Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison hasn't been shy about making big changes to the roster in his first three years on the job. During his first season, the Mavs traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, sparking a trip to the Western Confucian Finals. During his second season, Dallas finally acquired Luka Doncic's co-star Kyrie Irving, albeit at the cost of significant depth in order to do so. But this season, Harrison may have done his best job yet, as the Mavs added two key starters in Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington at the trade deadline.
Especially with Gafford, the Mavs are 9-1 when he starts. The most recent victory came on Thursday night, when Dallas defeated the Utah Jazz 113-97 with a franchise-record 18 dunks. Gafford had his best performance as a Maverick, posting 24 points on 10-11 shooting from the field, seven rebounds and five assists in just 27 minutes. The fifth-year big man recently broke Wilt Chamberlain's record for consecutive field goals made, and Mavs head coach Jason Kidd once again compared the two players after Thursday's win.
“Oh, it was just like one of Wilt's.” [Chamberlain] “He hit 10 of 11 every night. I'm trying to figure out which shots he missed,” Kidd said of Gafford. I don't know which one they attributed his mistake to. That's hard at home. But I think again, that's what he brought. Quarterbacks love finding him. He has a great arm and his ability to finish in traffic is something we didn't have. I think he got back to that record at the finish. But he just dominated the paint on both ends and I think he did a really good job tonight of bouncing the ball off and not giving them second and third chances. ”
Washington hasn't reached the level of statistical success that Gafford experienced early on, shooting just 40 percent overall and 25 percent from deep in 18 games with the Mavs, but he He has the ability to play lockdown defense against the opponent's best players. His length and athleticism allow him to still make a positive impact as a starting power forward.
The latest win moves the Mavs into sixth place in the Western Conference standings with 12 games left in the season. Kidd believes the new-found athleticism and growing chemistry with the Mavs' recent roster moves gave the team momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.
“If you just look at past teams, we weren't very athletic. We weren't going to win dunk contests on the warm-up line. I think now we can compete on the lay-up line. .You can also do tricks on the lay-up line shot, you don't have to use your hands, you can use your feet. [Daniel] Gafford and D-Live (Derek Lively II) and even O-Max (Olivier Maxence Prosper), we had a quick workout in the summer.At the trade deadline, we added Gaff (Daniel Gafford) and P.J. [Washington Jr.] And it got even better,” Kidd said.
“It's great to understand the personalities of the players. That locker room was unbelievable, everyone was rooting for each other. You could see it at the end of the game.” [Jaden] Hardy had the ball.he told that to AJ [Lawson] And I'm rooting for him to score. It's chemistry and trust as you build your team as the season progresses. Yes, we are a very athletic team, but we are also a team that enjoys playing with each other. ”
The Mavs have won seven of their last eight games and will have a great chance to continue their good run with a five-game road trip coming up. Dallas will play at Utah on Monday after getting three days off, followed by two big games against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and Friday. If Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and others can play well over the next three games, their chances of securing a top-six seed in the West playoffs will become even more certain.
