Can the Dallas Mavericks End Their Ten-Year Wait for the NBA Championship in 2021-22?

The beauty of the structure of the NBA is that there is a strong chance Texas will always be represented in the play-offs.

The Southwest Division pits the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets against New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies, so numerically the odds are stacked in the favor of the Lone Star State.

Of course, it helps when you back that up with talent too, and that is not in short supply at the Mavs. Consequently, they are favorites to win the Southwest again in 2021-22, although their odds of +2500 in the NBA Championship basketball betting odds indicate that they are a little way off the pace as far as the elite are concerned.

But can they find the marginal gains that will close the gap on the Bucks, the Nets and co? It’s been a decade since the Mavericks got their hands on the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy and, if they are to end that hoodoo, Luka Doncic needs to take the next step in his career – he has been touted as a potential MVP winner this term.

Unfortunately for Dallas, one man doesn’t make a team, and so they will need their supporting cast to step up. The giant Kristaps Porzingis is still an interesting player with plenty of upside, while the rebounding skills of Moses Brown will also come in very handy. But Rick Carlisle’s tactic of ‘get the ball, pass it to Luka’ is only likely to take the Mavs so far – it will be interesting to see if his successor, Jason Kidd, is able to come up with anything slightly more innovative.

Maybe the signing of Reggie Bullock will be the difference-maker. Now aged 30, the all-court ace served up some of the best form of his career for the Knicks last season, averaging 3.2 defensive rebounds per game and 10.9 points scored. It’s not an All-Star signing by any means, but Bullock will add some quality to a Mavericks roster arguably lacking in the very same.

Catch 22

When you look at the long list of achievements and records already served up by Luka Doncic, you can conclude that this is a 22-year-old that could become a legend of the sport.

His resumé as a teenager was frighteningly good, and the Mavericks need him to lead their charge for honors once again despite his tender years. Any injury suffered by Doncic would see Dallas nominated for wooden spoon duty in the basketball betting tips rather than as contenders for silverware.

A two-time All-Star already, the next step for Doncic is the MVP award and contesting the NBA Finals – the fear for the Mavs is that he might have to join another franchise to achieve one or both of those aims.

But in the meantime, Kidd can build his 2021-22 roster around the prodigiously talented Slovenian, who delivered 27.7 points per game last term alongside 8.6 assists and 8.0 assists – a hair’s breadth away from claiming MVP glory.

What’s left for him to achieve? He could perhaps serve up more triple-doubles, but that’s being ultra-critical of a player not exactly surrounded by star names. If the Mavericks are to end that decade-long Championship hoodoo, Doncic will have to play the kind of basketball served up by Michael Jordan in his prime.