Dallas Mavericks: The need for Kristaps Porzingis is obvious now

The Dallas Mavericks are coming off of losses in three of their last four games. Two of these losses have come to teams they definitely should’ve beaten.

Coming off of a loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the Dallas Mavericks are in a tough way right now. After losing Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis to injuries, Luka Doncic has had his hands full trying to carry the Mavs to success. He had that success against Brooklyn, but Charlotte and Oklahoma City were different stories.

The Mavericks are struggling winning the games they need to win lately. Although the Thunder are above .500 right now, that is still a game the Mavs absolutely need to win. The chances that they continue in their current success seems relatively low, and Dallas needs to beat these opponents.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been able to do that this season. They have not lost to a below .500 opponent yet this year and that should be the standard the Mavericks are striving for. Unfortunately, Dallas is 15-5 against such opponents, with losses to Charlotte, New York (twice), Sacramento and Portland.

The first four losses of that kind have no excuse, but the most recent one does and it’s an excuse that Mavs fans should consider more. Kristaps Porzingis may not be the player he was before his ACL injury, but he is still the sidekick that Luka needs out there. Despite some of the woes we have seen from the big Latvian, he is a safety net for Doncic.

Porzingis is a wall on defense in a lot of aspects, but the Mavs are actually missing his offense just as much at this time. Porzingis presents a nearly unguardable target for the opposing team and an option for Luka to pass to through just about anything. Tim Hardaway Jr. is a big miss for the past few games as well, but not quite like KP.

When the Mavs do get Porzingis back (hopefully tonight) the offense should start humming again. It has been in a bit of a free fall since losing the second and third leading scorer, which should kind of be expected, but the fact is that Porzingis should bring that back with his presence alone.

It is time for Mavs fans to stop underestimating just what Porzingis brings to this team. We all know we want to see more, but the fact is that we have already seen enough to justify the contract the big Latvian got this past summer. He is that good.

The Mavs are going to be alright despite the recent struggles. This team is capable of winning games when they are healthy and they are about to be healthy again. That should be promising to all Mavs fans, and hopefully, to tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls.