We are only a week away from the playoffs and experts are starting to explain their bold predictions towards the championship push. Up to this point, you better hope your team is playing their best possible basketball, as anything can happen during these knockout series.
As the Mavericks have won 14 of their last 16 matches, many see them as the hottest team of the moment. Not only are they an offensive powerhouse led by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but they’ve also posted the NBA’s No. 1 defense during this streak.
This Monday, former player gone analyst Eddie Johnson recognized the greatness in this squad, even daring to label them as “the most dangerous team” heading into the postseason.
The Mavericks’ offensive attack will be a difference-maker in the playoffs
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“Look, to me right now, and this is over Denver, to me, [Dallas is] the most dangerous team that any team that’s in the playoffs will face,” he claimed. “They’re the most dangerous. Now, Denver has an advantage with execution, but you know what? You can at least understand that and attack execution. You can see it. Now, the hard part is stopping it, but you see it, you know what you have to do.”
Johnson explained why he sees the Mavs as a sort of wildcard. “With Dallas, you have no idea. That’s the problem. You have no idea. You have no idea when Kyrie drives right that, he can spin left and then shoot a hook. Like, you ain’t ready for that. You just hope he misses,” he said.
“Luka, I mean with his unorthodox shooting and then his uncanny ability to just see stuff off the dribble in traffic, which is different than Jokic,” Johnson kept comparing him to the Serbian. “Jokic’s passing is from a standstill almost. It’s like from being anchored in certain areas on the floor. Dare you double, dare you even try, and I’ll pick you apart. With Luka, it’s like, I’m gonna do all these turns and twists to get to the rim.”
Before the All-Star weekend, Dallas possessed one of the worst defenses in the league, which has changed entirely ever since they added Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington to the roster.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith calls Doncic-Irving the ‘scariest’ duo in the NBA over Murray-Jokic
Johnson isn’t the only analyst who sees the Mavericks as the team nobody wants to confront during the Playoffs. Just last month, Stephen A. Smith shared his thoughts on why he doesn’t believe Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic are the NBA’s most-feared pair.
“I’m going to go with Kyrie [Irving] and Luka [Doncic] as the scariest,” the ESPN icon said. “I didn’t say better – I know Jokic and Murray are better. But Kyrie and Luka, when you consider what they’re capable of doing… the explosion that’s imminent from game to game, there should be nothing that’s more scarier than that.”
The insider knows that the Dallas co-stars aren’t always on the same page, but when they are, there is no stopping them. “When those two get rolling, you can’t stop them,” Smith insisted.
The Mavericks are currently sitting in the Western Conference’s 5th spot with a 48-30 record. With only 4 more regular-season games to go, the Texan squad will face the Hornets this Tuesday evening.
