PHILADELPHIA — The Mavericks, whose ship has been leaking and sinking since mid-November, are approaching their 50-game goal and looking barely seaworthy, much less in a position to make the playoffs. .
They have lost six of their last eight games and seven of their last 10. The holes they had been trying to fill throughout the season were wide open, and a poorly-reinforced roster couldn't withstand the stress of mounting injuries.
It's debatable which was worse, the Mavericks' sputtering play or their timing.
A day after blowing a 25-point lead against Milwaukee at home, Dallas on Sunday not only departed on a three-game road trip to the East Coast, but also the start of NBA trade deadline week.
It's strange that the Mavericks didn't announce their arrival in Philadelphia with an SOS signal. At 26-23, they were three games above .500 for the first time since going 4-1.
Kyrie Irving missed six games with a sprained thumb and is likely to play in Monday's game against the Sixers, but fellow starters Derek Lively II (nose surgery) and Dante Exum (knee bursitis) was absent. Luka Doncic (sore right ankle) and Maxi Kleber (dislocated toe) are questionable.
“We need everyone to play at a high level,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Our margin of error is very small.”
As of January 15, the Mavericks were tied for a season-best record with seven games over .500 (24-17). Since then, their sense of trade deadline urgency has gone from “it would help” to make a deal, to “need” to make a trade, to “must” make a trade by Thursday's 2 p.m. It changed.
Waiting until healthy to evaluate the roster is no longer an option, if it ever was. Even with all their efforts early in the season, they were one of the smallest teams in the NBA and needed more power forward/center help and wing depth. Today, both needs are becoming increasingly prominent.
Various reports have linked the Mavericks to power forward and center P.J. Washington, Kyle Kuzma, Daniel Gafford and Miles Bridges. and wings Andrew Wiggins, Jerami Grant and former Maverick Dorian Finney-Smith.
The only first-round pick that Dallas can trade is until 2027, which would likely allow them to complete a significant deal for a young player like Josh Green or Jaden Hardy, or perhaps Olivier Maxence-Prosper. means that it must be included.
Dallas has had at least one pre-deadline deal for seven consecutive years, including third-year general manager Nico Harrison, who made a major trade at each of the past two deadlines. It includes being present.
On Sunday before last season's deadline, Harrison was traded to Brooklyn for Finney Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick Spencer Dinwiddie and a pair of second-round picks. acquired Irving and Markieff Morris.
Dallas was 29-26 at the time of the trade. The Mavericks' record, which spans nearly a full season of Doncic and Irving, is 36-41, including 17-21 in games in which Doncic and Irving were on the court together.
Even considering the 132 games Dallas has lost to injury this season, that's not enough by any metric.
Acquiring Lively with the 12th pick on draft night was clearly a home run for the franchise, but that and summer additions Grant Williams (8.1 points, 3.5 rebounds), Exum and Derrick Jones Jr. It has not resulted in any visible victory or defeat. difference.
Obviously, getting help is most important. Otherwise, the franchise risks wasting the best season of Doncic's career, averaging a career-high 34.8 points, 9.6 assists and 8.6 rebounds. Doncic, who is nearing his 25th birthday, is also averaging a career-high 37.6 minutes per game, three minutes above his career average.
Dallas is 9-1 when Doncic scores 40 points or more, including his historic 73 points in Atlanta, but the Mavericks are 14-17 when Doncic scores fewer than 40 points. He plays himself to the point of exhaustion. For what exactly? And how much could it cost in the long run?
“That's a concern,” Kidd said. “Because the season is long and when you ask him to play 43, 46, 47 minutes and do everything offensively, and also be involved in a lot of plays on the defensive end, it's mentally taxing. 'And physically.
“We've got to get healthy. He's a franchise, so we've got to get some bodies back and help him out. He's the one who's going to figure this thing out. And Minnesota As we saw in the game, when he's out, things go awry.”
The Mavericks' brain trust can no longer claim that Doncic and Irving work as a tandem. Not because they don't mesh well when they play together on rare occasions, but because after a season's worth of time there's little evidence that it's a sustainable plan.
Irving, 31, has played in 47 of a possible 73 games as a Maverick. That's not counting the two games he was forced to miss at the end of last season when Dallas struggled to protect its draft picks.
Despite the injuries, the Mavericks don't have enough talent to contend for a Western Conference title. Assuming that's still the goal. And why not when we have a healthy Luka Doncic in his prime?
The Mavericks are 14-13 at home. 12-10 on the road. They're drifting, not power, heading into trade deadline week against the Sixers on Monday, the Nets on Tuesday and the Knicks on Thursday.
For Doncic and the organization, the Mavericks ship will need to make some repairs and bring an extra healthy body or two on board when it returns to Dallas.
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