The Dallas Mavericks shocked NBA fans all over the world on Sunday afternoon, as Kyrie Irving scored an amazing buzzer-beater to help them score a victory over the Denver Nuggets.
After that game, basketball legend Magic Johnson celebrated the team and warned the rest of the Western Conference of their power.
“I want to put the Western Conference on notice – the Dallas Mavericks, coached under HOF Jason Kidd, are a different team with new additions of Washington, Lively, and Gafford. Watch out for them in the playoffs!” Johnson said on Twitter.
I want to put the Western Conference on notice – the Dallas Mavericks, coached under HOF Jason Kidd, are a different team with new additions of Washington, Lively, and Gafford. Watch out for them in the playoffs!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 18, 2024
Johnson made sure to highlight the work of P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford.
With that being said, the Mavericks are still led night after night by the combination of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Doncic is in contention for MVP this season with an average of 34.4 points, 9 rebounds, and 9.7 assists, while Irving is scoring 25.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.
They are clearly the two most important players on the roster but the rest of the team has been helping out a lot more than usual.
With that being said, Dallas is still the seventh seed in the Western Conference, meaning they aren’t the favorites to go all the way in the playoffs.
However, beating the reigning champion Nuggets is no small feat and it shows that they could make a lot of noise in the weeks ahead when the postseason starts.
The road ahead for the Mavericks will be difficult and long but they are showing that they could be a threat to a number of teams, including the Nuggets.
Other squads definitely shouldn’t write the Mavericks off, no matter where they are in the standings.
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