Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
What can we make of Dallas’ struggles? They are arguably better than this despite losing Jalen Brunson with so many of their players underperforming on the offensive end. But what if they just got hot in last year’s playoffs? That, in addition to meeting the Jazz and Suns at bad times for those teams, may suggest that last year’s trip to the Conference Finals was an overachievement. Either way, the Mavericks have their work cut out for them towards constructing a title contender around Luka Doncic.
Dallas has the draft equity to make a significant trade and clearly needs a second All-Star to pair with Doncic. That player may not become available anytime soon, meaning they may be stuck with this roster for the rest of the season. Doncic has shown that as long as he is playing, his team has a chance to beat anybody in a game or playoff series. They got off to a similar start last season and turned it around, so their next month or so will be critical towards separating themselves from the rest of the West. There may not be too much pressure on the Mavs this season, but more so a couple of years from now when Doncic is closer to becoming a free agent.
