Getty Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
In order for the Dallas Mavericks‘ playoff hopes to live on, they’ll have to take home the win Friday night when they host the Chicago Bulls. That victory isn’t looking all that promising, after the Mavs’ injury report was released.
The team announced that Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., Max Kelber, and Christian Wood will all miss the April 7 meeting with the Bulls.
“Kyrie Irving (right foot injury recovery), Josh Green (rest), Tim Hardaway Jr. (left ankle soreness), Maxi Kleber (right hamstring injury recovery) and Christian Wood (rest) will all miss tonight’s game against the Bulls,” the team announced via Twitter.
Kyrie Irving (right foot injury recovery), Josh Green (rest), Tim Hardaway Jr. (left ankle soreness), Maxi Kleber (right hamstring injury recovery) and Christian Wood (rest) will all miss tonight’s game against the Bulls.
Many fans replied to the news, by claiming that the Mavericks are waving the white flag on what’s been a disappointing season.
“Imagine playing 80 games just to punt on a possible playoff birth with two to play. Disgraceful,” wrote Twitter user @MichaelSchettig.
@MavsPR Imagine playing 80 games just to punt on a possible playoff birth with two to play. Disgraceful
Another account, @ryanswilson21, called out the team for deciding to sit players with playoff hopes at stake.
“So what was the point in winning Wednesday? This team never does things the right way,” they replied.
@MavsPR @PeasRadio So what was the point in winning Wednesday? This team never does things the right way.
Dallas is in a tough spot because they don’t control their own destiny. They can win both Friday’s game against Chicago and Sunday’s against the San Antonio Spurs, and still miss out on the Play-In Tournament.
That’s because the 10th-place Oklahoma City Thunder hold the tiebreaker over the Mavs, who sit a half game back. So, if OKC comes out on top against the Memphis Grizzlies in their one remaining game, then Dallas’ season is over.
Mark Cuban Says Mavs Want to Bring Back Kyrie Irving
Well, if the Mavericks truly are surrendering the season, then they’re already thinking about how to improve the team over the summer.
Dallas’ owner, Mark Cuban, recently hinted at some of the front office’s plans, headlined by the goal of retaining Irving, who is a free agent after the season concludes.
“I’d love to have him stay for sure,” Cuban said via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “I’d love to have him. I want him to stay for sure, and I think we have a good shot. I think he’s happy here. He tells me he’s happy here, and I get along great with him. I think he’s a good guy. All I can tell you is everything I thought I knew about Kyrie because of everything I read was 100% wrong.”
Kyrie Irving Understands Mavericks’ Growing Process
Things haven’t gone great since Irving was traded to the Mavs in mid-February. Of course, they’ve gone from fourth place, to the position that they’re in now, hoping that the Thunder fail to close out the year.
However, that hasn’t seemed to deter the star guard’s interest in being in Dallas. He recently told reporters that he’s “at peace” with the team’s growing process.
“I think the realistic view is that when I came here, this was going to be a growing process,” Irving said via Sports Illustrated’s Grant Afseth, after the March 28 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. “This was for the long term, and this was for something that’s bigger than ourselves, and we can’t just be a championship team overnight, especially me coming here. So I think I’ve wrapped my head around that aspect of it. I’m at peace with it. It doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on this season or any of my teammates are, but we know where we realistically are, and our destiny is in some other team’s hands losing games. So we just got to control what we can control and focus on the next few possessions that we have in these next games against some really good teams that want to position themselves for the playoffs. We’re fighting for a spot, so I look forward to the challenge. But again, in the last six minutes of the game, I felt like we could have been better clear, including myself.”
Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving was asked if there’s enough time to build the necessary chemistry in the final few games, given the scramble the standings has caused.
“It’s been a scramble since I’ve been here. So, trying to fill in roles that kind of fill in from other people. And I…