Dallas Mavs Roundtable: How High Can Luka Doncic & Kyrie Irving Go in Western Conference?

With the NBA regular season just single-digit days away, the DallasBasketball.com staff predicts where Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks will land in the Western Conference pecking order.

After a long, eventful offseason for the Dallas Mavericks, all of the roster maneuvering they pulled off will finally be put to the test in just eight days when they open the 2023-24 NBA season against rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 25.

Ahead of what is considered by many as being make-or-break season for the Mavs, our DallasBasketball.com staff gathered roundtable-style to discuss expectations for Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the crew. Where will Dallas finish in the Western Conference when the regular season ends in April?

Mike Fisher: A Dallas Mavericks team keyed by Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson made it to the NBA West championship round.

A year later, a Mavs team keyed by Doncic and Kyrie Irving can’t even make the playoffs?

Barring a chemistry issue - and despite national speculation we detected none of that between the two All-Stars - that dip registers to us as an aberration.

This is a top-five offensive team that pinpointed defensive adds in Dereck Lively II, OMax, Grant Williams, Richaun Holmes and Derrick Jones Jr. Avoid the statistical basement defensively and Dallas can be a top-six team in the West … and a scary team in the playoffs.

Michael Mulford: Though the upgrades made by the Mavericks this offseason weren’t groundbreaking, the new roster additions should move the needle in a positive direction for Dallas after missing the playoffs last season. 

Adding the versatility and toughness of Grant Williams should help bolster Jason Kidd’s defense along with the drafting of promising rookie big man Dereck Lively II, who could possibly start for the Mavs on day one. 

Overall, upgrading their defense and adding some youth and proven veteran role players alongside a healthy Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in their first full season together should land Dallas in the 6-8 range in the gauntlet which is the Western Conference.

Dallas Mavericks star duo Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic only played in 16 games together last season after the trade deadline due to injuries / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Isaac Bourne: After a season that saw the team underperform with their new backcourt duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, the Mavs will bounce back this season with the added compliments to their styles of play.

With the addition of forward Grant Williams along with the younger players on the team making massive offseason jumps, a 5-6 seed seems very plausible, and with Irving and Doncic’s past playoff performances, could be a sleeper to make another Western Conference Finals.

Dalton Trigg: Given the Mavs’ brutal collapse seven months ago, which resulted in them missing the postseason for the first time since Luka Doncic’s rookie year, it’s understandable if you’re down on their chances to bounce back heading into the new season. That said, if you’re a Mavs pessimist right now, I’m betting that you won’t be by the end of this calendar year.

After playing just 16 games together last season while taking turns nursing nagging injuries, Doncic and Kyrie Irving are back with a full offseason under their belts and a revamped supporting case.

Aside from Doncic being Doncic, connected team defense and the rise of Jalen Brunson were the two biggest driving forces behind the Mavs’ 2022 WCF run. After adding defensive-minded, team-first players in Grant Williams, Dereck Lively II and others, Dallas should see an uptick in defense after being a bottom-five team in that category a year ago. And health permitting, Doncic and Irving will have the offense running like a well-oiled machine.

I feel like the Mavs are going to bounce back in a big way this season, not only making it back to the playoffs, but securing home-court advantage with a top-four seed in the West. We’ve seen Doncic do it before with arguably less talent than this current roster has, so why can’t he do it again?

Grant Afseth: The factors entering the season are against the Dallas Mavericks for having a strong start to the regular season. They are set to rely on a rookie defensive anchor, their two superstars are on the injury report, and teams tend to hit the under regarding win totals after participating in preseason international games.

For the Mavs, they’ve had Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving on the floor together for about six minutes total of preseason action, preventing an easier set of circumstances to build continuity as a group. With an unprecedented 12-day global trip, it remains to be seen how that’ll impact them.

Not only will the Mavs need a strong impact from a 19-year-old center in Dereck Lively II, but there doesn’t appear to be many answers for the wing spot. Josh Green seemingly hasn’t taken the reigns as the clear-cut starting small forward, and there still isn’t a clear candidate who has. The Mavs’ offseason additions should offer more depth at the very least, but they will need their main young players to take steps forward in their development to have a high degree of regular season success. Right now, the present factors point toward competing for a play-in spot as opposed to being outright in the playoff picture.

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