It's the most wonderful time of the year if you are a sports fan, as all four major U.S. sports are in action. The MLB is deep in the playoffs, the NFL is in full swing, the NHL is just underway, and the NBA tips off this week with a full slate of games. One of those games is the Phoenix Suns hosting the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. The Suns had the best record in the NBA last season, but they were taken out by these Mavericks in 7 games in the playoffs. The journey for both of these to get back there begins Wednesday, with the Suns as a 4.5 point favorite.
The Dallas Mavericks don't have the most talent, but they get a lot out of what they have. That was on full display last year as they finished 52-30, fourth in the Western Conference, and then advanced to the Western Conference finals by upsetting the Suns in 7 games. They lost to the eventual NBA champion Warriors in the Western Conference finals, but all in all, it was a very successful first year coach Jason Kidd. Can they get back there this year, and maybe take it to the next level? Lets take a look at the 2022-23 Mavericks. The team starts and ends with superstar Luka Doncic. He had a strong case to be NBA MVP as he dragged his pretty average team, talent wise, to the Western Conference finals.
On this day, exactly 4 years ago… Luka Doncic scored his first ever NBA points. In first 4 NBA seasons he scored 6962 points. ??
38 left to 7000. pic. twitter.com/8LsYuLvDUi
— Luka?? updates ???? (@LukaUpdates) October 17, 2022
Doncic averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per game last season, but this year, he won't have his second leading scorer, Jalen Brunson, who flew the coop to play for the Knicks, so that will hurt. The second best option should be Spencer Dinwiddie, who came over from the Wizards when they shipped Kristaps Porzingis out last season. They hope that big man Christian Wood, who came over from Houston, will pick up some of the slack. Wood averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game last year. The other new face is Javale McGee, the veteran big man who will hold down the middle with excellent rim protection and rebounding. Other key players are all back, including Tim Hardaway Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, and Dwight Powell.
Click here to bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Get a 1st deposit match up to $50 1st w/ promocode WandW!