By james art The Dallas Mavericks are off to a 3-1 start to the season, although the offense is still getting into shape. Tuesday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves gave them an early signature win to hang their hat on and look like one of the best teams in the NBA after last season’s Finals run.
Dallas retooled around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, bringing in Klay Thompson, Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie to add more shooting and defensive options. Grimes, Dinwiddie and Thompson made notable impacts on offense, while Marshall became the team’s best defensive player. These additions with an improved Dereck Lively II have the Mavs as favorites in the NBA power rankings across the media landscape.
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Kurt Hellin of NBC ranked the Mavericks third behind the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder, saying, “Klay Thompson has been everything the Mavericks could have hoped for early in the season, starting with him dropping 22 points against the Spurs in the beginning. He is averaging 19.7 points per game and shooting 45.5% on 11 threes per game [stats were grabbed before the Timberwolves game]but more importantly, the Mavericks defense is better by 8.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the court (small sample size warning, but that’s a promising sign). Overall, the Mavericks have been strong defensively to start the season, their 107.3 net defensive rating is the fifth best in the league.”
Colin Ward-Henninger of CBS Sports ranked Dallas fifth behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thunder, Celtics and Phoenix Suns, saying, “So far so good for the Mavs, starting 3-1, punctuated by another Luka Doncic walk – The back three, who beat the Timberwolves, who rallied last postseason, seems to have carried over as floor man Klay Thompson has thrived in his new surroundings, averaging 16.5 points on 3-point shooting.”
ESPN’s combined power rankings have Dallas fourth behind the Celtics, Thunder and Cavaliers, with Tim McMahon saying, “Klay Thompson continues to be one of the NBA’s best perimeter shooters after an amicable split with his Splash Brother, Stephen Curry . Thompson expected to get very good looks alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in Dallas, and he was not disappointed in the first week of the season. He shot 45.5 percent from 3-point range on 11 attempts per game during the Mavs’ 3-1 run. started with an average of 19.7 points [Again, looks like stats were grabbed before the Minnesota game]. Thompson stated his determination to “get rid of the idea that I’m not the same defender that I was before” and is also off to a strong start on that end of the court. The Mavs have a 112.7 defensive efficiency with Thompson on the court this season (101.9 when he’s off).”
Dallas has a good chance ahead of them to go a little further, as Thursday night’s Halloween contest against the Houston Rockets will be the first of five straight home games for the Mavericks. If they come out of that homestand unscathed, they could soon be challenging for the top spot in these power rankings.
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