When Doncic missed the first three games of the first round series against the Utah Jazz, many of the speakers counted the Dallas. However, by the time Doncic returned from the calf strain for Game 4, the Mavs already had a 2-1 lead in the series and eventually finished the Jazz in six games.
Cooper Neal/NBAE via Getty Images
Cooper Neal/NBAE via Getty Images
Chris Nicholl USA Today Sports
In that first-round streak, Bronson raised his game to star level, averaging 27.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 48.4 percent from the ground, including 36.4 percent from depth. This included a Game 2 breakout where he went to 41 points in a 15-25 shootout.
After starting shaky in the first two games of the second round against league leaders Phoenix Suns, Bronson settled into games 3 and 4, scoring 28 and 18 points, respectively, in two back-to-back wins for the Mavs. Although his shooting ratios are much lower than he would like (39.4 percent overall and 25 percent from depth), his aggressiveness allows him to be effective against Sun’s length, something he missed last season when the Mavs lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in a series From seven matches of the first round.
Vinnie-Smith and Clipper, two players who have been inconsistent over the last two seasons, have also been important to the Mavs after two wins from the birth of the Western Conference Finals.
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Vinnie-Smith averages 13.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals this post season. He shoots 46.5 percent overall, 43.1 percent from depth, and comes out with a career-high performance on Sunday afternoon against the Suns in Game 4 as he exhausted 8-12 three-pointers on his way to 24 points. Vinnie-Smith has worked on both ends of the field, and he’s making the Mavs look pretty smart for signing this four-year, $55 million extension during the season.
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images
With all due respect to Clipper, he wouldn’t have made it to the water if he had fallen from a boat in the final two months of the regular season. Having struggled with a shortage of big post-season moments over the past two years – primarily because he had to protect a healthy Kawhi Leonard every game – people wondered if Kleber would have any chance of becoming the player he was before his massive slump.
To Kleber’s credit, he’s been a godsend in the postseason, averaging 11.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 57.4 percent overall and 49 percent from a 3-point range. Kleber has managed to maintain that production for over 10 playoff matches while still being a force on the defensive end. The ability to create better ground distances when attacking and turn into two flankers in defense was a luxury for Dallas.
Other role players have stepped into the Mavs during this playoff round, including Reggie Bullock and Davis Bertans, but it’s even more special seeing the three players mentioned above figure it all out, given their earlier post-season shortcomings.
“An amazing guy, this team is amazing,” Doncic said in a post-game interview with ESPN after Dallas’ big win at Game 4: “Everyone can play. Whoever enters the field leaves everything there, and this team is special. If we play hard and stop, we are a dangerous team.”
If Doncic’s teammates continue to play with the intensity and efficiency we’ve seen thus far, there’s a very real chance the Mavs will find themselves in the Western Conference Finals, if not the NBA Finals…which is a crazy statement based on where that team was in late December.