Mavs’ NBA-Best Offense is Still Waiting for Porzingis to Maximize its Potential

The Mavs currently have the best offense in NBA history, despite Kristaps Porzingis not playing anywhere near the offensive level he could be in the first quarter of the season. Against the Pistons in Mexico City, he showed us glimpses of what's to come — maybe as soon as tonight against the Miami Heat.

What a time it is for the young, up-and-coming Dallas Mavericks. Eight short months ago, the franchise finished up a disappointing 33-49 campaign, which was its third consecutive missing the postseason. Not only that, but Dallas also had to say 'goodbye' to its face of the franchise, Dirk Nowitzki, after 21 unforgettable years. Despite Nowitzki walking away, Mavs fans have fortunately had the convenience of transitioning from the Dirk era to the Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis era with no gap in between.

Fast-forward to the present day, and it's remarkable to see the Mavs sitting near the top of the Western Conference with a 17-7 record heading into their home matchup with the 18-7 Miami Heat, which would be good enough for the third seed if the playoffs started today.

Before the season began, we wrote about how Luka Doncic was primed to take a big leap forward, and man-oh-man has he done just that, leading the NBA's best offense while averaging 30.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game. His recent 41-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist performance in Mexico City against the Detroit Pistons made him the only 20-year-old in league history to record multiple 40-point triple-doubles.

"He's unique,'' coach Rick Carlisle has taken to saying often, like the rest of us having seemingly run out of adjectives.

According to NBA.com's database, the Mavs lead the entire league with a 117.1 offensive rating. And again, for context, the highest offensive rating the Golden State Warriors ever had at the peak of their dynasty was 115.0 last season. The Mavs are simply picking apart their opponents right now, and the scary thought for the rest of the league is that they've been doing it mostly without Porzingis getting things going consistently on the offensive end.

Doncic was the brightest star in Mexico City on Thursday night, and Seth Curry joined him by pouring in 30 points on 6-of-9 shooting from deep, but it was Porzingis' 20-point, eight-rebound, three-block performance that really had us fired up for what could be in store for this team going forward.

Last night felt like a turning point for Porzingis. I think it’s a combination of KP becoming more comfortable + Carlisle figuring out the best way to use him. pic.twitter.com/H1GNIBRzh0

— Dalton Trigg (@dalton_trigg) December 13, 2019

Although Porzingis went 0-of-5 from downtown, he stayed aggressive with his off-ball movement throughout the game against Detroit, which led to some easy buckets that ended up being on a highlight reel. For a guy who has struggled to find his shooting stroke so far this season, every easy score at the rim should help him continue to build confidence. 

After playing a little over a quarter of the season, it’s very possible that Porzingis is just now starting to fully trust his healed left knee, which would explain his more-aggressive play as of late. It’s a natural human reaction to be a little hesitant at first when you’re coming off a serious injury as Porzingis did with his ACL. So far, though, everything seems just fine with his knee, and Porzingis is starting to trust himself to be that dominant force he was before.

“The way KP has been playing after being out almost two years is amazing,” Doncic said. “And he’s only going to get better.”

It’s crazy to think that the Mavs are on pace to have the best offense in NBA history with Porzingis being, in our estimation, about 70 percent of what he could be on the offensive end of the court. Porzingis has been great on the defensive end for the Mavs as an elite rim protector, and now we’re starting to see some of that aggression at the rim on the other end of the floor as well. 

Porzingis recently said he's "thought about how I can be more effective in the offense and get to my spots better” so things seem less "forced.”

Euro-step

What happens to the NBA’s best offense when Porzingis finally finds his three-point touch again, gets to his spots, doesn't have to "force''? That’s a scary question for the rest of the league to consider. Perhaps we will find out more of the answers tonight, as the Mavs take on the Heat at the AAC.