No man is an island and Luka Doncic is no exception to this.

Just two seasons ago, he and Jalen Brunson teamed up to bring the Dallas Mavericks to their first Western Conference Finals appearance in more than 10 years. Brunson departed for the New York Knicks in the ensuing offseason, though, which led to the Mavericks missing the entirety of the playoffs last year.

Kyrie Irving was brought in before the trade deadline last season to fill the gap left by Brunson, yet Dallas were unable to build enough chemistry to string together enough wins to save their campaign.

Over a year has passed since Irving was brought in to team up with Doncic and things are looking much better for the Mavericks. Doncic and Irving have grown much more familiar with one another and this has inevitably translated into wins.

Irving has been in and out of the line-up this year with injuries, first with a heel ailment followed by a thumb sprain, but Dallas has been nothing short of electric, especially in recent weeks, when he and Doncic share the floor with one another.

Since Irving returned from his thumb injury last February 6, the Mavericks have yet to lose a game. Their latest win over the Phoenix Suns extended their current winning streak to seven as they wrapped up a four-game homestand. In this latest chapter of their budding rivalry, Doncic outscored Phoenix’s Devin Booker, 41 to 35 en route to the win.

The five-time NBA All-Star Doncic also tallied nine rebounds, 11 assists, and three steals, but he could not have won this game alone. Irving rose to the occasion and provided Doncic with the support that he has badly needed, adding 29 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a steal to help them take the win.

This pairing of Doncic and Irving is arguably the most talented offensive duo in the NBA today and if they can continue to feed off one another the way that they did in this win versus the Suns, a deep postseason run is not entirely out of the question.

Dallas’ front office also made two key moves earlier this month to improve their rotation around Doncic and Irving as they acquired PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford to bolster their frontcourt. Both are much more experienced than rookie center Dereck Lively and are clearly better than veteran Dwight Powell, so these moves are a clear win for the Mavericks.

Washington’s ability to serve as a stretch big man is highly invaluable while Gafford provides them with a defensive-minded interior presence who can hold his own against bigger opponents.

Dallas’ upcoming schedule provides them with a key challenge as they are set to go on a four-game road trip where they are scheduled to play the top two teams in the East, the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. These games will be a litmus test for the new-look Mavericks and a clean sweep would put them on the radar as a rising contender. They are currently sixth in the West with a 33-23 record, but they only trail the third place Los Angeles Clippers by four games with 26 games still left on their schedule.

This Dallas team promises to be one of the most exciting ones to watch in the coming weeks with Doncic and Irving firing on all cylinders. They have all the makings of an exciting playoff underdog and teams in the West must be wary of this high-scoring team that has enough high-end talent to win on any given night.