During his three years in this position, Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has not hesitated to make big changes to his roster. During his first season, the Mavs traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Washinton Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, sparking a run to the Western Conference Finals. During his second season, Dallas finally landed its co-star for Luka Doncic in Kyrie Irving, despite sacrificing key depth to do so. This season, however, Harrison may have done his best yet, as the Mavs added two key starters, Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington, at the trade deadline.
For Gafford specifically, the Mavs are now 9-1 when he starts. The latest victory came Thursday night as Dallas eliminated the Utah Jazz 113-97 while setting a franchise record with 18 dunks. Gafford had his best outing as a Maverick, finishing with 24 points on 10-11 shooting from the field, along with seven rebounds and five assists in just 27 minutes. The fifth-year big man recently gave Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time record for consecutive field goals a shot, and Mavs head coach Jason Kidd compared the two players again after the Thursday’s victory.
“Yeah, it was like one of those Wilt [Chamberlain] nights, 10-11,” Kidd said of Gafford. “I’m trying to figure out what shot he missed. I don’t know who they blamed for his failure; it’s hard at home. But I think again, that’s what he brings. Quarterbacks love having him back. He’s got really good hands, his ability to finish in traffic is something we haven’t had. I think he’s back on that streak as he finishes. But dominating the paint on both ends, I thought we did a really good job of rebounding the ball and not giving them second or third opportunities tonight. »
Washington hasn’t had the level of statistical success that Gafford did early on, shooting just 40% overall and 25% from deep in 18 games with the Mavs, but his ability to play defense against top opposing players with his length and athleticism allowed him to still have a positive impact as a starting striker.
With their latest victory, the Mavs moved up to sixth place in the Western Conference standings with 12 games remaining in the season. Kidd attributes his team’s momentum heading into the latter part of the season to the newfound athleticism and growing chemistry of the Mavs’ recent roster moves.
“When you just look at previous teams, we weren’t very athletic. We weren’t going to win the dunk contest in the warmup lane. I think now we can compete in the layup lane. We We can also do tricks. shots in the lay-up line; we don’t need to use our hands; we can use our feet. But when you watch [Daniel] Gafford and D-Live (Dereck Lively II), even O-Max (Olivier-Maxence Prosper), we became fast athletic this summer. At the trade deadline we added Gaff (Daniel Gafford) and PJ [Washington Jr.] and I got even better,” Kidd said.
“Understanding the character of the guys is great. This dressing room is incredible, they all encourage each other. You can see it at the end of the match when [Jaden] Hardy had the ball. He brought it to AJ [Lawson] and he encourages him to score. It’s the chemistry and trust needed to build a team over the course of the season. We’re athletic, sure, but we’re also a team that likes to play with each other.”
The Mavs, who have now won seven of their last eight games, will have an excellent chance to stay positive with a five-game road trip ahead. After three days off, Dallas will play at Utah on Monday, followed by two huge matchups against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and Friday. If Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and company can handle these next three games, they will look more and more like a lock for a top-six seed in the West playoff picture.
