The Dallas Mavericks have made major improvements throughout last season and current times.

When they picked up Luka Doncic in the 2018 NBA draft, the team began to show promise for the future.

The Mavericks acquired Doncic through a deal with the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks originally  drafted Doncic, but the Mavericks offered the Hawks Trae Young and a protected first round draft pick for 2019. The Hawks accepted the offer and the Mavericks received Doncic.

Doncic played like a 15- year veteran at 19 years old. He averaged 21.2 points, 6 assists and 8 rebounds a game.

Those stats helped him become the Rookie of the Year. The last Maverick to win Rookie of the Year was Jason Kidd in 1988.

Later in the season the Mavericks picked up Kristaps Porzingis in a trade with the New York Knicks. Kristaps was recovering with a torn ACL. However, Porzingis came back strong in his first preseason game with the Mavericks.

If Porzingis ends up being even better than he was, the Mavericks have a decent chance at making the playoffs this season.

The Mavericks, however, lack a defensive star on the team. To really be a dominant team, they need to find a player who can fill in this role. Porzingis is one of the best shot blockers in the league, but he is not quite enough to help the Mavericks get a finals spot. When they find someone for the job, the team will improve greatly.

Their current record is 17-7 with some tough games coming up.