Dallas Mavericks 2024-25 season preview: How Luka Dončić and Co. return to Finals and win it all

(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We’re breaking down the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy outlooks for all 30 teams. Enjoy!

DALLAS MAVERICKS

2023-24 finish

Offseason moves

Additions: Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes, Spencer Dinwiddie

Subtractions: Derrick Jones Jr., Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr.

Complete roster

The Big Question: Can they find the right balance?

For most of last season, the Mavericks looked like a team pulling with equal intensity in opposite directions. A top-10 offense trying to cover for a bottom-10 defense; an MVP-caliber superstar in Luka Dončić and an excellent-when-healthy No. 2 in Kyrie Irving trying to carry a roster otherwise light on offensive creation; capable of toppling titans with breathtaking shot-making, still churning just to stay above .500.

You never knew which Mavs you’d see night to night — a “Schrödinger’s contender” level of uncertainty heightened by persistent injuries. A half-dozen rotation members missed significant time, prompting coach Jason Kidd to cycle through 35 starting lineups, tied for fifth-most in the league. Then, in early March, Kidd shuffled again, flanking Dončić and Irving with go-go-Gadget-armed defender Jones and trade-deadline arrivals Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington.

Jackpot:

The Mavs won 16 of their final 20 regular-season games — including two losses they punted to rest starters — with the NBA’s second-best defense in that span. They ripped through the Western playoff bracket, knocking off the Clippers, Thunder and Timberwolves while allowing just 111.1 points per 100 possessions — a mark that would’ve finished just outside the top three during the regular season. They’d found a formula: Luka + Kyrie + a massive, athletic defense = winning at a .757 clip, a 62-win pace, during the stretch run.

The math stopped adding up in the NBA Finals. The Celtics helped aggressively off of Dallas’ complementary players, daring them to make Boston pay for loading up to stop Dončić and Irving. They couldn’t: A Dallas team that finished the regular season…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/dallas-mavericks-2024-25-season-preview-how-luka-doncic-and-co-return-to-finals-and-win-it-all-191939549.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-07 19:19:39

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