![]() ![]() ![]() Dinwiddie’s assists rose to nine per game, but his efficiency cratered, shooting only 49 percent on twos and 29 percent on threes. The truth was the team wasn’t in a good spot before the trade, and the trade wasn’t enough to fix the core issue - the Mavericks weren’t good enough.įinney-Smith and Dinwiddie didn’t do much to make the Mavericks feel regret - Finney-Smith shot 43 percent on twos, 30 percent on threes and averaged about seven points and five rebounds per game as a Net in the regular season. But the 22nd best defense a year after being in the top 10 is simply not good enough for a team wanting to contend. Could Dallas had used Finney-Smith’s defense presence? Sure. ![]() The offense got a little better, the defense got a little worse. At least, not different enough to explain the massive collapse. Dallas at the time had the seventh best offense and the 22nd best defense.Īfter the trade, the Mavericks fell apart, but the numbers aren’t that different. The team was 28-26, the eighth seed by only the slimmest of margins. That’s fair, but here’s the dirty secret - no matter what point of the season, whether it was pre-trade or post-trade, the Dallas Mavericks talent simply was not good enough.īefore the Mavericks traded away Finney-Smith and Dinwiddie, the team played one final game together, losing to the Golden State Warriors 119-113. Irving was good, but the Mavericks needed the bodies more than another star. So as Dallas’ defense toiled after the trade, there was a growing narrative that the Irving trade was a failure, that Dallas couldn’t afford to lose its defensive stalwart and steady backcourt-mate for Luka Doncic. Losing two starters for one, no matter how great that one starter is, can cause some cascading effects that doom a team, especially one that was already as limited with its depth as the Mavericks. While most acknowledged that judging the trade by pure talent, the Mavericks won, there were plenty of risks involved in terms of breaking up and losing two major contributors from a team that went to the Western Conference Finals a year ago. He’s averaging 29 points (55% FG, 44.4% on 3-pointers), 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 1 turnover in 37.3 minutes on Houston’s current road trip.Since the Mavericks blockbuster trade of Kyrie Irving, I’ve kept my eye on the progress of Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, the two Mavericks that had to depart in the trade so Irving could come to Dallas. It’s also worth noting Houston played the Mavericks close until the final seconds in last week’s meeting, and Porter is playing some of his best ball of the 2022-23 season to date. Then again, Doncic admitted to considerable fatigue after his historic game Tuesday against New York, which could lead to some tired legs against the Rockets. ![]() What can Doncic do for an encore against Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green and the rest of a young Rockets squad that is wrapping up a three-game road trip? That’s what we’ll find out in the second of three games over a 10-day span between the in-state, divisional rivals.ĭoncic went for 50 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds when Dallas won at Houston last Friday, and he’ll undoubtedly look to repeat that feat as the Rockets pay their return visit to North Texas. The Dallas Mavericks enter Thursday’s home game with momentum on the back of four consecutive wins and Tuesday’s historic triple-double of 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists by Luka Doncic, a perennial NBA All-Star guard and MVP front-runner. ![]()
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