Lately, the Dallas Mavericks have been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, with what can only be described as a series of unfortunate events. Wednesday didn’t do anything to change that narrative.
Just a month has passed since the team traded Luka Dončić, and they’re already facing significant challenges. Injuries have taken out Anthony Davis three weeks ago and Kyrie Irving for the season just yesterday, leading to a tough 137-107 loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. This marks their fourth defeat in their last five games.
Before tipping off, Coach Jason Kidd addressed some buzzing rumors that implied the Mavericks’ strategic choices might have contributed to Irving’s injury. Over the last six weeks, Irving logged a league-high average of 38.7 minutes per game, especially after he took on a more central role following the Dončić swap.
He saw 40+ minutes for five consecutive games right after the trade. Responding to the Associated Press, Kidd labeled Irving’s injury as a “freak accident” and criticized the rampant “conspiracy theories,” making it clear that Irving had indeed embraced the heavy workload:
“He invited that,” Kidd remarked. “He wanted that. But are we reporting that? Are we? No, we’re not reporting that. We’re reporting that we’re running someone into the ground. That’s not true. That’s his job, is to play. And he loves to play.”
Kidd continued, “And it’s all right to play 40 minutes at the age of 32, in a month’s span. This isn’t the whole season, right? I think sometimes we’re taking things a little bit too far, or we’re not really telling the truth because we want the likes or the hearts, or we want somebody to put us up on this platform of not telling the whole truth. Because it was a freak accident. It happened early in the game. We should be promoting our athletes, our players to play more minutes and play more games, but are we? Probably not.”
Irving, despite being 32, has had his fair share of injuries in the past, and sometimes, it’s on the coach to make a call if a workload becomes unsustainable.
What unfolded on the court was hardly a nail-biter. The Mavericks quickly found themselves at a disadvantage, trailing by double digits after the first quarter, facing a 19-point deficit at halftime, and slipping further behind by as many as 35 points in the second half. Klay Thompson, the lone former All-Star still in the lineup, put up 28 points. Unfortunately, even his effort couldn’t counterbalance the electrifying performances by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who both scored 30 points each.
With Davis and Irving missing, the team was largely without its big-man options, sidelined due to injuries. In an attempt to compensate, Dwight Powell, back in action after a hip strain, earned his second start of the season at center and managed to contribute six points.
A tweet from Yahoo Sports highlighted the Mavericks’ extensive list of absentees, showing a team riddled with injuries to key players.
Meanwhile, the Bucks were on fire, shooting 58.6% overall, hitting nearly half of their three-point attempts, and dominating the boards with a 60-38 rebound advantage.
The theory is that Dallas will find its rhythm once Davis is back. Acquiring him from the Lakers was meant to bolster their defense with his versatility, especially given the dwindling confidence in Dončić. The strategy hinged on Irving staying healthy and part of the mix, but now there’s uncertainty about his availability at the start of the next season.
As it stands, Dallas must push on with a limited squad, sitting with a 32-31 record that barely secures them a place in the Western Conference’s 10th spot. Their prospects in the play-in tournament seem bleak at best.
With just 19 games on the docket, Dallas finds itself precariously ahead of the Phoenix Suns by 2.5 games. It seems their best bet is to ride out the season aiming for future success, banking on a stronger core poised to contend next year. It’s a tough spot, one that exists thanks to a mixture of careless decisions, unfortunate fate, and some logical woes.
