Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) – The Dallas Mavericks clinched their second Western Conference Finals appearance in the last three seasons with a 117-116 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Luka Doncic was an MVP candidate and Kyrie Irving has been playing some of the best basketball of his career this season, but the Mavs wouldn’t be in position to make their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011 without the play of their role players.

Derrick Jones Jr. scored 22 points on 8-13 shooting and 4-6 from three in Game 6 and shot 22-34 in the final three games of the series. Dereck Lively registered a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double. PJ Washington averaged 17.7 points per game in the series -– and put together three straight games with 20 points or more in the Western Conference Semifinals –- before knocking down the game-winning free throws in Game 6.

We all know about the greatness of Doncic and Irving, but the difference maker has been their role players. Dallas surrounding their two stars with the switch-ability on defense from Jones Jr. and Washington with the rim protection of Lively and Daniel Gafford has been a terrific formula.

Jones Jr., Washington, Lively and Gafford were all acquired within the past year after the Mavericks missed the playoffs last season. Lively was acquired with the Mavericks 2023 first round draft pick. Dallas traded back to pick No. 12 to take the center out of Duke while Oklahoma City moved up to take Cason Wallace.

Jones Jr. signed a minimum contract with Dallas in August, which has turned out to be an outstanding value signing.

Washington and Gafford were both acquired at this year's trade deadline. The Mavericks traded Grant Williams, Seth Curry and a 2027 first-round pick for Washington. Later that day, Dallas traded Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first-round pick, which was acquired in a separate deal with Oklahoma City, for Gafford.

Dallas had a record of 29-23 on the day of the trade deadline and went 21-9 after acquiring Washington and Gafford to finish the season at 50-32.

When it’s playoff time, the star matchups get a lot of attention. Coming into the series, fans were talking about Luka Doncic versus Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but when it came down to it, the series was decided by role players.

Dallas’ role players never looked afraid of the moment and could always be counted on to step up.

The teams that make deep playoff runs have role players who play with a high level of confidence. Jones Jr., Washington and Lively showed that type of confidence all series long and because of that Dallas is just eight wins away from a championship.

The Mavericks are also a great lesson in terms of teambuilding. In most cases, it’s not about how great your best players are; it’s about the complimentary pieces and the type of players they are surrounded with.

Dallas has done a masterful job in building around Doncic and Irving over the course of the past year. 

Follow Sports News Highlights on Facebook and X platform to get our headlines in your social feeds.

Copyright 2024 Sports News Highlights. All rights reserved.