5 Players who must step up if Mavericks want to make the NBA Finals

What seemed like a slim possibility just months ago is finally coming into fruition, as the Dallas Mavericks are advancing to the Western Conference Finals after knocking off the OKC Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Saturday evening.

This came off the heels of a 17-point comeback to win the game by the Mavericks, as two clutch free throws from P.J. Washington helped the Mavericks seal Game 6 by a margin of 117-116.

After Sunday evening's action, the Mavericks were able to find out who their opponent in the Western Conference Finals will be, as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets by a score of 98-90 in Game 7.

5 Players who must step up if Mavericks want to make the NBA Finals

The Timberwolves are a feisty defensive squad spearheaded by young superstar Anthony Edwards and they just knocked off the defending champions and MVP Nikola Jokic, as they've established themselves as the most feared contender remaining in the playoffs alongside the Boston Celtics per most analysts and talking heads.

Going forward in these playoffs, the Mavericks will need to ensure that everyone on their roster is playing near their full potential, as the Timberwolves have solidified themselves as the best defensive team in the NBA throughout the regular season and playoffs, leaving almost no margin for error on the offensive end for Dallas.

This series will be an intriguing test for this Mavericks team considering that most everyone is doubting them, and it could show us that this team is vastly ahead of expectations if they are able to advance to the NBA Finals and beat the Timberwolves, but it's without doubt that this will likely be the Mavericks hardest test yet.

With that being said, here are five players who need to step up if the Mavs want to advance to the 2024 NBA Finals.

5. Daniel Gafford

By no means has Daniel Gafford had a rough playoff run, as the Arkansas product is averaging 8.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 20.8 minutes per game throughout this postseason stretch for the Mavericks. However, Gafford has looked like the lesser of the two big men between him and rookie Dereck Lively II, particularly in the Mavericks' second-round series versus the Thunder.

Gafford bounced back from a defensive standpoint in Dallas' series versus the Thunder, as he used his length and size well to deter shots at the rim after struggling to contain the size of Clippers center Ivica Zubac throughout the vast majority of the Mavericks' first-round matchup. Gafford has also been an aggressor on the offensive and defensive glass throughout these playoffs, as was the case for most of the regular season, but he's struggled to replicate the offensive dynamism that we saw from him toward the end of the regular season.

Against tighter defenses in the postseason, Gafford hasn't been as polished in his post-up and face-up opportunities, as increased physicality in the playoffs has made it tougher for him to get to his spots and rise up in traffic. Gafford has also struggled with his decision making in the short roll a little bit, as he has had instances this postseason where he's looked far less decisive with the ball in his hands, perhaps attributed to some of the bumps and bruises that he's clearly been dealing with in these playoffs.

Gafford also hasn't defended on the perimeter as well as Lively II, and while it's not fair to knock Gafford for some of his defensive lapses in this respect given that he is at least average at defending the perimeter for a center, the playoffs are all about winning within the margins and teams will look to matchup hunt any weak link in the Mavericks lineup.

Gafford hasn't performed bad in the playoffs as aforementioned, but if he can thrust his caliber of play to the level that it was during his regular season stretch with the Mavericks, then the Mavericks will be much better off dealing with the immense size of the Minnesota Timberwolves in these Conference Finals.

4. Tim Hardaway Jr.

Coming off of a sprained ankle suffered in Game 2 of the first round versus the LA Clippers, it was unknown how much of an impact Tim Hardaway Jr. was going to have on Dallas' success in their second-round matchup versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hardaway Jr. was still trusted to assume a role off the bench by head coach Jason Kidd, as the Mavericks could theoretically desperately use Hardaway Jr.'s shooting off the bench with how up-and-down the 3-point shooting has been from Dallas' bench in these playoffs.

However, outside of a Game 2 in OKC where he shot 6-10 from the field, Hardaway Jr. had minimal impact on the Mavericks' series victory over the Thunder. Hardaway Jr. averaged just 6.7 points per game off of 41.7/33.3/75.0 shooting splits in the Western Conference Semifinals, averaging only 15.5 minutes per game throughout the series.

Hardaway Jr. has the opportunity to become the spark plug the Mavericks need against this rigid Minnesota defense, as the Mavericks offense is far more dynamic when Hardaway Jr. is shooting well from the 3-point line and mid-range. It may seem like a far fetch for Hardaway Jr. to turn around his offensive play this late in the season against the best defenses in the league on a game-by-game basis though, as he's practically been in a shooting slump for his standards since January.

One underlying trend in Dallas' second-round series versus the Thunder was Hardaway Jr. playing well on defense from both an individual and team perspective, so hopefully he can reciprocate that against the Timberwolves, as it makes his sluggish offensive performances far more manageable.

While the threat of Hardaway Jr. as a shooter may be too essential to Dallas' offense to not get him some minutes, another poor shooting series may force the Mavericks to diminish Hardaway Jr.'s role even further (subscription required) in these playoffs, so hopefully he steps up to become the sixth-man off the bench that Dallas needs to make the NBA Finals.

