BOSTON — When a chair was placed in front of DeAndre Jordan’s door this summer, some assumed it also blocked any chance of the Dallas Mavericks being relevant this season.
Three weeks into the regular season, however, the path to the Western Conference playoffs is wide open, and the Mavericks don’t appear to have anything in their way.
Dallas is off to an 8-4 start, trailing only the 9-2 San Antonio Spurs and the undefeated Golden State Warriors in the competitive West. The team has won five straight, the latest a comeback win over the red-hot Boston Celtics at TD Garden.
When Jordan slipped through owner Mark Cuban’s grasp and opted to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers, it was supposed to spell trouble for an aging Mavericks team that already had lost Rajon Rondo and Monta Ellis.
Yet Cuban went out and signed veteran guards Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews to replace them, and early returns have been positive.
“They’re really talented,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said Wednesday after his team’s loss. “I mean, Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, (Chandler) Parsons, (Dirk) Nowitzki — like, those guys are good players, let alone all the other guys that made great plays for them. That’s a good basketball team. They’re 8-4 for a reason.”
There’s another reason for the Mavericks’ early success, and it came courtesy of the Celtics: big man Dwight Powell, whom Dallas acquired in the trade for Rondo. The 24-year-old forward is averaging 10.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for a team that surprisingly ranks third in the NBA in defensive rebounds per game despite missing out on a rebound machine like Jordan.
“Powell has worked extremely hard,” Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle said Wednesday, adding that Stevens and the Celtics were reluctant to part with the young forward back in December. “We’ve really needed him this year, and he’s stepped up and played well. … He’s a really important guy for us.”
Of course, Dallas’ early success comes with a major caveat: With an average age just under 30, the Mavericks are one of the oldest teams in the league. Matthews missed the end of last season with a torn achilles, Williams sat out 14 games last season and Nowitzki is in his 18th NBA campaign.
All is well in Dallas at the moment, but this team is susceptible to injuries, and if a few of their star players go down, Cuban and the Mavs might start wishing Jordan had kicked that chair aside to join them.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
