Luka Doncic finds his perfect squire in Dallas

There are few minutes left for the transfer market to close and the Dallas Mavericks decide to stir up the hornet's nest.

It's February 10 and the Texans get rid of Kristaps Porzingis, a frustrated dream of the franchise that heads to Washington.

In exchange, Dallas gets Davis Bertans and Spencer Dinwiddie from the Wizards.

The movement surprises and it is not for less: the Mavericks had mortgaged their future by betting on the Latvian giant three years earlier.

His goodbye marks the arrival of a shooter with wet gunpowder, Bertans, and a shooting guard, Dinwiddie, far from his best level since he tore knee ligaments in December 2020. A month and a half later, nobody in Dallas remembers of the Latvian and Dinwiddie, 28, has become the perfect secondary to accompany Luka Doncic in the Mavs' attack.

In the past week,

Since Dinwiddie landed in Dallas, the Mavericks are the third best team in the NBA, with a record of 13 wins and five losses.

In addition, they have been the best team in the league in the final stages of the match, with a 10-2 record in the

(last five minutes of the match when the distance between both teams is less than five points).

Before adding Dinwiddie, the Mavs were 19th in this record, with 12 wins and 14 losses.

Born in the valleys of Santa Monica (Los Angeles, California, United States), the escort has greatly improved most of his figures since he arrived in Dallas.

In the three-point shot, so important to accompany Doncic —second in potential assists in the league, only behind Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns)—, Dinwiddie has raised his accuracy to 40.5%, almost ten percent. cent more than this campaign recorded in Washington.

A percentage that also rises to 53% in

moments .

"For a reason Will SMITH makes you a song"@guillegimenez_ & @SDinwiddie_25 & @dallasmavs 😯😱 pic.twitter.com/TKbzjq4Iow

– NBA Spain (@NBAspain) March 17, 2022

Beyond the outside shot, the Californian has painted his statistical locker green in scoring —six more points per game than in the Wizards— and in percentage of shooting success: from 37.6% in Washington to 50.3% today .

Doncic himself, after the victory in extremis against Brooklyn (111-113), acknowledged that his new partner "is playing at an

level " since he signed for the Mavericks.

The unexpected individual evolution of

, as Dallas fans have baptized him (incorporating the word

into his name), has renewed the face of the team, fifth in the Western Conference with a balance of 45-28 and in full fight with Utah Jazz (45-28), Denver Nuggets (43-30) and Minnesota Timberwolves (42-32) for

positions .

Doncic, absolute star of the franchise, has multiplied his performance from the day of the transfer to averaging 32.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 7 assists per game.

The Slovenian was designated as the best player of the month of February in the western conference and has reopened the debate on the MVP (

, for its acronym in English), an award for which he did not count until now due to a start to the campaign outside out of shape and far from its current level.

Surrounding the Slovenian with the best pieces possible has been Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's biggest concern since Doncic's blowout in his

year .

Now, after giving up Kristaps Porzingis, the team coached by Jason Kidd seem to have found a real alternative to their star, not only when the rivals double the marking on the Slovenian, but when he is not on court: Dinwiddie scored his best goal in Dallas on March 5 against Sacramento (36 points), a game in which Doncic rested due to discomfort in his left foot.

With Porzingis gone, the Mavericks have lost presence in the paint, but they pack more of a threat from the perimeter.

When Doncic initiates play, his teammates open up and clear the rivals' paint, leaving the Slovenian free to attack the rim from the outside: his penetrations generate an average of 15 points per game, more than any other player in the championship.

That not only improves the ex-Madridista's scoring production, but also generates more shots released for his teammates.

Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith, two of Dallas' outside pieces, are shooting above 44% from 3-point range since Dinwiddie's arrival.

After the victory against Utah on March 8 (111-103), the Los Angeles shooting guard highlighted the importance of opening the court when Doncic directs possession: “It's very important for our attack.

We have to take advantage of the fact that he always collapses rival defenses and creates spaces for us.

[...] And there, be successful in the shot or be aggressive towards the rim”.

This same season, when rumors suggested that Washington's locker room did not agree with his character, Dinwiddie decided to turn a deaf ear and continue working.

“I am human and of course it affects me.

It still hurts to this day,” he said shortly after signing with the Mavericks.

Since his arrival in Dallas, the Californian has the highest PER (

) of his career: 19.6 (much higher than the league average: 15).

“I am happy here, I feel loved and I like what they ask of me on the track.

I think I'm a perfect fit in Dallas."

And Doncic, of course, appreciates it.

You can follow EL PAÍS DEPORTES on