percent of his attempts. Along with that he made 60 percent of his threes.

The night before he scored 19 points and made 50 percent of his shots.

While his minutes do vary,  Kleber has stepped up with the absence of KP.

So, the question remains:

Was the KP trade a blessing in disguise? 

While it may be too early to say, it seems that the team is heading in the right direction with or without him.

Wins have continued to flow, players’ contribution has greatly increased and Doncic has seemed to regain his form.

Now how about that Spencer Dinwiddie guy and Davis Bertrans?