Anthony Davis put in impossible position by Mavericks after Luka Doncic trade

The Dallas Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak on Thursday night, as the Mavericks outlasted a late rally from Boston's bench unit in what was overall a fairly commanding 127-120 win. This game was pivotal for Dallas given all the backlash the team has received following the Luka Doncic trade, and the Mavericks came out with another gear against the defending champions on their home floor, as Dallas' diverse scoring attack looked like a stark contrast to many of their Finals contests against Boston last season.

Dallas was led by Klay Thompson with 25 points on 11-17 shooting from the field, as Thompson got hot from both the mid-range and outside early on in this game, and he set the tone for Dallas' offense all evening long with his ability to relocate off the ball and get to his spots at will. Despite the aforementioned late rally from Boston's bench (mostly coming from Payton Pritchard), Dallas was blowing the Celtics out for most of this game and the Mavericks carried themselves as well as fans could've hoped for on the defensive end given some of the absences in their lineup.

Dallas was without P.J. Washington (birth of son), Caleb Martin (hip sprain), Dereck Lively II (ankle injury), and their newly acquired superstar in Anthony Davis (abdominal strain), but the Mavericks showed great poise across the board in this game from an offensive standpoint, as the ball was constantly humming and every single role player was playing aggressively on the offensive end.

Despite Dallas' big win, this game was a painful reminder that Doncic is no longer with the Mavericks, as this was Dallas' first win since Doncic was traded off the team. Dallas' playstyle can already be seen to have shifted from the more heliocentric style that it was during Doncic's tenure here, as Doncic would delegate a good majority of Dallas' offensive possessions as the primary initiator even if Kyrie Irving getting traded to Dallas in 2023 shifted that up some.

Davis will have to play out of his mind and help bring title to justify trade

Irving is much more of a true point guard and simply isn't the otherworldly offensive threat that Doncic was given his size limitations, but that's obviously not saying Irving isn't one of the best scorers in the NBA or Dallas can't see success with him as their primary playmaker. However, Doncic getting traded creates a huge void somewhere from a production standpoint, and this is likely a void Davis is poised to try and fill to the best of his ability.

It's simply unfair that Dallas' front office and Nico Harrison brought this demand out of Davis, and they put him in an unfair position when they traded for him given the negativity this move has been met with by Mavericks fans, leaving many fans to only accept Davis if he brings the Mavericks a title and solidifies himself as an All-NBA first or second team level player throughout the back half of this season.

None of this situation is fair and fans, analysts, and critics alike won't let the Mavericks hear the end of it if there is a rough adjustment period with Davis' insertion into the lineup. Davis is one of the best players in the NBA and will assuredly figure it out in Dallas eventually, as he and Irving make a tantalizing point guard-big man duo, but Davis has to play out of his mind and help bring fans a title if the Mavericks want any sort of chance of fans putting this Doncic situation in the relative rearview at any point in the near future.

Davis obviously won't be alone in his quest to bring Dallas a championship, as Irving along with role players who will see increased offensive opportunity as a result of this trade will definitely be vital to Dallas' championship hopes as well, but it would be remiss to ignore the obvious Doncic-Davis parallel that fans will draw when evaluating this move from Dallas as a whole.