The Only Mavericks Podcast

The Only Mavericks Podcast episodes:

• 05.26.2024

  Luka is him

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya talk with The Onion’s Ben Collins about Luka Doncic’s stepback game-winner vs. Rudy Gobert and whether this series is over.

  
• 05.23.2024

  Mavs win Game 1!!

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya talk about the Mavericks winning Game 1, how they did it with just six made 3s, how historic it is, and why the Timberwolves should feel sick. They also talk about what could improve from...

  
• 05.21.2024

  The Mavs vs. Wolves preview

  Tim and Austin talk with Dave DuFour about what we expect to see from the Mavericks’ offense against Minnesota, Dallas’ defense vs. the Anthony Edwards-led attack, how both teams may end up using very shortened rotations as the series wears...

  
• 05.20.2024

  The Mavs are in the WCF again!

  We (Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya) talk how Dallas beat the Thunder in six games to advance to the Western Conference Finals and what this series win taught us about this team and its future, which is awfully bright right...

  
• 05.14.2024

  What the Mavs’ Game 4 loss means

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya record live from the American Airlines Center after a miserable defeat in Game 4. They discuss why it happened, what they’ve thought of the series so far, and what comes next.

  
• 05.06.2024

  5 questions for Mavericks-Thunder

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya talk about the Mavericks’ semifinals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, covering Maxi Kleber’s injury and how the rotations adjust, what advantage Dallas will see from its big men vs. a smaller Thunder rotation, and...

  
• 04.29.2024

  Mavs-Clippers is tied 2-2

  Tim Cato talks with Locked On Mavercks’ Nick Angstadt about the Mavericks’ agonizing Game 4 loss and where the series goes from here. This is the first part of an hour-long discussion, with the other half posted on the Locked...

  
• 04.25.2024

  Deep dive on a 1-1 Mavs-Clippers series

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya break it all down: the missed opportunity in Game 1, the brilliant Game 2 win, Luka Doncic’s defense and his mostly superb but slightly weird offensive execution so far, both him and the entire team’s...

  
• 04.20.2024

  Mavs vs. Clippers, part 3

  Tim Cato and new dad Mike Piellucci talk to The Athletic’s Law Murray, who covers the L.A. Clippers, about the upcoming first round series and what to expect from it.

  
• 04.16.2024

  Looking back on the Mavs' season & Clippers preview

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya look back at the Dallas Mavericks’ regular season with The Athletic’s Dave DuFour, sharing some of our favorite moments and which aspects of the year really snuck up on us. Then, we each share three...

  
• 04.10.2024

  A serious look at Luka’s MVP case

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya talk to their old friend from The Athletic, Dave DuFour, about the surging Mavericks, what criteria really should matter for the MVP voting, and whether Luka Doncic can usurp Nikola Jokic. We agree they’re the...

  
• 04.02.2024

  Ranking the Mavericks’ playoff matchups and rotation

  With Dallas cruising toward a top-six seed, Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya rank which postseason opponents are most favorable and then draft rotation players by playoff importance.

  
• 03.28.2024

  The new-look Mavs are here

  Tim Cato talks to Mavs.com’s Bobby Karalla about the Mavericks’ new offense, its deliberate paint-pounding approach, how the center position might be the team’s third-best “player”, the way that the team’s Tuesday win against Sacramento showcased another way for the team...

  
• 03.18.2024

  Kyrie Irving’s unbelievable game winner

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya talk about whatever THAT impossible shot was from Kyrie Irving that gave Dallas its best win of the 2023-24 season, and more about what this win represents for the Mavericks’ season.

  
• 03.13.2024

  6 things we’ll learn in the GSW/OKC/DEN stretch

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya look forward to the Mavericks’ next three games, ones where we can potentially learn a lot about whether Dallas has improved defending the corner 3 and five-out lineups, what the postseason rotation might look like,...

  
• 03.05.2024

  Let’s have a Hardaway & Kidd convo

  Tim Cato, Austin Ngaruiya, and Mike Piellucci talk deep on the team’s most polarizing player, Tim Hardaway Jr., who is hurting Dallas. There’s more nuance than the discourse has given him to the player he’s been in Dallas and the...

  
• 02.28.2024

  Cautious Mavs optimism & the Tim convo

  Tim Cato, Austin Ngaruiya, and Mike Piellucci link up to chat about what we expect from the Dallas Mavericks for the rest of the season — and what we expect from Tim Hardaway Jr., his role going forward, and whether...

