Mavericks fans should fear West foe more than ever after the Luka Doncic trade

On February 1, just before midnight in DFW, the Dallas Mavericks acquired Anthony Davis in a blockbuster trade that would send Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Davis along with Max Christie. No one expected the Mavericks to get rid of Doncic after he led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season, and this move is definitely going to take some getting used to.

Since the trade last weekend, it has been an emotional rollercoaster for fans considering Doncic is gone, but it seems like as time goes on, fans are getting more excited about seeing what the duo of Kyrie Irving and Davis will look like. Christie has also been outstanding over two games, and he is looking like someone who will be a high-level role player in Dallas for years to come.

Davis is going to make his Mavericks debut at home on Saturday against the Houston Rockets, and fans are excited to see Dallas' new superstar take the floor.

In his 42 games played this season, Davis is averaging 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game, and he is about to show all of Dallas that he is one of the best two-way players in the NBA. Nico Harrison is emphasizing a defense-first mindset in this new era of Mavericks basketball, and Davis embodies that goal.

Anthony Davis must conquer his kryptonite with Mavericks

There's no doubt that Davis will fit in perfectly with the Mavericks, but one of the very few concerns that could be had is about a potential opponent he has struggled to play against in the past, the Denver Nuggets.

In the past two seasons, the Nuggets took down the Lakers in the playoffs. In the 2022-23 season, the Nuggets swept Davis and the Lakers. The season afterwards was a gentlemen's sweep as Denver took down Los Angeles in five games.

Earlier this season against the Nuggets, Davis put 14 points on 6-19 shooting from the field, as they would end up losing by 25. In that same game, Nikola Jokic dropped 34 points on 12-20 shooting.

Obviously, the history against the Nuggets isn't just on Davis, but it's worth noting that since 2020 he's struggled playing against Jokic.

Fortunately, Davis will be able to play the power forward position more than he ever has in his career once this roster can get healthy. With Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II being able to rotate minutes at the center slot, Davis won't have to exert as much energy as he used to in the past, and this should result in him being able to stay healthier as power forward is oftentimes much less physical than center.

The Mavericks will be able to throw three bodies at Jokic for their next matchups to come, and Davis should be able to help flip the script about his struggles against him.

Dallas has already faced Denver four times this season, so if this matchup were to reappear anytime soon, it would have to be in the playoffs, which is a major possibility.

Although, Davis struggled against Jokic in their past two playoff series matchups, a change of scenery can change everything.

Davis may be new to Dallas, but it shouldn't be as difficult as an adjustment to a new team as it would be to others. Davis had the opportunity to win a championship in 2020 with Jason Kidd as his assistant coach and Jared Dudley as his teammate with the Lakers, and now they are both on Dallas' coaching staff. During that run, they took down the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.

The Mavs will be hoping for the same result if Dallas and Denver meet in the playoffs once again, and Davis' performance could make or break the Mavericks' season when it's all said and done.