In the span of two alarming weeks, the Mavericks went from atop a seven-game winning streak to circling the proverbial wagons.
They fell from sixth place in the West – seemingly on track for a top-five finish – to eighth place by losing five of their last six games. With only 20 games left in a rapidly deteriorating season, they have all but declared a state of emergency.
It seems far from ideal that Dallas’ opponent Thursday night at the American Airlines Center is Miami (35-26), a team that has won seven of its last eight games and 11 of 14. Mavericks coach , Jason Kidd, however, sees an opportunity to face Miami and future opponents.
“It’s great to be tested in the sense that you ask yourself, ‘Are we going to let go of the rope?’ Or are we going to keep coming to work?’” Kidd said after Tuesday’s 17-point home loss to Indiana.
“Everyone comes to work. Everyone has a positive mindset, energy. Everyone is trying to do the right thing right now.
After watching the Mavericks lose their last five games by an average of 14.6 points, fans are much less convinced that the coach and team are on the same page, showing their displeasure with the growing criticism of Kidd on social media.
In his first year, 2021-22, Kidd guided the Mavericks to a 52-30 regular season finish and a surprising run to the Western Conference Finals. That season included a 20-7 record after the blockbuster Kristaps Porzingis trade.
However, in the two seasons since, Dallas has gone 72-72. Since acquiring Kyrie Irving last February, Dallas is 25-26 in games that Irving and Luka Doncic have played together.
Early returns from the Feb. 8 acquisitions of PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford were promising, with Dallas winning its first four games with that duo, including a 36-point win over Oklahoma City and a 10-point win over Phoenix.
What then caused the free fall that followed, particularly in the field of defense? Kidd insists Dallas has enough personnel to become a much better defensive team than its 30th-place finish since the All-Star break.
“These are things we’ve been working on,” he said. “We just need to be able to see it in real time. These are things we will continue to work on.
As great as Thursday night’s challenge was, the view of Miami at the American Airlines Center also represents hope that Dallas has enough time to turn around this season.
Before its recent string of good games, Miami had lost seven straight games. Four of those losses came after the Heat made a big trade on Jan. 23, sending Kyle Lowry and a protected 2027 first-round pick to Charlotte for guard Terry Rozier.
Looks familiar? Charlotte is the team Dallas sent Grant Williams, Seth Curry and a 2027 first-round pick to for 6-7 forward Washington.
When NBA teams make major trades mid-season, they most often take two or more steps back before the new player(s) and the rest of the roster settle in.
That was the case for Miami in its first four games with Rozier, losing by nine points to Memphis; by 33 in Boston; by 16 points against the Knicks; and 1 p.m. in Phoenix.
What makes the Mavericks’ free fall so alarming, what led Kidd and veterans Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris to speak to the team after Tuesday’s loss, is how drastically different the results have been compared to the four first games with Washington and Gafford.
Luka Doncic has four straight 30-point triple-doubles, but Dallas has lost three of the games. The Mavericks, in fact, have lost six of the eight games since Jan. 17 in which Doncic has recorded a triple-double.
Before that, Dallas had won 13 of its last 14 games in which Doncic had a triple-double, including 5-1 to start this season. In other words, Doncic’s dominance equated to the Mavericks’ success.
“Obviously it surprises me, yes,” Doncic said of Dallas’ sudden fall. “We have to do something. We have to do better, that’s for sure.
Before Tuesday’s loss, Kidd bristled when asked about the possibility of a change in the starting lineup. After the loss, however, he discussed the possibility of shortening the 10-man rotation and other changes.
“We can look at different rotations,” he said. “We can consider different starting formations. . . We have options and we will explore them.
While Kidd and his team are looking for ways to compensate for Doncic and Irving being mediocre defenders, the possibility of starting Dante Exum or Maxi Kleber is not feasible as both players are coming off lengthy injury absences that were in part caused by heavier minutes. loads.
The most logical starting lineup change is Gafford-for-Dereck Lively II, who started 42 of the 44 games he played in his rookie season.
Gafford is coming off a 16-point, 10-rebound performance against Indiana, coming in after Lively — zero points and one rebound in 15 minutes — still struggled to contain Pacers center and Bedford native Myles Turner.
Turner, who nine days earlier had scored a season-high 33 points against Dallas, scored 11 of Indiana’s first 17 points Tuesday. Then Gafford came in, followed by Kleber: Turner scored nine points the rest of the night.
After using his “Are we going to let go of the rope?” metaphor, Kidd was asked if he was sure some of his younger players had a good handle on the rope amid the erosion of on-field results.
“No, the confidence is there. We have some great character guys in this locker room,” Kidd said, but added:
“When we consider dropping the rope, we have a 20-year-old opening a center that has never been seen before. . . And there is a wall of recruits. He’s a young man seeing the NBA for the first time. There are going to be ups and downs.
“But that’s why we call it a team. And that’s why Gafford came for him tonight. . . Lively had a hell of a rookie season, and he’ll only get better, but he might be tired. He has never played so many games or minutes. So I don’t even know if he knows what letting go of the rope means.
