By Miguel Mike Medina
The Dallas Mavericks are out of sync, and they are choosing the wrong time to lose games. We saw a team once the fourth seed in the Western Conference. What is going on with the Dallas Mavericks?
Since acquiring Kyrie Irving, the team has gone 4-10. Kyrie is not the reason why they’re losing. That’s one thing that’s not true. Kyrie and Luka on the backcourt are deadly and very tough to beat when the shots fall in. Head coach Jason Kidd needs to make some adjustments and figure out how to stop the bleeding.
The Mavericks took on the Miami Heat on Saturday night. The Mavericks and Heat have a history of playing each other in the NBA Finals in 2006 and 2011. Heat won in 2006, and Mavs avenged this by winning in 2011. In Saturday’s game, Dallas trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half and 16 in the second. Dallas was able to get back in the game, but it wasn’t enough. Miami Heat had a mesmerizing performance by Jimmy Butler to give Miami a 129-122 win. With this loss, the Mavericks dropped the Mavs to 37-41 on the season.
The Mavericks are currently the 11th seed in the Western Conference. They trail the Oklahoma City Thunder by one game for the 10th and final spot in the play-in tournament. Nobody expected Dallas to struggle this much after adding Irving. The Mavs offense is not the issue. The main problem is their defense. Mavs give up more than 110 points to their opponents in games they lose. Mavs need a defensive stopper – an interior and exterior defender.
On a brighter note, the greatest Dallas Maverick, Dirk Nowitzki, has been elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He’s No. 6 on NBA’s scoring list (31,560), a 2006-07 NBA MVP, and a 2011 NBA Finals MVP. Dallas can hope that Luka can bring a title to the city of Dallas, but he will need more help from his teammates and intelligent decision-making from the front office.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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