Getty Josh Green of the Dallas Mavericks.
Things haven’t exactly gone the way that many Dallas Mavericks fans had hoped, since the team traded for All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. The new-look Mavs have yet to hit their stride. Over their last 10 games, Dallas has lost 7 times, which has brought their record to 34-34.
The Mavericks’ most recent loss came against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 11. It was a game where the team was without both Irving and his co-star Luka Doncic, so they had to find scoring elsewhere. Tim Haraway Jr., Josh Green, and Jaden Hardy combined to score 66 points for Dallas in their 112-108 loss in Memphis.
Green’s 21 point outburst was the first time he’d cracked double digits since the February 23 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
He was later asked if there’s been any struggle adjusting to playing alongside the talented duo of Irving and Doncic.
“Playing with two of the best players in the world, you’re going to have to sacrifice, and I’m completely fine with that,” Green told reporters via NBA.com. “But that’s for me to figure out, not them. … It’s going to work. There’s no question about that.”
If Green is right, and the Mavericks are going to make things work with this current group, then they’ll have to figure it out quickly. They have just 14 regular season games remaining and are sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference.
There’s certainly plenty of room for things to shift in the standings, but the team needs to snap out of it’s recent funk if they want to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
Mavs ‘Wish’ They Traded Christian Wood for Jaxson Hayes
With all of their recent struggles, the Mavericks could very well be looking back at the trade deadline, wishing that they did more.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley believes that the Mavs might wish they pulled off a trade for New Orleans Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes.
Buckley outlined the following deal in a recent article:
Pelicans Receive: Christian Wood
Mavericks Receive: Jaxson Hayes, Naji Marshall and 2024 first-round pick (lottery-protected)
Buckley then explained how the hypothetical deal would work out for both teams.
“This would be a tricky sell to the Mavs fanbase—and maybe the front office—since they’d be giving up the most talented player in the trade,” Buckley explained. “But now that they have Kyrie Irving alongside Luka Dončić, they could see value in adding a pair of athletic, energetic defenders (plus a first-round pick) at the expense of an offense-only contributor like Wood. Hayes has the bounce and length to handle the rim-running role Dallas anticipated JaVale McGee would fill. Marshall has enough size and spirit to pester bigger perimeter players. The Mavs might still not have enough defense to win it all, but this would get them closer to passing that test. New Orleans, meanwhile, has a shooting shortage and could use another frontcourt scorer to help mask Zion Williamson’s ongoing absence. Wood might leave plenty to be desired on defense, but he’s absurdly skilled on the offensive end for a 6’10” combo big.”
Dillon Brooks Calls Out Luka Doncic Ahead of Matchup with Mavs
Prior to Saturday’s loss to the Grizzlies, news broke that Doncic wouldn’t be suiting up for the showdown in Memphis. The Slovenian superstar has been nursing a nagging thigh injury, which sidelined him for the game.
When Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks heard that Dallas would be without it’s superstar guard, he threw some shade in Doncic’s direction.
“It’s goes to show that sometimes they ain’t ready to come back to a physical game,” Brooks said via Memphis News’ Damichael Cole.
Luka Doncic is out tonight and is listed as day-to-day due to a left thigh strain.
Dillon Brooks on Luka being out today:
“It’s goes to show that sometimes they ain’t ready to come back to a physical game.”