While they are one of the NBA’s top defensive teams this season, something still does not seem right with the Dallas Mavericks. They are 28-21 on the season and currently the 5-seed in the Western Conference, but it is really hard to look at this team right now and definitively say that they have what it takes to win a playoff series.
Luka Doncic is one of the most talented players in the entire league and is going to be the face of this franchise for years to come, but what else do the Mavericks really have?
Kristaps Porzingis was supposed to be this team’s second All-Star talent through the years, yet injuries and durability concerns have lessened his value to this franchise, and Dallas’ inconsistencies on offense have really hurt their chances to be a real force this season.
As a team, the Mavericks rank just 21st in the league in offensive rating and their offense is going to get worse now that Tim Hardaway Jr. is out indefinitely. On Tuesday night when taking on the Golden State Warriors, Hardaway Jr. went up for a layup attempt and when he landed on his left foot, he appeared to injure himself and was in a lot of pain just trying to put any weight on his left foot.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Buddy Hield Named Realistic Trade Target For The Dallas Mavericks
Shortly after leaving the game to get imaging done, it was said that the Mavericks’ shooting guard suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal on his left foot. This is a very serious injury for Tim Hardaway Jr. not only because he will miss an extended period of time in the middle of the season now, but there really is no set time frame for when he could return.
NBA Insider Marc Stein noted after the news of Hardaway Jr.’s injury that this injury to past NBA players has usually taken around 10 weeks to heal, but Pelicans’ All-Star Zion Williamson has been out since the offseason with the same injury and has yet to play this season.
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, Tim Hardaway Jr.’s injury leaves them in a very tough spot because the only way they can potentially reach their ceiling this season is to spend money at the trade deadline. The only problem with doing so is that they could really run into some big-time problems in the offseason with both Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson set to be free agents.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Buddy Hield Named Realistic Trade Target For The Dallas Mavericks
Dallas has expressed a ton of interest in keeping both secondary talents as long as possible, but bringing in another high-level talent could result in the Mavericks not having the cap space necessary to keep both Finney-Smith and Brunson in the offseason.
Still being very much in the playoff fold this season in the Western Conference, the Mavericks are going to be looking to “buy” talent at the trade deadline. Here are three names that they could very much go after in the coming weeks.
