The Mavericks Week Ahead: November 26-December 2

A very important week awaits a Maverick team now very much in the thick of the playoff race in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. 3 conference games, all against fellow contenders, will be a good test of just where this team stacks up against the rest of the conference.

Wednesday: at Houston (7:00):

After 3 days off the Mavs will finally get back to action as they face their in-state rivals for the first time this season. The Mavs and Rockets both currently sit with .500 records, part of a 4-way-tie for 8th place in the West. The Rockets of course got off to a slow start, beginning the season 1-5. They had begun to turn things around, winning 5 straight after the de facto release of Carmelo Anthony, before losing games in Detroit and Cleveland this past weekend. The Mavs should have Dennis Smith Jr. back for this one after he missed Saturday's game due to a wrist injury. Dwight Powell could also return after missing the last 3 games with knee soreness. The Mavs have lost 8 in a row to the Rockets and haven't won in Houston since Nov. 14, 2015.

Friday: at LA Lakers (9:30)
The Mavs will look to avenge the one point loss they suffered against the Lakers on Halloween night. The Lakers are winners of 7 of the last 9 with the only losses both coming against Orlando. The Mavericks have only beatean a LeBron James led team once since the 2011 Finals, dropping 12 out of 13 meetings. The Mavs have also lost 4 out of the last 5 meeting against the Lakers, after winning the previous 14 contests between the teams. The Lakers now feature a pair of former Mavs in the middle. JaVale McGee is averaging career high 13.2 PPG while Mavs icon Tyson Chandler has made an immediate impact since signing with LA on November 6th.

Sunday: vs. LA Clippers (6:00)
The Mavericks will get their first look of the season at the surprising Clippers (13-6), who lead the Western Conference by percentage points over the Warriors. Of course this will also be DeAndre Jordan's first game facing the team he spent the first 10 years of his career playing for. Jordan is the Clippers franchise leader in games played, rebounds and blocks and is 8th all-time in scoring. Tobias Harris is having a career year for the Clippers, leading the team in both scoring (21.5 PPG) and rebounding (8.7 RPG). Meanwhile Montrezl Harrell has emerged as a Most Improved Player and 6th Man of the Year candidate, putting up 15.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 64.1% shooting from the field.

Dorian Finney-Smith is the Mavs Latest Player Development Success Story

When the Mavericks signed Dorian Finney-Smith as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2016 not much was expected, after all undrafted players rarely make much impact in the league. But the Mavs have a history of turning undrafted important players into important pieces, with J.J. Barea being the most prominent example. And now you can add Finney-Smith's name to the list as the third year forward has emerged as an indispensable piece of the Mavs rotation.

After a solid college career at Florida, Finney-Smith was known as a excellent defender and those skills almost immediately translated to the next level. As a rookie in 2016-17, Finney-Smith earned the trust of Rick Carlisle, playing in 81 games and starting 35 of those games. While DFS showed strong defensive capability as a rookie, his offense remained very much a work in progress as he shot 37% from the field and 29% from three. After his rookie year the Mavs worked with Finney-Smith to rework his shot so he could become the 3-and-D player they desperately wanted him to be. However Finney-Smith's sophomore campaign was almost a complete wash as me missed 61 games due to knee tendinitis.

Now in his third year, the last of his rookie contract, the hard work Finney-Smith has put into his shot is finally paying off. He is averaging 9 points a game so far on 51.6% shooting from the field and a remarkable 44.4% on threes. He has made multiple threes in 9 of the 15 games and has played and scored in double-digits in 7 contests. Couple that with superb defense (he is quite easily the best defensive player on the team) and DFS is becoming more and more important to the Mavs present and future.

A good example of how much he is valued is the 40 minutes he played in Saturday's win over the Warriors as he started for the injured Wesley Matthews. In those minutes he posted 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and held Klay Thompson to 9-24 shooting including 2-11 on threes. It's clear that the Mavs are at their best when Finney-Smith is on the floor and that he complements the game of the Mavs young starts, Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr. extremely well.

Immense credit is due to Finney-Smith for putting in the time to make himself such a valuable NBA player. Credit is also due to the Mavs for believing in his potential and helping develop him into the player he is today. We all know you can't win in the NBA without stars but good role players are needed as well and the Mavs have themselves a keeper in that regard with Dorian Finney-Smith.

The Biggest Blowouts in Mavs History

With the Mavs tying their second largest ever margin of victory last night with their 50 point shellacking of Utah, let's look back at the 5 biggest blowout wins in franchise victory plus one satisfying playoff romp as well.

