Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks currently have the fourth-best Western Conference record. The team sits between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors and four games from the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. Dallas remains miles behind the Thunder, who dominated the Mavs on Tuesday. The Mavericks committed 19 turnovers against OKC, an ongoing issue that has yet to be addressed.
Last season, the Dallas Mavericks were the ones who dominated the Thunder. The team got the best of their Western Conference foe, as they beat them 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals. The Mavs' defense clamped down, as they forced OKC to commit 18 turnovers in a closeout Game 6.
Dallas finished that season 50-32 and made the NBA Finals. The team capped off an impressive run as they beat the top two seeds in the West. Their journey to an NBA championship fell short though when they lost to the Boston Celtics in five games.
Haywood details Mavs' motivation in 2011 Finals
One Mavs group that did win the Finals was the 2010-2011 team. That year, Dallas went on an impressive run beating some of the top teams in the league. Their Finals run remains one of the top journeys in NBA history. They beat some of the best players including Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James.
Former NBA Champion and Mavs center Brendan Haywood recalls the motivation behind the team's run. He mentioned how Wade and James' mocking gesture towards Dirk Nowitzki's illness was the final ingredient they needed to go on an impressive run. He goes on to say how Nowitzki had a lingering rivalry with Wade that dated to a prior NBA Finals.
Haywood details how the whole team rallied behind Nowitzki. He explained that the Wade beef quietly fueled Nowitzki. The former Mav outlined how Nowitzki's quiet demeanor propelled the squad to rally behind their star. Simply put, he stated that Dirk was not the type to poke the bear, but the team could tell he was ready for war and they were ready to ride for him. This would be all Dallas needed to overcome their 2-1 deficit and win three games in a row.
Towards the beginning of the year, Nowitzki recalled the mocking incident on Wade's podcast. Nowitzki outlined his true feelings towards the gesture. He stated it was "a little disrespectful." He went on to explain that he "never had to fake an illness." In simple terms, the Mavs' star "thought it was childish." Wade agreed with the statement, stating that his and James' gesture was indeed childish.
Doncic had a similar incident three seasons ago when the Mavs played the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. During a press conference, Chris Paul and Devin Booker mocked Doncic's defensive skills after a Game 2 victory. Doncic and Dallas came back to win the next two games, before losing Game 5. The Mavs rallied to win Game 6 and 7 after Doncic called out the Suns for "acting tough when they up" in the middle of the series.
The Mavs would later lose in the Western Conference Finals to the Golden State Warriors, as the team ran out of fuel. Dallas though looks equipped and energized to make another Finals run this season, as the Mavs revamped their roster with new players such as Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes.
Doncic has big shoes to fill if he hopes to some day be in the same company as Dirk Nowitzki. Could this be the season he final achieves greatness?
The Mavs' journey to a championship will continue today when the team travels to take on the Golden State Warriors.
