To be a woman is to be delusional. Every morning, I wake up and make the usual oat milk latte with a side of delusion. There’s all of this recent buzz about girl dinner, but maybe it’s this girl breakfast that actually fuels the horrors.
Although I do feel obligated to include a disclaimer that I don’t speak on behalf of an entire sex, I am willing to bet that a sprinkle of delusion is inevitably embedded into those double XX chromosomes. This genetic variation has the ability to transform the usual Sunday scaries into everyday horrors.
How many times have I convinced myself that being left on “delivered” for nine hours could only mean one thing: He is so afraid of falling in love with me that he’s exercising all possible self control to temporarily halt the conversation. How many times has an Instagram notification reading someone “liked your story” prompted my wretched frontal lobe to envision plausible destination weddings that would appease both sides of the family?
Mastering the art of delusion is hardly easy, but remains a necessity for modern survival. It’s true for the girls, but also true for a separate demographic — Dallas Mavericks fans. Coincidentally, yours truly belongs to both cohorts, and thus possesses all the credentials to dissect this phenomenon.
The acquisition of Slovenian wonderboy Luka Doncic gave life back to deprived Mavericks fans — and that was the beginning of the end. Logic slipped away into a moment in time and we started asking questions like: What could Jalen Brunson have possibly contributed anyway? Who needs a competent center when we have Dwight Powell?
However, as implausible as it may sound, there comes a time when this delusion evolves into a semblance of reality — when he finally texts you back, when the Dallas Mavericks open the season with a winning record.
Between the Mavericks’ 9-16 record to finish last season to currently residing in a country where Sunday Primetime sounds more like Sunday way-past-my-bedtime, I shamefully admit that keeping up with NBA basketball has not been a priority.
So, imagine my surprise when I check the standings and am met with a 7-2 (as of Nov. 12) — second in the West only to the defending champions. And that brings me to why we’re really here: the reasons why I genuinely, wholeheartedly and un-delusionally believe that this will be the Dallas Mavericks’ year.
Half the defense … double the offense
From Doncic’s fondness of chit-chatting with referees during quick breaks to a sheer lack of competent defenders on the roster, the Mavericks have never excelled defensively.
As problematic as that may seem, allow me to propose a simple question: Do they even need to? Head coach Jason Kidd has addressed this concern, stating that the Mavericks have no problem with playing the “we may not be able to defend you but we will outscore you” game.
The offensive combination in Doncic and Irving is more than enough to overpower most teams in the league. Closing games is paramount when capitalizing the offensive firepower and the Dallas duo is not lacking in the clutch gene.
There’s also a silver lining in every cloud: Christmas came early in the form of rookie Dereck Lively II, who averages 8.6 points per game on a 70% field goal percentage. The Duke recruit is exactly what Dallas has lacked against size-heavy opponents like Denver.
The addition of Grant Williams has also brought a new pep in the steps of Dallas defense. Although the numbers may not indicate much, Williams is a first-to-the-floor player with the physicality to pump some life into an otherwise sickly Victorian child of a Dallas defense.
Not superstitious, but maybe just a little stitious
The city of Dallas has suffered a drought of sports championships since the Dirk Nowitzki run of 2011. To younger fans, the one-legged fadeaway that carried the Mavericks to an underdog ring has faded into a legend of yore. Dallas citizens have since prayed for rain — and it did on Nov. 2 when the Texas Rangers won the World Series.
And usually — when it rains, it pours. This is the part where analytic sports bros chime in and point out the fact that an unrelated event that just happened to take place in the same zip code is rooted in no hard truth. And to that I say: In sports, one simply cannot deny the role of good fortune.
Look what you made him do
Recently, Luka Doncic has faced some unprecedented criticism regarding foul discourse. This marked the first serious critique tainting his previously-unsullied NBA career.
Not to mention, a new shiny object in the form of a 7’4”, 19-year-old Frenchman is dominating recent headlines. The mercurial gazes of the public never linger — and despite Doncic only being 24, he is soon becoming old news as Victor Wembanyama is transforming the league.
Between this wave of criticism and a newfound need to prove himself, it’s safe to say that Luka Doncic has officially entered his Reputation era — and believe me when I say: We are all Ready For It.