3. Josh Green

Josh Green has been a fairly large wildcard for the Mavericks in these playoffs, as the 23-year-old Australian saw his shooting fluctuate from game to game in the Mavericks' second-round series versus the Thunder. Green scored 11 points in Games 1 and 2 of the Conference Semifinals respectively, and his defensive production seemed to follow his offensive production in those contests as well.

In the remaining four contests of that series though, Green never scored above six points once, and never recorded more than one made 3-point field goal in any of those games either. Green was handsy and extended a lot of hustle on defense against the Thunder, but his discipline on defense often faltered toward the end of the series, as he was getting beat at the point-of-attack oftentimes by virtue of the footwork of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.

Asking Green to guard the best ball handlers in the NBA in his minutes off the bench isn't the easiest task for a young player who is still learning how to best accentuate his physical gifts on the defensive side of the ball, but it's something that Green will have to improve upon if the Mavericks want to contain the likes of Anthony Edwards and Mike Conley on a consistent basis in this coming series.

Getting Green going offensively was a point of emphasis for Dallas after his rough shooting performance in the first round versus the Clippers, but he didn't look confident with the ball in his hands in the second round outside of the first two games in OKC. Green having a few really good 3-point performances as well as some duds is to be expected in a playoff series given the caliber of shooter he is, but he could certainly do a better job of keeping the defense honest with his ability to create off the dribble as well as his ability to push the ball in transition going forward in these playoffs.

Green has certainly helped the Mavericks in these playoffs off the bench and he has hit some very timely shots, but the Mavericks need him to be better across the board if they want to advance to the NBA Finals.

2. Kyrie Irving

Labeling Kyrie Irving's second-round performance versus the Oklahoma City Thunder as a poor performance would be an extreme disservice to Irving and how he played in the series but it was without a doubt not the greatest shooting performance out of Irving's 19 playoff series that he has played in. Irving was pressured heavily by the Thunder's flurry of stellar point-of-attack defenders, and they were extremely timely with their traps, oftentimes forcing Irving to get rid of the ball before he could even gather to make a move to get to his spot.

This will be no different against the Timberwolves in the Conference Finals, as they have the presumptive best defense in the NBA as aforementioned, but with Irving being one of the best difficult shotmakers of all-time, hopefully he can turn things around against the Timberwolves from a shooting perspective.

Irving shot poorly by his standards in a few of Dallas' contests throughout the second round, but it should be noted that the on-ball pressure of the Thunder's defense hindered Irving from getting his normal amount of field-goal attempts up compared to usual, as he only averaged 14 field goal attempts per game throughout the series.

Irving also had some uncharacteristic turnovers in the first couple of games of Dallas' second-round series versus the Thunder, so while the defense in the Conference Finals versus the Timberwolves will be similarly irritating for Irving as it was in the second round, it can be argued that Irving was off of his game from a mental perspective a little bit in Dallas' series versus the Thunder.

If Irving is clicking from a shooting perspective against the Timberwolves, the Mavericks will have a much better chance at advancing to the NBA Finals compared to if it isn't. On the bright side though, Irving is a trained veteran and has proven that his defense, playmaking, and leadership will remain as constant positives regardless of how he is shooting the ball, which should be encouraging for Mavericks fans heading into the third round of the playoffs.

1. Luka Doncic

Battling through an immense amount of pain and even an illness at times throughout the Mavericks second-round series versus the Thunder, Luka Doncic played a stellar series in the second round all things considered. Obviously, Doncic didn't perform up to par with how he played throughout the regular season, but he was facing a tremendous amount of adversity in this past series, especially when takes into consideration the physicality and force with which Thunder guard Luguentz Dort guarded Doncic with throughout many junctures in the second round.

However, it is objectively true that Doncic is going to need to put together a complete series at some point if the Mavericks want to show that they are true contenders, as there aren't any moral victories in the NBA Playoffs. After a largely inefficient series versus the Clippers in the first round, Doncic looked sluggish and over-expended as the primary initiator of Dallas' offense at times throughout Games 1, 3, and 4 of the second round, as he shot inefficient in those contests and averaged 5.3 turnovers per game throughout those three games.

Doncic shot far better in Dallas' other contests in the second round though, and looked more explosive and confident getting into the paint as well as his spots in the midrange in Games 2, 5, and 6. Doncic made a concerted effort to get more into the paint toward the ladder half of Dallas' series versus the Thunder, and it increased his assists number by virtue of the amount of drive-and-kick opportunities he was generating for Dallas' offense.

Doncic showed that he has the mentality to play at a high level on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball versus the Thunder in a few contests despite the pain he was dealing with, but it's obviously as big question mark as to whether this will be sustainable going forward given the severity of his injuries.

Doncic looked far more aggressive and emblematic of his true self on the court toward the end of the Conference Semifinals versus OKC, as him closing the series with three consecutive triple-doubles was huge in giving the Mavericks a series victory. However, with how small of a margin for error the Mavericks have in the playoffs going forward, it isn't unlikely that they will ride and die based off of how well Doncic can continue to play through pain and discomfort.

If the Mavericks get a complete series from Doncic in the Conference Finals, they could very well blow the doors open on the Timberwolves and make the NBA Finals, but it will take a herculean effort on Doncic's part to make this happen given his situation. For more on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, stay tuned as we will have you covered.