The middle years of this decade were quite a mysterious time for the Mavericks. Following the 2011 title and the urge to try to get back to that level while Dirk Nowitzki was still scoring 20 points a night regularly, the years in between then and around 2017 were a mix of fruitless pursuits for star free agents, playoff victories and an overall direction for the franchise after the inevitable departure of the franchise icon that delivered the team’s only championship a few years earlier.

Several years of seemingly walking blindfolded through the NBA mediocrity forest led to the opportunity to nab Luka Doncic on a franchise altering draft night in June 2018 and then utilizing collected assets in a trade for Kristaps Porzingis back in January.  18 months ago this team was completely lost and just a short time later, they have two of the franchise pillars they spent years searching for and a seemingly fantastically bright future.

The Doncic and Porzingis duo isn’t the only thing this team has to feel good about.  After Doncic went down with an injury earlier this month, the team has proven what we all suspected: The rest of these guys have some sharp teeth too.  What’s even better about the slew of talented guys filling out the roster is the fact that they all seem to be incredibly mature and bought in to the message and goals of the entire organization: Winning games is most important.

One of the most mature second year players in the league, guard Jalen Brunson knows that this team’s strength is in numbers. “We have so many pieces and we’re really deep. It could be anybody at any time.”

Thursday night’s win against the Spurs proved to be an example of just how much the depth on this roster can help pick up the slack when its two stars aren’t at their best.  While Doncic and Porzingis combined to shoot just 9-38 from the floor, the Mavs offense was able to do just enough in the second half behind the likes of double-digit point totals of Tim Hardaway Jr.,  Dorian Finney-Smith, Delon Wright and Dwight Powell.  On the glass, Maxi Kleber came off the bench to grab a team-high 12 rebounds.  The list of guys who are ready to contribute at anytime goes 9 or 10 deep and they know that winning is the most important accomplishment each night.

“We have a lot of high-character guys who really want to win. We have a lot of guys who have won in the past as well,” two-time NCAA champion Brunson said after a game recently. “With that mixture we have, we know what we need to do and we know what we want to accomplish.”

When the season began, everyone associated with the organization made it clear that the goal for the 2019-2020 season was to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.  After a 20-10 start where they’ve caught the attention of the rest of the league, perhaps a bigger goal might be more suitable.  Before they can get to that point, coach Rick Carlisle knows that his team’s maturity and level of play hasn’t reached its peak.

“Well it’s evolving. That’s one of the exciting things about this group… There’s still a lot of room for getting better.”

With the number one rated offense and a middle of the pack rated defense, the Mavericks could conceivably have the tools in tow to make a serious playoff run right now.  The most exciting part of watching the team day in and day out is seeing that they still haven’t completely cracked the code in figuring out the most effective way to utilize their two best players, Doncic and Porzingis, playing together.  The recent stretch of five games (including the Miami game) where Doncic was absent due to injury, Porzingis averaged 22.4 points and 13.8 rebounds per game. While shooting efficiency wasn’t where it needed to be, it was still a better glimpse at what the 24-year-old is capable of than what we’ve seen for most of the season.

As someone who has been in the locker room before and after more or less every home game since the beginning of the preseason, I’d say Kristaps Porzingis’ positive demeanor and level-head mindset is one of the more exciting indicators of the potential growth of this team.

While Porzingis has had every opportunity to pout to the media about his poor performances or perhaps even his occasional lack of quality opportunities in the offense, he has always indicated that he’s just happy to be a part of a winning team for the first time in his career. He praises teammates for their performances and recognizes that he’s not where he needs to be, but lets us know that he will get there.

While most fans feel very confident that Porzingis will eventually get to where he needs to be because of the ample playing time and shot attempts he will always get, other players on the team aren’t as fortunate to be able to bank on those same opportunities each night.  However, that doesn’t stop them from being bought in.  Guys like Justin Jackson and Ryan Broekhoff have had very up and down levels of minutes for the team throughout their stints in Dallas, but both are prime examples of the consummate professionals that make up this roster.

“A lot of the time, it’s just about that positive energy,” Jackson said when asked about handling the inconsistent minutes. “(We have) a lot of hard workers. Whoever coach decides to play, as a team, we’ll be just fine. We can only control what we control as players.”

One things the players can control is the way they interact with each other on and off the court to create a positive team environment. This is one thing that has never been an issue for this group.  Ever since the photos of some of the players taking a group trip to Miami in September were shared, it was clear that this group of underdogs was out to prove people wrong. They certainly have fun proving people wrong together.

“Guys are just happy for each other when they do well,” sharpshooter Ryan Broekhoff said of the team’s chemistry recently. “We have such a close knit group on and off the court. We’re able to work through problems and we’re able to pick each other up when someone’s having a bad game. That guy who’s having a not a normal game is still being positive and encouraging.”

“Everyone’s buying into what’s best for the team and the team winning.”

If the guy who has been a healthy scratch for basically two-thirds of the team’s games this season can feel that way, it shows that the cultural template is set in stone and long-time voices like Rick Carlisle and even J.J. Barea are doing a great job of carrying on the legacy of Dirk Nowitzki.  In the first season in over two decades without Dirk on the roster, these new Mavericks led by Luka Doncic are sure making quite the name for themselves nationally and are shaping up to be one of the most beloved teams in recent DFW sports history.