The Dallas Mavericks are on a six-game winning streak heading into the All-Star break, putting them in prime position to make a run for a top-six seed in the Western Conference by the time the NBA playoffs begin. The Mavericks acquired players like P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline and have played in Dallas' last three wins before the hiatus.
Gafford and Washington's impact on the Mavericks has already been very noticeable, with both players making an immediate impact from a rebounding and defensive standpoint in just three games with the Mavs thus far. As we've stated all season, Dallas' biggest holes were the lack of a bigger-bodied wing and backup center, and they addressed both of those issues with the additions of Washington and Gafford.
However, there are still many areas where the Mavericks can improve before heading into the playoffs, even if only slightly. Many of Dallas' remaining issues stem from not seeing the full lineup due to injuries, or are issues that can be fixed with coaching and effort.
The playoffs are usually all about winning by close margins given how high the skill level is on both teams, so whether these issues are fixed could be the difference between Dallas winning a playoff series. There is a possibility that With that said, here are four areas the Mavericks must improve upon returning from All-Star break.
It's well-known that Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has stuck to a fairly tight rotation for most of the season, but many Mavericks fans believe that Dallas' trade deadline acquisition of Kidd I believe this will alleviate the burden of the heavy workload imposed on me. This season's starting lineup.
What's strange about Kidd's rotation is the number of lineup combinations Dallas has played this year. Even though the Mavericks were playing a fairly tight eight or nine-man rotation, which has often been the case against most opponents Dallas has played this year, injuries have forced the Mavericks to The five-member lineup fell short of reaching 100, and the team went off the rails. All together so far – minute mark.
The five-man lineup that has played the most for Dallas this season is Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, Derrick Jones Jr., Grant Williams, and Derek Lively II. The duo has only played 99 minutes together this season, and Grant Williams is no longer on the Mavericks' roster. As much of an impact as P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford have had on the Mavericks so far, Kidd still hasn't fully optimized their rotation or the lineup combinations he can use with them.
It's understandable that Dallas just made a roster change so it would take some time to find the most effective lineup, but the Mavericks don't have much time to figure this out before the playoffs with 27 games left in the season. Luka Doncic is still playing a career-high 37.4 minutes per game this season, so Jason Kidd will be overextending Doncic with meaningless minutes to keep him from getting dragged into playing time for the rest of the season. You will need to recognize that. play off.
The Mavericks have some young talent in their two-way division who should consider playing the remainder of the season, especially considering Dallas has the 10th-easiest remaining schedule in the league.
Kidd shouldn't disrupt Dallas' rotation by letting Olivier Maxence-Prosper play extra minutes, for example, but having a player like that play minutes in a relatively easy game is a big deal for Dallas' roster during the playoffs. This could go a long way in helping young players achieve their goals. Develop at the NBA level.
