A glimmer of hope was all this season needed in hindsight, From the get-go, the Dallas Mavericks saw themselves as a playoff team. Given the previous three seasons, it seemed an envious goal, even with a budding superstar in Luka Doncic and former All-Star Kristaps Porzingis back from injury.
Yet, they did it. A seventh seed that at times seemed to take the No. 2 Los Angeles Clippers the distance. Making it more impressive was the fact that the Mavericks were without countless key players—Porzingis, Dwight Powell, Jalen Brunson, Courtney Lee—for much, if not all of the series.