For the Dallas Mavericks, the 2022–23 NBA season has been a roller coaster ride, not a good one.
With a 13-13 record after 26 games, the Mavs are just holding on to the final Play-In Tournament spot in the 10th position in the Western Conference standings. There is still much to be done in a long way. Still, the Mavs front office can’t be pleased with how this current roster has begun the season slowly for the third consecutive year – mainly because Luka Doncic arrived at the season in excellent shape and has played at an MVP level.
The Mavs will play the young Oklahoma City Thunder at American Airlines Center to bounce back from a demoralizing 144-115 defeat at the arms of the Chicago Bulls in a match where Doncic rested. The Mavs have rested today and are 10-4 at home, which is good news. The bad news is that there was a historic collapse against this OKC team at the end of October, and one of those four home losses occurred.
With less than four minutes remaining in that Oct. 29 game at the AAC, the Mavs lost their lead en route to a 117-111 overtime defeat. Before that game, NBA teams had a 9,975-1 record when holding a lead of at least 16 points in the final four minutes. The Mavs managed to improve that record to 9,975-2.
Doncic admitted, “That’s on me.” “I did not oversee the group. I whiffed on my shots. I failed to take the necessary actions to prevail.”.
After two demoralizing losses, Doncic and the Mavs will attempt to exact revenge and climb back over the .500. It will be easier said than done. However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, (an OKC star, is having a career-best season) averaging 30 points per game on 50 percent shooting. In the first meeting between the teams, he scored 38 points against the Mavs.
Dallas hasn’t had much stability this year, and that needs to change quickly if it’s going to achieve its preseason goals of building on a trip to the Western Conference Finals. As trade rumors intensify in the upcoming month, we’ll undoubtedly learn whether stability can be achieved with the current roster or if a shakeup is necessary.
Christian Wood, who recorded 21 points and nine rebounds in his season debut against the Bulls, said that he was having a difficult time but that there were no excuses. No excuses, but we could have made the game winnable tonight. Since we had only traveled for 12 hours, we were exhausted. Simply put, we need to improve our defensive and energy strategies.