The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2022-23 season with big expectations after a run to the Western Conference Finals last year. They have fallen short of expectations in a historic way.
After trading for Kyrie Irving, the Mavs were a top-6 seed in the West with a 96% chance at making the playoffs. Not even two full months later, the Mavs now have a 6% chance to be in the postseason.
The Mavs playoff chances have dropped 90% in less than two months 😳
(h/t: @FiveThirtyEight uncoverednba/TT) pic.twitter.com/Men6LEbggE
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 4, 2023
The disaster in Dallas has been unmitigated since the trade deadline. Years of poor roster moves finally hit their bottleneck as the lackluster roster seems to have gotten worse after the loss of glue guy and veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith. Irving has been great on the court but the Mavs have just looked out of sorts since the trade has been made.
The Mavs have to win their remaining 3 games while hoping the Thunder and Timberwolves lose every game to even make the 9-10 play-in game now. The 6% chance is unlikely to materialize for the Mavericks, who are headed to the 2023 Draft Lottery while owing the Knicks a top-10 protected pick. Their pick is currently projected to be exactly 10, so maybe a first-round pick allows the Mavs to make some moves in the summer.
Where Should The Finger Be Pointed?
The blame for this season has been put on various people. Luka Doncic is the superstar and the leader of this franchise, so his lack of effort and moodiness has been criticized. Kyrie Irving has a history of controversy, so he’s been blamed as well. Jason Kidd hasn’t put together a coaching system to utilize his flawed roster properly, so he’s been blamed.
Ultimately, the blame should fall on the front office. They’ve made bad moves after bad moves in recent years. The time they traded for Kristaps Porzingis and the time they traded him away both seemed to benefit the other franchise more than them. They lost Jalen Brunson for nothing and have given up 7 years’ worth of second-round draft picks in meaningless half-season rentals over the last 4 years.
The Mavs are an asset-strapped organization that is now headed for the worst nightmare for any organization with a superstar player, which is to the draft lottery while the player is in his prime.
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