The Dallas Mavericks’ future looked gloomy a year ago.
Just one year after making it to the Western Conference Finals, they were unable to advance to the play-in round, despite midseason deal for future Hall of Fame player Kyrie Irving.
But with Irving and Luka Doncic together, the Mavs have maybe the best backcourt in the NBA, and they are now only one victory away from returning to the West finals.
In fact, Nick Wright declared that they are “as dangerous a team as anyone in basketball” on FS1’s “First Things First.”
Although Doncic’s scoring performance in the playoffs has been erratic thus far, on Tuesday he outscored the Oklahoma City Thunder 31 points to 11 assists and 10 rebounds in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.
It is a very positive sign for a team’s stability and overall potential when a superstar like him is inconsistent yet his team wins consistently.
As Wright said, Dallas has significantly improved its defense this season.
In their first 11 playoff games, they have kept their opponents under 100 points four times. On Tuesday, they limited the Thunder, who finished third in the regular season in both scoring and offensive rating, to 92 points.
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