1. November 13, 2014: Mavs 123 76ers 70
The biggest margin of victory in franchise history came against a truly horrid 76ers team, that was in the middle of a 0-17 start to the season. The Mavs led 38-10 after the first quarter and 73-29 at halftime and kept pouring it on from there. Dirk led the way with 21 points in 20 minutes, making 7-8 shots from the field. That the 76ers started such luminaries as Henry Sims and Hollis Thompson pretty much says it all about this game.

T2. Jaunuary 24, 2010: Mavs 128 Knicks 78
The Mavs first 50+ point win didn't start as anything extraordinary as their lead was only 27-25 after the first period. From there however they would outscore the Knicks 101-53 for the remaining three quarters giving them the biggest road margin in franchise history. Dirk and Jason Terry led the Mavs with 20 points a piece while Drew Gooden had 15 points and 18 rebounds. Oddly enough the Mavs would fall at home to the Knicks by 34 points later that season.

T2. November 14. 2018: Mavs 118 Jazz 68
Last night saw the Mavs win their 3rd 50+ point game of the decade, pretty remarkable since no other franchise has more that 1 such win over that time frame according to ESPN Stats and Info. The Mavs held the Jazz to a franchise opponent low for points in a half, allowing only 22 measly points in the second half. All 13 Mavericks who played were double digit pluses in plus/minus, with each player scoring at least 4 points.

4. Jaunuary 22, 2017: Mavs 122 Lakers 73
Entering the game with a 15-28 record, the Mavs did not seem like a team that was about to put a 49 point beatdown on the visiting Lakers but that's exactly what transpired. 7 different Mavs scored in double figures, led by Justin Anderson's 19. A huge reason for the margin was the 3 point line, with the Mavs shooting 17-39 from distance while the Lakers went 3-21. Brandon Ingram had a especially rough game for the Lakers shooting 2-12 from the field while fielding a -45.

5. Jaunuary 15, 1985: Mavericks 149 Warriors 104
The Mavericks poured it on the lowly Warriors, exploding for 87 points in the second half and 51 in the fourth quarter. The 149 points scored by Dallas, tied a franchise record that still stands for points in a regulation game. Mark Aguirre's 25 points and Rolando Blackman's 23 led a balanced Maverick attack as the team shot 62.8% for the game.

Bonus: May 7, 2005: Mavericks 116 Rockets 76
The biggest margin in a playoff win in team history came in game 7 of a first round series where the  Mavs came back after dropping the first 2 games at home. Everything went the Mavericks' way in Game 7 as Jason Terry led the way with 31 points while Dirk and Josh Howard both posted double-doubles. Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady combined for 60 of the Rockets 76 points as the rest of the Rockets made only 6 of their 33 shot attempts.

Breaking Down the Rookie of the Year Candidates: Luka and the Field

It's incredibly early but it certainly looks like the Mavs have a Rookie of the Year favorite with Luka Doncic. So let's breakdown the favorites for the award so far with of course young Luka leading the pack.

1. Luka Doncic: One amazing stat says all for the amazing start to Doncic's NBA career. There have only been three rookies in NBA history to put up 20 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game like Luka is currently doing. Those would be three guys named Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson. Pretty extraordinary company. If he keeps this up the Slovenian teenager will be the Mavs second ever Rookie of the Year, joining Jason Kidd who shared the award with Grant Hill in 1995.

2. Deandre Ayton: The #1 overall pick is also off to a strong start, averaging a double-double of 16.1 points and 10.9 rebounds. While his team has struggled, winning only once since beating the Mavs on opening night, Ayton looks to be Luka's biggest rival for the Rookie of the Year trophy.

3. Trae Young: Young and Doncic will be forever linked by the draft day trade between their respective teams and both teams should be happy with the early results. While Young has struggled shooting the ball, shooting 28% on threes, he has still put up 18.5 points and 8.2 assists, leading the Hawks in both categories.

4. Wendell Carter: Carter, the 7th overall pick by the Bulls has really come on of late, scoring in double figures in 8 straight games after failing to do so in his first five games. He also had a stretch of three straight double-doubles last week. All in all so far in this young season, Carter is showing that those Al Horford comparisons weren't too far off.

5. Jaren Jackson Jr.: Jackson has flashed his unlimited potential, scoring at least 20 points twice already. He also showed typical rookie inconsistency by failing to score in double figures in five out of the last 8 games. That being said, Jackson is different from most rookies as he surrounded by veterans on a team off to a strong start. That he is already a solid contributor speaks well for his immense talent.

Honorable Mention: Marvin Bagley III, Shai Gilgeous-Alexnader, Mo Bamba