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The Overreaction: Meet the second-best team in the Western Conference.
Remember when we pretended the space directly beneath the Oklahoma City Thunder was up for grabs? Good times.
This is an unhinged takeaway for a Dallas Mavericks squad that, entering Tuesday, has only beaten the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz. The Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns (who already dispatched Dallas) and maybe even the Los Angeles Lakers all have a claim to this honor over the long term. Other candidates will emerge as well.
Still, the separation is in the details: Both what is happening and has yet to happen.
Klay Thompson is at the heart of it all. At this writing, you can (rather easily) argue he has been the Mavericks’ best player. That is a wild reality in which to live. And it is even more unnerving when Dallas so far has a top-five defense.
Noisy returns are a rite of October. But that’s also the point. The Mavs are galaxies away from operating at peak capacity.
Luka Dončić is going to be better, because he’s going to make more shots. The Dereck Lively II-plus-starters unit is going to be better, because, well, obviously. P.J. Washington is going to be better, because he won’t shoot sub-20 percent from downtown forever. Naji Marshall will also be better, because offensive streakiness and all, rumor has it he won’t continue to miss every three-point attempt he takes.
Frankly, Dallas’ performance thus far should put the rest of the league on notice. This is a team that has yet to find itself in totality and is pretty damn good anyway.
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