Dallas Mavericks Midseason Report

The Dallas Mavericks are now halfway through their 2017-2018 campaign. With 28 losses already on the record, the Mavs currently sit at thirteenth in the Western Conference.

The Mavs’ season has been a disappointment to this point. For the second year in a row, the team is staring at a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft. The Mavs have needs all over their roster, but have shown some encouraging signs to this point in the year, particularly from their youngest players.

Dennis Smith Jr. came in with an extreme responsibility this season. The N.C. State guard was drafted to be the heir apparent to Jason Kidd that the team has been searching for since the future Hall of Famer departed for New York. Smith has been pretty consistent to this point in his first season.

The rookie has averaged 14 points per game while dishing out 4.5 assists. The Mavs drafted Smith with hopes of him becoming a steady dose of offense for a unit that was painfully stagnant a year ago. Smith was also drafted to provide the Mavs with the athleticism the team has lacked at the position for far too long.

Since Kidd’s departure, the Mavs have used veteran point guards that have been more skilled in other areas than Smith. Players like Jose Calderon, Deron Williams, and Darren Collison were all better and more polished passers than the raw rookie, but Smith provides a jolt of speed, strength, and pop from the position that can give the Mavs something to be excited about for the future.

Yogi Ferrell has also been a bright spot for the Mavericks. The midseason pickup from a year ago has been extremely impressive so far in his time in Dallas. The Mavs rewarded him for his progress by giving him a two-year contract during the season last year. This year, Ferrell has shown a pretty polished improvement on both ends of the floor.

Defensively, Ferrell has made himself the team’s best perimeter defender along with Wesley Matthews. His impact on the defensive end has given Rick Carlisle confidence to put him in the game in crunch time when looking for a crucial stop. His game is also a nice change of pace from Dennis Smith, who provides a bigger fast break presence for the Mavs’ offense.

At shooting guard, Wesley Matthews has again been leading the team in minutes, being the main defender against the opposing team’s best scorer. Dallas is also still hopeful that they would get a jolt from their bench once Seth Curry returns to the lineup. The Mavs were hoping Curry would miss only the first couple of weeks of the year, but he will miss at least half of the entire campaign.

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The Mavericks have also been encouraged by the recent play of Dwight Powell. Powell has become the team’s main backup to Dirk Nowitzki at the power forward position, as Josh McRoberts has not seen much time on the court to this point. McRoberts has suited up for the team’s last several games, but had not seen minutes until last night’s game against the Magic.

Perhaps the biggest story to this point in the season has been the incredible lack of a presence from Nerlens Noel. The Mavs acquired Noel in a trade from the 76ers at last year’s deadline in exchange for Justin Anderson, Andrew Bogut, and a top-18 protected first round draft choice.

Noel enjoyed a promising final third to the season as the new starting center for the Mavs last year, but this season has been a colossal disappointment. Rick Carlisle was not comfortable using him in most offensive situations, relying more on Salah Mejri and Maxi Kleber to be the team’s primary rim protector, before the eventual news that Noel would be out with an injury for an unspecified amount of time.

For now, the Mavs are miles from the playoffs. After four straight wins going into their marquee matchup with the Golden State Warriors, the Mavs dropped three in a row and are seemingly again searching for wherever their next win may come from. The Mavs are 7.5 games out of the West’s final playoff spot, chasing the Pelicans for the final seat at the table.

If the Mavs are serious about their rebuild, it may be time to consider unloading some of their veterans. J.J. Barea, Devin Harris, and Wesley Matthews have to be considered possible trade chips to use in pursuit of cap space, draft picks, and prized prospects.

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Dallas is not out of the running yet, and with Rick Carlisle and Mark Cuban still at the helm, the Mavs will keep fighting until the result is inevitable. Until that time comes, Dallas will keep doing what they need to in order to stay relevant.