As the NBA season comes to a close, many fans and media have started to turn their attention to the playoffs, even though there are still three weeks left in the season.
A lot can happen in three weeks, and teams we think are contenders could quickly become contenders and vice versa.
The Dallas Mavericks are a team that is showing everyone that they are true contenders, and all signs point to them being a team that no one wants to see in the first round of the playoffs. The Mavs have recently been declared a ‘nightmare game’ for the Oklahoma City Thunderand they string together victories at the ideal time.
Latest from Dallas the victory came against the Utah Jazz Thursday night, and they have another chance to get another win against the Jazz tonight. The Mavs are currently the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and have a record of 41-29. If the playoffs started today, Dallas would face the Thunder.
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report predicted the Mavs would play the Minnesota Timberwolves when he made a full bracket prediction for the 2024 NBA Playoffsand this shouldn’t necessarily be a game Mavs fans want.
Although Karl-Anthony Towns recently suffered an injury that could keep him out of the playoffs, the Timberwolves are not a team Dallas should want to face. The Mavs are 1-3 against Minnesota this season and the Timberwolves have the NBA’s No. 1 defensive rating.
The Timberwolves also have one of the best rim protectors in the NBA in Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid is an elite big man who usually puts in great performances against the Mavs. Not to mention, Anthony Edwards has played very well over the past couple of months and is showing that he could one day be one of the best players in the NBA.
No matter how difficult this theoretical matchup between Dallas and Minnesota is, the Mavs would still have an excellent chance of defeating the Timberwolves. You can never count on Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the playoffs they play in, and the Timberwolves certainly don’t want to see the Mavericks either.
Doncic and Irving are one of the hardest duos to stop in the NBA, and the Mavs’ improved defense led by PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford could be enough to take down the Timberwolves. In the The Mavs’ only victory against the Timberwolves this yearIrving and Doncic combined for 69 points and the Timberwolves had no answers for them.
It’ll be a few more weeks of worrying about who the Mavs will play in the first round of the playoffs, but Dallas is showing they can hang with any team in the NBA lately.
For all the latest news on Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs, stay tuned.
