With New Supporting Cast, This Western Conference Finals Can Be Different for Luka Doncic's Mavericks

You only have to look back two years to remember the last time Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks made the Western Conference Finals. With Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith at Doncic’s side, the Mavs stormed out of a 2-0 hole to take out the No. 1 seed Phoenix Suns in the second round.

What happened next was… not as memorable if you’re a Texan. Brunson was mostly contained in the finals as the more experienced Golden State Warriors beat Dallas in five on their way to the championship.

The Mavericks roster that just finished off another No. 1 seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in six games Saturday night hardly resembles the group from two years ago. Kyrie Irving is Doncic’s co-star now, but some of the biggest contributions are coming from role players the casual NBA fan hardly thinks about (no offense). 

Dallas tanked for a draft pick, collected rejects from bad teams and signed a journeyman to the veteran minimum to assemble this cast. Sounds rough when I put it that way -- yet Doncic has every reason to feel confident entering the conference finals.

“He’s one of the best players in the world, but sometimes we lose sight that it’s not just built (around Doncic),” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said after Game 6. “One guy can’t get you there. You need a team. Right now, he’s got a team that he believes in.”

Trade deadline acquisition P.J. Washington finished the six-game OKC series averaging 17.7 points and 8.3 rebounds. It wasn’t Doncic or Irving but Washington who led the Mavs in scoring three out of those six games, and he drew Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s contact on his non-shooting arm at the end of Game 6 to earn the series-clinching free throws.

Not bad for a Charlotte Hornets castoff often disparaged for his defense.

 The Thunder had plenty of opportunities to close out Game 6 before SGA’s controversial foul. After the Mavericks grabbed their first lead, OKC ended the first half on a 24-6 run to lead by 16 at the break and by 17 early in the third quarter.

But while the Dallas offense continues to run through Doncic (who had another triple-double Saturday) and Irving, Derrick Jones Jr. made critical baskets to aid the comeback on a playoff-career-high 22-point night. Jones, a career 6.7 ppg scorer, was the final player Dallas signed last summer to round out the roster.

Crucially, the Mavs restricted what Chet Holmgren and co. could do on the inside thanks to centers Daniel Gafford (another journeyman) and rookie Dereck Lively II. Dallas only had a chance at Lively after tanking at the end of the 2022-23 season to get a lottery pick.

After Lively’s 12-point, 15-rebound outing in Game 6, maybe the Thunder are a tad regretful about swapping first-round picks with Dallas in a deal that put Lively in a Mavs uniform. Maybe just a tad.

“(Lively) was plus-26 in a playoff game,” Doncic said. “That’s insane. He’s doing this while being a rookie. He has unbelievable potential. I’m just glad the Mavs drafted him.”

Whether this group can stop Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets or Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals is an open question for now. But Doncic was smiling Saturday, and he had every reason to be. Put those near-annual rumors of his unhappiness in Dallas to bed. The Mavs are back in the NBA’s Final Four, and something more could be on the way.