The Dallas Mavericks haven’t exactly lit the league on fire since trading for Kyrie Irving last month. They’ve won just four of their last 10 games and have been sliding down the standings lately. After falling to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon, the Mavs fell to 33-32 on the season, which has them sitting in seventh place in the Western Conference.
Amidst Dallas’ struggles, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley published an article on March 7, listing some bold predictions for the remainder of the season.
Third on Buckley’s list was the guess that neither the Mavericks nor the Los Angeles Clippers would make the playoffs.
“Perhaps this isn’t scorching enough for true takemasters. That’s fine. But FiveThirtyEight gives the Clippers a 60 percent chance of making the playoffs. The Mavericks, meanwhile, check in with an 80 percent chance of cracking the first round of the postseason,” he wrote. “Both marks are too high for my tastes.”
Buckley then dove deeper into Dallas’ struggles, making the case for the Mavs to miss out on the postseason.
“Dallas is now 2-5 in games with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving,” he pointed out. “Just about every loss has been a crunch-time heartbreaker, and the Mavs are handedly winning the minutes their stars log together. But this team can’t get stops. Dallas is bottom five in points allowed per possession since Jan. 1, and opponents are enjoying parades to the rim during the Dončić-Irving reps. Maxi Kleber is back, which helps. But the Mavs defense hasn’t necessarily hit rock bottom. Rival offenses are hitting under 30 percent of their triples when Dončić and Irving play together. That isn’t going to hold. And Dallas will be up you-know-what’s-creek without a paddle if Jason Kidd ever decides to expand the Luka, Kyrie and Christian Wood sample.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. Discusses Role Change After Mavs Trade for Kyrie
Since the Mavericks landed Irving in the February 5 trade, things have changed for Tim Hardaway Jr. He recently gave some insight into what’s been different for him after the addition of Uncle Drew.
“You’re not going to get that many plays run for you when you play with All-Stars and those type of caliber of guys. So you got to find ways to get yourself involved in the game, whether it’s rebounding, taking a charge, coming off a pick and roll, or get yourself a throw-ahead pass early in the shot clock, try to attack and make something happen,” Hardaway Jr. told Sports Illustrated’s Grant Afseth after Dallas’ 130-126 loss to the Suns. “That’s just what I’ve been trying to do these last couple games, and I think it’s been working out great for us, not only myself but for C Wood [Christian Wood] and a lot of guys.”
After the loss to the Suns, I asked Tim Hardaway Jr. about what he’s seen with the lineups he’s played with Kyrie Irving and the bench group:
“You’re not going to get that many plays run for you when you play with All-Stars and those type of caliber of guys. So you got to find…
Luka Dončić Trolled via Text Message After Mavericks Loss
Things could’ve ended differently for the Mavericks against the Suns. Luka Dončić had a golden opportunity to tie the game with just seconds remaining, but missed an easy look right at the rim.
Luka missed the potential game-tying bunny 😱
Luka later sat down with the media and discussed the final play. He shared a text message he’d received from a friend, trolling him over the miss.
“I thought it was in, but I just missed it. One of my friends just texted (me), ‘Even I would have made that,’” he told reporters.
Doncic said of his missed 3-footer: “I thought it was in, but I just missed it. One of my friends just texted, ‘Even I would have made that.’ “
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Mavericks Predicted to Miss Playoffs Entirely Amidst Rough Stretch