DALLAS — Luka Doncic no longer looks “fat,” or “soft.”
FAT NOTE: The NBA standard for “fat,” or “soft,” does not apply to us normal human beings. The standard physique for an NBA player is out of a Marvel series; anything above 5 percent body fat mandates a trip to a Biggest Loser boot camp.
Unlike the last two Septembers, when Doncic came back to the team after a summer of fun, the Mavericks biggest “zvezda” (that’s Slovenian for “star”) looks fit.
The Dallas Mavericks hosted their 2022-’23 media day on Monday at the American Airlines Center, and their “franchise” looks like he did when their playoff run ended in May at Golden State in the Western Conference Finals.
What Doncic did in the 2021 NBA Playoffs he continued in the EuroBasket Tournament this summer where he carried the undermanned Slovenian national team to a sixth-place finish in the 24-nation tournament.
Think of the Mavs as an extension of the Slovenian national team.
The Mavericks have one of the five, maybe eight, players in basketball that can’t be stopped.
Despite the Mavericks’ tinkering and alterations in the offseason none of these top players will be asked to do more this season than Luka.
Few players are better equipped to handle it. The last player who could handle this sort of workload was the in-his-prime LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I still think people are over looking us,” Mavs guard Dorian Finney-Smith said Monday.
He’s right.
When you look at the NBA’s best players - LeBron, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant - no one has a “weaker” supporting cast like Doncic.
The Mavericks remain a “sum of their parts” roster. The method has yielded NBA titles, just not many, because it’s not reliable.
“You are used to seeing two or three max (contract) players on a NBA (title-winning) roster,” Mavs guard Spencer Dinwiddie said of the expectations. “That’s why there is a disconnect. ...
“The thing that made last year’s team so special was the sum of its parts; if you look at it, holistically, we should be better on paper.”
Or, it could be a roster of holes.
Last season, the method netted the Mavs their first 50-win record since 2015, and their deepest playoff run since winning the title in 2011.
The Mavericks have tried, but until they find an obvious No. 2 next to Luka, he will have to take Nowitzki Way to a title.
In 2011, Dirk Nowitzki carried a team that was full of good, not great, NBA players to a championship over LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat.
This offseason, the Mavericks lost point guard Jalen Brunson in free agency; Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the New York Knicks.
As much as the Mavericks wanted him, everyone with the organization agreed he would have been dumb to reject the offer.
With Brunson and Luka doing most of the scoring, the Mavs were a small team that made it to the Western Conference Finals before they were eliminated by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors.
By the end of the season, even with that small lineup, the Dallas Mavericks were the second-best team in the West.
Don’t take for granted this team is going to make it back to second or better this season.
The Mavs added forward/center Christian Wood from Houston; he’s a double-double scorer/rebounder, but not much of a rim protector.
He’s the new age NBA big man who is comfortable playing small, but can rack up rebounds.
The big who will play big falls to veteran center JaVale McGee, who is back for a second tour with the Mavericks. Former Mavs coach Rick Carlisle was not a big JaVale guy.
Keep your expectations modest for JaVale, a player that the “Inside the NBA” crew on TNT has historically crucified for a variety of his on-the-court “sins.”
Shaquille O’Neal routinely went after JaVale for years, both on the show and Twitter, calling him a “#buma--.”
JaValee sticks for a reason. Mostly because he’s 7-feet tall, and he’s figured out how to be good enough to get another contract.
JaVale is your career journeyman who has actually won two NBA titles, and a gold medal for Team USA. He does something right.
McGee and Wood are big bodies who should provide something the Mavericks never did get consistently from Kristaps Porzingis, the talented but injury-ruined All-Star they traded last season to Washington.
They also selected Jaden Hardy in the second round of the ‘22 draft; he was a top prospect out of high school, and while the Mavs love his talent it’s hard to envision any scenario where he makes an impact this season.
The other “big get” for the Mavericks is the return of guard Tim Hardaway Jr. He broke his foot in January, the injury ended his season.
Despite his absence, the Mavs filled it in the Porzingis trade when they acquired Dinwiddie; he exceeded even the most absurd of expectations, and became a solid second and third scorer.
The Mavericks are blessed to have one of the best players in the world, who is only 23, and worth the price of admission every time he plays.
He’s good enough to make the Mavs a decent playoff team by himself.
Whether the Mavs can take The Nowitzki Way to a second NBA title will, ultimately, be decided by his teammates.
