Luka Doncic’s injury provides Mavericks with hidden golden opportunity

The Dallas Mavericks have stayed the course amidst trial and error this season, as Dallas has rattled off three straight wins after starting the season at an abysmal 5-7 through the first 12 games. We’ve learned quite a bit about the new performance of this Mavericks team in the first 15 games of the season, and while they haven’t reached their potential by any stretch of the imagination, Mavericks fans can slowly start to see the formation of a team that could potentially contend for a championship again.

Unfortunately for the Mavericks, superstar Luka Doncic was just announced to miss the next three games at a minimum due to a right wrist sprain. This puts a halt on head coach Jason Kidd’s ability to fine-tune this Mavericks rotation to its ultimate potential, as Dallas’ win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night looked like the most complete team win all season.

All of Dallas’ complimentary pieces were contributing on both sides of the ball in that game, while Kyrie Irving and Doncic led a balanced attack for Dallas’ offense. Kidd opted to primarily play Quentin Grimes and Jaden Hardy as the main guards off the bench in that contest, as Spencer Dinwiddie didn’t even see the floor.

For Mavericks fans, it felt like Kidd finally found his optimal rotation off the bench in that Pelicans game until Dante Exum returns from injury. However, there is still plenty of more basketball to be played by the Mavericks this season, and they will have to optimize their rotation in this stretch without Doncic.

Given some of Doncic’s lackluster defensive performances this season as well as the fact that he hasn’t looked close to as mobile with the ball in his hands until very recently, this stretch without Doncic could actually prove to serve a myriad of benefits for this Mavericks team .

First off, Irving has been on a heater offensively all season long, and he’s had to differ to Doncic in many crucial situations this season such as early in games when Doncic is shooting inefficient or even in clutch scenarios. While it may not be ideal for an elongated stretch given Irving’s age as well as the dynamism Doncic adds to Dallas’ offense when him and Irving are playing well off each other, Irving being the sole focal point of Dallas’ offense could prove dividends for this stretch without Doncic.

Irving is currently averaging 24.3 points and 5.2 assists per game with absurd shooting splits of 54.5/53.8/85.7. If Irving’s continued excellence from outside continues at the same rate or even dips slightly in production, Dallas should still have enough shot creation to make it through this stretch, especially if Quentin Grimes and Jaden Hardy continue their ascension in that category as well.

It’s without a doubt that Doncic adds more offensively than he takes away from this Mavericks team, but him being out of the lineup will give role players such as Hardy, Grimes, and Naji Marshall more leniency on the offensive end. This could prove to reap huge benefits by the end of the season for Dallas, as players like that won’t have nearly as much leash to create offense for themselves with both Doncic and Irving in the lineup.

This could also provide an opportunity for marksman Klay Thompson to get some more reps as an initiator, as Thompson has struggled to create his own looks at times despite his success in catch-and-shoot scenarios for Dallas this season.

This by no means is some sort of experimental period for the Mavericks, and they have a crucial game in the Emirates NBA Cup versus the Denver Nuggets tonight. However, Dallas’ offense could definitely be accentuated in the long run based on the fact that role players will be allowed to get more comfortable within the flow of the offense during this stretch. Irving is also playing better than Doncic right now, to be frank, and Doncic getting some needed rest could help bolster this squad further if his mobility improves upon his return from injury.