Mavericks might secretly be Texas' best team — and rivals' flaws will prove it

Heading into next season, it's without a doubt a large portion of the national media is shunning the Dallas Mavericks next season, as the Mavericks have a heavy contingent of talent on their roster, but their talent isn't necessarily proportional across all positions. Without Kyrie Irving out for a prolonged period of time next season, the Mavericks will have to get an uptick in production from a playmaking and shot creation perspective.

D'Angelo Russell, Max Christie, and Brandon Williams will be the main people responsible for this task, and while none of them can match Irving's efficiency on a possession-by-possession basis, they all have unique skillsets that complement one another well and are all hungry to take leaps in production compared to last season, for one reason or another.

It's no guarantee they can hold Dallas' guard spot down to an effective enough level to where Dallas is still a bonafide playoff team once Irving returns, but there's certainly reason to believe they can as aforementioned, and this could catapult Dallas into finishing the season as the best team in Texas assuming Irving is able to come back late-season and ramp up to the playoffs.

Mavs may be best team in Texas next season — and no one's expecting it

This may sound lofty at first glance given how deeply talented the Houston Rockets are after adding Kevin Durant as well as the fact the San Antonio Spurs have added great positional depth around Victor Wembanyama this offseason, but many analysts could be scathing by some of these team's inherent flaws, flaws the Mavericks simply won't have if their guard rotation can hold down the fort.

For starters, the Rockets are relying on second-year pro Reed Sheppard a hefty amount to be their backup point guard, despite Sheppard being relegated to a minimal role for most of last season. Being the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Sheppard's talent is clear, but he still has a ton to prove at the NBA level.

Unless Sheppard lives up to the hype immediately next season, Dallas' guard core clears Houston's when Irving is fully healthy. The Mavericks have the best size out of any team in the Southwest Division, even after some of Houston's additions, and while the Rockets may have the slight edge in shooting, the Mavericks matched up extremely well with them in Anthony Davis' debut on February 8. The Rockets are also relying on Amen Thompson taking a massive leap next season, and while this is certainly plausible given how he ended last season and the playoffs, he still needs to prove he can have some semblance of a reliable jumper.

Looking at the Spurs, they have the opposite problem compared to the Mavericks, as they have an overhaul at their guard spot. De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper are extremely dynamic guards, but none of them have proven to be better than league-average shooters at the NBA level, barring the 2018-19 and 2023-24 seasons with the Sacramento Kings for Fox.

The Spurs may have a more talented array of creators compared to Dallas, but Dallas has the size and physicality to at least put somewhat of a crutch on Wembanyama, and the Mavericks likely have better overall shooting and defense compared to San Antonio, unless Wembanyama has some transcendent season defensively.

Don't take this as any sort of guarantee the Mavericks will have eclipsed both of these teams in the Western Conference standings by the time the end of the season roles around, but there's undoubtedly a world where the Mavericks could do this, and more people need to be acknowledging this.