  
• 02.22.2024

  5 Mavericks questions for the season that remains

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya cover the questions — it felt like it was about five, but honestly we weren’t counting — we have for what remains of the Dallas Mavericks’ regular season and the postseason that will (almost certainly)...

  
• 02.13.2024

  The Good Vibe Mavs are back

  Tim Cato, Austin Ngaruiya and Mike Piellucci talk about the new-look Mavericks after last week's trades for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, and what it cost to acquire them.

  
• 02.06.2024

  Trade deadline talk with Jake Fischer

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya talk to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer about the Dallas Mavericks’ outlook heading into the NBA trade deadline and the league’s perception of the Nico Harrison-led front office. Check out Jake’s book, Built to Lose: How...

  
• 02.01.2024

  Mavericks’ ceiling + belated Luka 73 thoughts

  Tim Cato talks to Mavs.com’s Bobby Karalla about what Dallas’ healthy starting five might be able to achieve when they FINALLY get on the court together, maybe as soon as this weekend. Then, we debate whether Luka Doncic’s 73 point game...

  
• 01.24.2024

  Mavericks < Celtics, any trade targets we still like?

  Tim Cato, Austin Ngaruiya and Mike Piellucci chat about the Mavericks’ defeat to the Boston Celtics, what it represents in the grander scheme of the team’s roster construction, and Luka’s emotions still sometimes affecting him. Then, we briefly chat about...

  
• 01.16.2024

  The Mavs' fantastic 5-2 homestand

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya talk about the Mavericks beating the Pelicans in the harder game thanks to Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. combining for 83 points, and then discuss some broader themes from that game & the 5-2...

  
• 01.10.2024

  Mavs’ best/worse games, Siakam talk

  Tim Cato and Mike Piellucci record live from the American Airlines Center to discuss the Mavericks’ best and worst case scenarios as the team continues missing Dereck Lively II (and Dante Exum), and then think about what Pascal Siakam might...

  
• 01.05.2024

  The Luka-Kyrie-Exum-Lively Mavs

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya talk about the Dallas Mavericks’ most important question for the second half of the season: Is their best lineup one that hasn’t even played together? If so, how far can it take them? Email us at [email protected]!

  
• 12.27.2023

  Luka’s Christmas game was absurd

  Tim Cato, Mike Piellucci and Austin Ngaruiya are back to talk about the Mavericks’ Christmas win against the Phoenix Suns, where that Luka game ranks within his career performances, and chat about some players trending up and down. Email us at [email protected]!

  
• 12.20.2023

  What will the Mavericks look like healthy?

  Tim Cato talks to Nick Angstadt from the Locked On Mavs podcast about the team’s current vibes, what the team’s starting lineup and rotation will look like once they finally get healthy, and whether this is Luka Doncic’s best start...

  
• 12.14.2023

  Why Luka’s too good for defenses

  Tim Cato talks to old friend Dave DuFour from The Athletic and 77 Minutes about how good Luka Doncic has been, what defenses opponents are using against him, and what we might see next. Dave literally had to gameplan against...

  
• 12.06.2023

  We answer your Mavs questions

  Tim Cato and Mike Piellucci talk through the team’s biggest recent news: Mark Cuban’s decision to sell the team and what it means, practically, for the coming years. Then we answer more questions that we solicited from Reddit about who’s...

  
• 11.28.2023

  Why Dereck Lively II’s the third-most important Maverick

  Tim Cato, Mike Piellucci, and Austin Ngaruiya talk about the Mavs’ split in Los Angeles, how good Kyrie Irving has been, and why Dallas has become so reliant on Dereck Lively II.

  
• 11.22.2023

  What’s wrong & what’s fixable with this Mavs defense?

  Tim Cato, Mike Piellucci, and Austin Ngaruiya talk about the team’s obvious defensive problems from their two losses to Milwaukee and Sacramento, which players share the most culpability for the struggles, and what might make it better.

  
• 11.15.2023

  WTF was that Luka game?

  Tim Cato and Austin Ngaruiya talk about what might have been Luka's worst game ever, and why the Mavs have been good enough, with a deeper roster than ever before, that it doesn't really matter.

  
• 11.10.2023

  We're back, and the Mavs are, too

  Welcome to the first episode of The Only Mavericks Podcast hosted by The Athletic's Tim Cato, D Magazine's Mike Piellucci, and Austin Ngaruiya. We have many, many plans for what this podcast could be, but it’s past time we relaunched...