To say that the Dallas Mavericks aren’t living up to expectations after their trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2022 would be an understatement.
The Mavs are currently the 8th seed in the West with a 34-35 record and Luka Doncic revealed what is the biggest weakness for them at the moment.
“I think the offense, we’re very good,” Doncic said. “But the defensive ends we’ve got to have communication better, everything better. That’s our weak point right now.”
Luka Doncic on ESPN about Mavs’ playoff outlook a year after making the West finals: “I think the offense, we’re very good, but the defensive ends we’ve got to have communication better, everything better. That’s our weak point right now.”
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) March 14, 2023
Over the last 15 games, the Mavericks rank 25th in the league in defensive rating at 117.5, as per the NBA. At the same time, they rank 6th in offensive rating at 118.0, so it is pretty obvious where the problems lie for this group. They traded away one of their best defensive players in Dorian Finney-Smith to acquire Kyrie Irving and while the offense has greatly benefited from it, the defense has struggled massively.
To make matters worse, both Kyrie and Doncic have missed the last two games as well and the Mavs don’t have much of a shot at beating anyone without their stars. They are currently on a three-game losing streak and in real danger now of missing the playoffs.
The Mavericks Are In Trouble
It is becoming clearer by the day that as presently constructed, this team isn’t going to be a serious title threat. Even in the 9 games that their stars have played together, they are only 3-6 and in all, have a worse record than the Brooklyn Nets, post the Irving trade. Their porous defense makes it far too easy for opponents to score, and it’ll only get worse against the top teams in the playoffs if they make it in.
It seems set to be a lost season and raises concerns regarding their future. They took a huge risk by trading for Kyrie, and if this season ends in disaster, then the front office will certainly have reservations regarding giving him a long-term deal. If they don’t do it though, then it’s likely to add to Doncic’s frustrations, as he had pushed for them to trade for Kyrie.
Luka has been playing at an extremely high level all season, averaging 33.0 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 8.0 APG but the team still hasn’t been able to win games on a consistent basis. In an ideal world, Doncic would prefer to stay with the Mavs for his whole career, but if they fail to build a competent team around him, then he might start considering his options.
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