The Mavericks' 5 waves of god manipulation turned them from 11th in the West to champions

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2024-05-31 22:00Posted in Guangdong Sports Creators

On April 9, 2023, the Mavericks lost to the Spurs on the last day of the regular season, ending the season with a 38-44 record and 11th in the West, and did not even play the play-offs, which was the Mavericks' worst record in four years and the first time Doncic did not make the playoffs since his rookie season in 2018-19.

On May 31, 2024, the Mavericks eliminated the Timberwolves 4-1 in the Western Conference finals, won the Western Conference championship after 13 years, and also won the ticket to the championship game. With just one season separating them, the Mavericks climbed from the bottom of the 11th place in the West Conference to the top, how did they get there? This all comes from the 5 waves of god operations that began last summer.

▌ God Deal in the Draft

In last summer's draft, the Mavericks traded Wallace, the 10th pick, to the Thunder for the 12th pick, and many questioned the decision at the time, arguing that Lively could not survive in the NBA without outside ability.

Unexpectedly, the 216-centimeter Lively has been reused by the Mavericks this season, and has continued to improve in the season, he has performed well both offensively and defensively, not like a rookie at all, and from this year's playoffs, it seems that he is the most important player on the inside of the Mavericks.

The Mavericks traded to Irving in February last year, although the star guard handed in an all-around average of 27 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds after the transfer, but the Mavericks didn't even score the playoffs, and Irving became a free agent after the ball, and the Mavericks faced the problem of whether to renew Irving's contract, but they gave Irving a three-year $126 million contract as soon as the free agent market opened in July.

As it turned out, the Mavericks were right, and not only did Irving play a star-like game this season, but his scoring ability in the fourth quarter and his leadership in the break room were key to the Mavericks' ability to reach the championship game.

In addition to renewing his contract with Irving, the Mavericks also used the base salary to sign former Slam Dunk champion Jones, which seemed inconspicuous at the time, but Jones, who has always been good defensively, has also improved his three-point shooting to the Mavericks, and he started in the playoffs this year, with a three-point shooting rate of nearly 4 percent, becoming a competent 3D player.

▌ Trading is limited to two waves of large supplements

In the first half of this season, the Mavericks had ups and downs, with a record of 29 wins and 23 losses, not like a championship contender, so they made two major trades in exchange for forward Washington and center Gafford on February 9, which completely upgraded the Mavericks' combat power and transformed into a balanced offensive and defensive team with championship strength.

Washington, who is 201 cm tall, is a high-quality 3D player with both defense and perimeter, but the first 4 seasons of his career were in the bad team Hornets, although he is unable to help the weak team play well, but it is very useful to be a green leaf in the strong team, after coming to the Mavericks, he fully exerts this value, this year's playoffs often grasp the gap created by Doncic and Irving, shoot key three-pointers, and often be responsible for defending the opponent's wing scoring general, becoming the most important player in the Mavericks forward line.

Gafford is in a similar situation to Washington, he is 208 cm tall, he is a strong body, he is a center who is good at receiving and blocking under the basket, and he has not been able to play value in the past 4 years in the bad team Wizards, but after coming to the Mavericks, he completely liberated his advantages, not only frequently received Doncic's passes under the basket to "eat cakes" and score, but also the Mavericks' interior guard general.

The Mavericks' 5 waves of operations have turned them from the 11th bad team in the West to the Western Conference champion, can they further win the championship after 13 years? We'll find out soon enough.

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