There are a few clear cut favorites for the NBA title this year, but in my opinion these two teams could surprise some people. In each conference there are about six teams that stand any chance at making a playoff push whatsoever. Coincidentally, both of these teams are currently sitting at the sixth seed in their respective conference.
Western Conference:
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks. Everyone knows the Dallas Mavericks are pretty good, because of this guy of course. He’s putting up unbelievable numbers in only his second season in the league. At only 20 years old, Luka is averaging 29.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 8.9 APG. This guy is literally a walking triple-double. Luka is on pace to have the best season by a twenty-year old ever. Michael Jordan wasn’t even playing in the league at this age. He is drawing comparisons to Lebron and Magic to name a couple, but he is really a one-of-a-kind player. His rookie season, the Mavericks sat as one of the worst teams in the league at 33-49 and now with the additions they have made in the off-season along with Luka evolving into a sort of Gandalf like Wizard, they sit at 6th seed in the West at 23-13. The Mavericks have competed with the leagues top teams this year, beating the number one seed Lakers twice already, while also beating the leagues-best Bucks, and the Houston Rockets. It’s obvious that when they are playing at their best, they can beat anyone.
I know I am giving very high praise for this Luka guy, but he isn’t just carrying this team on his back. The Mavericks made a few key additions this off-season in Delon Wright, The Greatest shooter of all-times’ brother-Seth Curry, along with Human Oak Tree (Boban Marjanovic). These may not be huge names, but these are great role players that come off the bench and provide quality minutes. The Dallas Mavericks have the fifth best bench in the league, scoring 42.6 PPG. With that being said, the Mavericks also are just one of the most high-powered offenses in the entire league. They rank first in the league in Offensive Rating at 121.3 and they also average the third most points per game in the league at 116.7, behind only the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks.
There’s one BIG person I’m forgetting in this conversation, and his name is Kristaps Porzingis. The Mavericks traded away a couple of players and draft picks midway through last season to acquire him. And they ended up keeping this Unicorn locked away in their vault all of last year to let him fully recuperate from a Torn ACL. Kristaps came back this year a little rusty, not having played in an NBA game since February 6th, 2018! This season the Mavericks are still being cautious with their 7’3 Power Forward, but he seems to be gathering some of the spunk back from his years in New York. He is playing a very different role in this environment, but he is still managing to average 17.3 PPG while averaging a career best 9.4 RPG. His shooting percentages could see some improvement, but come playoff time, I can see Kristaps returning to full form.
So while Luka is the big picture here….there are some other important pieces to this puzzle. And if they are able to bring everything together by playoff time… this team can definitely make a playoff push.
Eastern Conference:
Indiana Pacers
Now, you may not be able to name a single person in this photo, but let me state my case. Like I said earlier, the Indiana Pacers are sitting at the sixth seed in the East at 23-14. A very similar record to the Dallas Mavericks. The Pacers have been able to hand the Lakers a loss this year, along with the 76ers. Two of the leagues top teams. Imagine this, they are doing all of this while not being fully healthy. The Pacers have been riddled with injuries this year in Myles Turner and former rookie of the year Malcom Brogdon. Not only these two, but they haven’t even had their best player all year, Victor Oladipo. Victor returns from a ruptured quad tendon at the end of January which should give this team the boost they need to turn1 into a top team in the East.
This team has amazing chemistry on the court. When I watch them play I can tell that every single player knows their role and exactly what they need to do to help this team win. There aren’t really any superstars on this team, so nobody has an inflated ego to feel like they need to drop 20 points every night. Whoever is on, is on. Not only that, but each player on this team seems to have made a big improvement from last season… The two biggest being Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis. Malcolm was traded from the Bucks last year and he saw a slightly boosted role, but he is averaging 17.7 PPG and 7.4 APG this year versus 15.6 PPG and 3.2 APG last year. Domantas has seen massive improvement this year, while also seeing an enhanced role for this team. He’s averaging 17.8 PPG and 13 RPG while also averaging 4.1 APG, in comparison to averaging 14.1 PPG and 9.3 RPG last year. Other than these two, Myles Turner has been in Defensive player of the year talks while improving his 3-point shot. T.J Warren has done what he’s done ever since he’s been in the league and that’s flat out scoring, averaging a team-best 18.1 PPG. The Holiday brothers have been able to provide a spark off the bench. This team just has so many options on the floor.
Once this team is fully healthy and playoff time comes around, they will be a force to be reckoned with.
Let me know what your sleeper teams are!
