The Dallas Mavericks have started the season 3-1 despite the offense still rounding into form. Tuesday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves gave them an early signature victory they can hang their hat on and look to be one of the best teams in the NBA following their run to The Finals last season.

Dallas retooled around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, bringing in Klay Thompson, Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall, and Spencer Dinwiddie to add more shooting and defensive options. Grimes, Dinwiddie, and Thompson have made noticeable impacts offensively, while Marshall has become the team’s best defensive player. Those additions with an improved Dereck Lively II have the Mavs as favorites in NBA power rankings across the media landscape.

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NBC‘s Kurt Helin has the Mavericks third behind the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder, saying, “Klay Thompson has been everything the Mavericks could have hoped for early in the season, starting with him dropping 22 points on the Spurs in the opener. He’s averaging 19.7 points a game and shooting 45.5% on 11 3-pointers a game [stats were grabbed before the Timberwolves game], but more importantly, the Mavericks defense has been 8.6 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court (small sample size alert, but that’s a promising sign). Overall the Mavericks have been strong defensively to start the season, their 107.3 defensive net rating is fifth best in the league.”

CBS Sports‘ Colin Ward-Henninger has Dallas fifth behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thunder, Celtics, and Phoenix Suns, stating, “So far, so good for the Mavs, off to a 3-1 start punctuated by another Luka Doncic dagger step-back 3-pointer to beat the Timberwolves. The defense that coalesced last postseason seems to have carried over, while floor-spacer Klay Thompson is thriving in his new surroundings, averaging 16.5 points on 43% 3-point shooting.”

ESPN‘s pooled power rankings have Dallas fourth behind the Celtics, Thunder, and Cavaliers, with Tim McMahon saying, “Klay Thompson continues to be one of the NBA’s premier perimeter shooters after the amicable separation with his Splash Brother, Stephen Curry. Thompson anticipated getting a lot of good looks playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in Dallas, and he hasn’t been disappointed during the first week of the season. He shot 45.5% from 3-point range on 11 attempts per game during the Mavs’ 3-1 start, averaging 19.7 points [Again, looks like stats were grabbed before the Minnesota game]. Thompson has stated his determination ‘to get rid of that notion that I’m not the same defender as I once was,’ and he’s also off to a strong start on that end of the court. The Mavs have a 112.7 defensive efficiency with Thompson on the court this season (101.9 when he is off).”

Dallas has a good chance ahead of them to go on a little run, as Thursday night’s Halloween contest against the Houston Rockets will be the first of five straight home games for the Mavericks. If they come out of this home stand unblemished, they could challenge for the top spot in those power rankings soon.

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