The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Charlotte Hornets on the road last night, 49-30, and the team remains hot as the season comes to a close.
The Mavs are showing the world every game that they are serious championship contenders, and no team in the Western Conference would want to see them. It's important to be hot at the end of the season, which is why just about everyone is excited about the Mavs right now.
Their defense has improved significantly over the past two months, and fans should be excited about Dallas' chances of making the playoffs.
While his team's team record is impressive, there are several individual players who have won or are on track to win awards at the end of this season.
Dallas has several players who could win various awards this season, and it will be interesting to see who wins the award.
Here are five Dallas Mavericks players who are or should be in the running for the postseason award.
Kyrie Irving is still one of the NBA's best clutch players in his 13th season, and he continues to prove it every night.
While Irving isn't leading the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring like he was last year, he's still one of the NBA's top closers and has a clutch gene that's hard to come by. This season, Irving is averaging 7.0 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 50.7 percent from the field, 42.3 percent from downtown and 91.2 percent from the free throw line. Irving takes his game to the next level when it matters most, and Dallas Mavericks fans witnessed it Sunday afternoon.
Irving scored 25 of his 48 points in the fourth quarter and overtime on Sunday, leading the Mavs to victory. He's even shown that he's arguably a better closer than Luka Doncic, and that's saying something.
Irving's best play of the season was a left-handed floater that set up the game-winning run against the Denver Nuggets. If that play doesn't scream Clutch Player of the Year, I don't know what does.
When it comes to clutch, Irving is elite. He is averaging 4.2 points in the clutch, shooting 60% from the field, 42.1% from downtown, and 95.5% from the free throw line. Irving is always calm and collected as the clock approaches, and his ability to turn on at the end of a game is unreal.
Irving seems to have a pretty good chance of winning this award, but these stats show he deserves to be in the conversation.
