The Dallas Mavericks are one of the fortunate teams to get invited to the bubble. This will be a great opportunity for players like Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic, who will be going into their first playoffs. Doncic is young, but he is this team’s leader. According to the Dallas News, J.J. Barea loves Luka Doncic as the team’s leader.
J.J. Barea has played with the Mavericks for 11 seasons. He was part of the 2011 championship team that was able to beat the LeBron James led Miami Heat. Veteran leadership will be key in the Orlando games. Support from the veterans helps the chemistry for a team with a young superstar core.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Barea said:
“The NBA championship was really fun, but this group is fun, man. When you get your leader in Luka, and Luka’s a guy that he loves his teammates and he’s always texting ‘hey let’s do this, let’s play cards, let’s go to the pool, let’s go fishing. It’s all about the team and about having fun.
In practice as we compete, and we compete, and we argue, and we get mad but hey, we love being around each other, we love competing together, and it’s fun. It makes it super fun for me and it gives me energy, and it keeps me positive to play longer so I’m excited to be here with this team.”
The Mavericks are currently the seventh seed in the West. They may not play long in the playoffs, but the experience will be invaluable. They should become a team to contend with in the future.
