Before the All-Star break, the Dallas Mavericks were among the hottest teams in the NBA, but they have since drastically cooled off. They suffered a 116-120 home loss to a Joel Embiid-less 76ers team, their fourth defeat in their previous five games. Kyrie Irving assures home fans that the squad will not be affected unduly by the current cold snap.

“We’re going to be okay, that’s for everybody that’s watching at home. We’re going to be okay. We gotta trust that we’ll be able to put the work in necessary to get us these wins. We’ve shown it before.” 

Irving also spoke up about the team’s current bad play and his concern that they would lose the season in the second half, much like they did the year before and miss the postseason.

“We took a bit of a dip in the last few games, some tough losses on the road… We have to take accountability for that as players… No more excuses. We got 20-something games left. We know the position we’re in right now, we know what happened last year when we didn’t make it. We know what it’s like to fail miserably… There’s no excuses.”

Despite his brilliant performance, which included 28 points on 50% shooting, Kyrie’s frigid start to the game put the team behind. Despite Luka Doncic’s 38-point triple-double and the game’s net favourable outcome, Dallas was completely overwhelmed by the likes of Tim Hardaway Jr.’s inconsistent play, making a comeback all but impossible.

The last five games have been difficult for the Mavericks. They were defeated by a stunning Max Strus comeback against the Cavaliers after losing a game against the Pacers that they ought to have won. The Mavs have lost their last two games against the Celtics and the 76ers after handling business against the Raptors.

 

Are The Mavericks Concerned?
Due to what transpired during their previous season, Mavericks supporters are familiar with the feeling of a similar March decline. Before finishing last in the West after two months, they were among the top four seeds. There is no space for them to go on a losing streak because they were already circling No. 7 this season. In terms of outcomes, this stretch has been unfortunate because many of the on-court performances are positive.

Towards the end of the 76ers game, Dallas appeared to be the superior team. They easily pulled off a late comeback from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but they were running out of time to win. In that defeat, they also outperformed the Cavaliers prior to Max Strus’ incredible comeback. Regretfully, if your final score is lower after 48 minutes, you do not receive points for your performance.

They are a far stronger team than the one that collapsed at the end of the previous campaign. Jason Kidd’s ability as a coach is being put to the ultimate test as he attempts to determine his ideal lineups. Tim Hardaway Jr. has led the squad into the abyss throughout this run of games, replacing Daniel Gafford in a less prominent position. Fans are extremely irritated with Kidd for not adapting to these situations.

The Mavs should be concerned that they are now two games behind the No. 5 seeded Pelicans, especially considering how fiercely tough the West is. Nonetheless, the squad continues to project danger and has one of the NBA’s five easiest remaining schedules.