DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks had dual goals going into last summer: put together a roster that could make the playoffs again and find some young players who could be core pieces for the foreseeable future.
A postseason berth somehow remains a possibility despite Dallas stumbling to a 2-13 start while face of the franchise Dirk Nowitzki dealt with the kind of health issues that tend to happen with a 19-year veteran.
The Mavs still have a chance to fight for the West’s final playoff spot in large part due to the development of a pair of their offseason purchases. Harrison Barnes has been worth every penny of his maximum contract so far, and Seth Curry has been a great bargain after coming to Dallas for the cap-room exception.
They both played key roles in Thursday’s 112-105 comeback, overtime victory over the Utah Jazz, just as they have throughout the current stretch of 10 wins in 15 games that has breathed life back into the Mavs’ season, putting them only 2½ games out of eighth place in the West.
Barnes, 24, who is averaging 20.4 points per game, has been a consistent bright spot all season. No one scoffs at his four-year, $94 million deal anymore, not after he’s eliminated all the doubts about his ability to create off the dribble, thriving now that he’s playing primarily power forward.
Barnes’ 31-point performance comes as no surprise. It was his sixth 30-plus-point outing of the season after he recorded only one in four years as a complementary player for the Golden State Warriors. He’s become more and more comfortable as a closer, as evidenced by scoring eight points in Thursday’s overtime period, attacking relentlessly as Utah rim protector Rudy Gobert was forced to watch from the bench with six fouls.
“He’s been great. There is no other word to describe it,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s totally committed to being a great player. His work ethic is second to none of any player I’ve ever been around as a player or coach. He is really a relentless worker, loves the game, came here because he relished the opportunity to take on a bigger responsibility.
“There are some painful parts of it. Early in the year, it was a bit of a struggled. He pushed through. We’ve put the ball in his hands a lot, and he’s delivered time after time.”
But Barnes’ individual success didn’t lead to a lot of wins for the first couple months of the season. The return to health of Nowitzki, who scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter Thursday and hit the OT-forcing jumper with 2.8 seconds remaining, has certainly helped.
But the Mavs morphed into a good team as soon as Carlisle decided to plug Curry into the starting lineup. That started the Mavs’ 10-5 run, with Curry averaging 15.2 points while shooting 50.3 percent from the floor and 45.2 percent from 3-point range during that span.
Curry, Steph’s 26-year-old kid brother, had bounced around the league before the Mavs gave him a two-year, $5.9 million deal, getting cups of coffee with the Grizzlies, Cavaliers and Suns before spending last season with the Kings. This is the first time he’s been given a consistent rotation role, and he’s seized the opportunity.
“I feel like I’m just doing what I’ve done last year in short stints and earlier in the year in short stints, just consistently,” said Curry, who had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists against the Jazz. “I’m just getting opportunities to expand my game and make plays with the ball and without the ball. I’m just trying to take advantage of it.”
He’s a Curry, so everyone knew Seth could hit open jumpers. He’s proved himself to be capable of creating his own shot, a crucial element the Mavs’ offense didn’t have enough of early in the season. Dallas wouldn’t have survived the fourth quarter against the Jazz without Curry twice taking advantage of switches in crunch time, driving past Gobert for a pair of layups, one of the and-1 variety.
“He’s another dynamic scoring option for us,” Barnes said. “He’s able to get in the paint. He’s able to knock down jump shots. He’s kind of that perfect balance for us between being a shake-up guy when Dirk’s screening-and-rolling, and he can create his own shot. That helps us so much, especially in times when we get stagnant. He can go out and get a shot for us.”
Check out the team site for more game coverage
Check out the team site for more game coverage
That responsibility will fall largely on the shoulders of Barnes for years to come in Dallas. He embraces it and has largely excelled, scoring 69 points on 52.8 percent shooting in 107 clutch minutes this season, according to NBA.com stats. After four seasons of watching from the weak side with the Warriors, it now feels natural for him to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line.
“It’s all part of the progression,” Barnes said.
Barnes will be a big part of the Mavs’ future, and there’s a pretty good chance Curry will, too. The Mavs’ front office hit on half of its summer mission by signing those two.
The Mavs still have to overcome odds to achieve the playoffs part of the plan, but they’ve at least looked the part since Curry joined Barnes in the starting lineup.
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