Survival mode is never easy.
But that’s where the Mavericks are.
They have fallen two games under .500 for the first time this season at 15-17. They have four more road games ahead of them before they return home on Jan. 3.
They started this trip with a hard-fought 120-116 loss at Utah on Christmas. They head to Portland on Monday night (9 p.m. tipoff) and the cupboard again will be relatively bare for coach Jason Kidd, who wakes up every morning wondering who he will have that can play that evening.
He’ll still be without Luka Dončić again, and that’s a difficult place to start. The Mavericks are 3-8 without him this season.
They’ll also still be without Tim Hardaway Jr. and more. It’s standard operating procedure lately. There are no changes in the COVID-19 list. Reggie Bullock, Trey Burke, Luka Dončić, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber and JaQuori McLaughlin will all miss the Portland game for health and safety protocols.Willie Cauley-Stein (personal reasons) also is out.
Not surprising that the Mavericks are taking lumps because of the absentees.
But because they banked a lot of wins in the first month of the season, they’re still hanging in the middle of the Western Conference pack. That’s the bottom line about where they are right now.
“We would like our record to be better,” Kidd said on Christmas. “Unfortunately, it’s not. With COVID and injuries, they’re going to continue to keep stats and records. And so we got to find a way to win games. Everyone’s going to go through it.
“But we’re in the middle of the pack of a lot of teams at .500 or a game or two below. If we get healthy and if we can shoot the ball straight, I think that’s going to put us in a good position.”
Ahh, yes. Shooting the ball. That remains a major issue.
Not as major as COVID-19, but still pretty substantial. Against Utah, in a game that dragged on forever and didn’t finish until well after midnight Sunday morning, Dallas time, the Mavericks were 10-of-30 from 3-point range. So the troubles continue.
That actually is higher than their season average. It was just the fourth time in 12 December games that they have made one-third or more of their 3-pointers.
They had gone four consecutive games making below 30 percent.
It’s been the primary reason why the Mavericks have been a disappointment on the offensive side of the court.
But it’s also hard to get any sort of chemistry working when so many players are rotating in and out of the rotation because of health concerns.
“First and foremost, I think we need to get healthy,” Jalen Brunson said. “Obviously, with what’s going on, anything can happen at any time. I think we’ve been adjusting on the fly well.
“It’s kind of hard to tell where we can be (with) pieces moving in and out. But I think we have great personnel, high-character guys who want to win. We just got to put that together and be healthy and whole.”
Survival mode.
Practice? You talkin’ practice? The Mavericks’ six new players signed last week via the COVID-19 hardship allowances still haven’t experienced a full-fledged practice with their new team.
All have played in games, though. And all have had moments where they showed their various skills, earning Kidd’s praise.
“You have to be ready to do your job,” he said. “There’s no practice time. We’re meeting and talking as the game is going on. Guys are playing hard.”
And, most importantly, the six newcomers – Theo Pinson, Marquese Chriss, Brandon Knight, Carlik Jones, George King and Charlie Brown Jr. – have fit in well with their new teammates.
The game at Utah was a good indication that, new or old, all the players trust each other.
“We put ourselves in position,” Kidd said. “Utah’s one of the best teams in the league. I thought those guys in the locker room fought all the way to the end. Those guys believe they can win, but unfortunately, our record doesn’t show that.”
And as the regulars hopefully star trickling back in the next week or so, the Mavericks will have to integrate players in and out of the rotation, again.
“We just have to get on the same page, quickly,” Brunson said. “I think we’re very capable of that. These (new) guys coming in, they’ve been doing great. They’ve played well, played hard. And I applaud them for it. It’s a tough situation. But I’m proud of how they’re playing.”
Briefly: Brunson took a career-high 25 shots from the field on Saturday against the Jazz. “I didn’t even realize that until afterward,” the fourth-year guard said . . . Kristaps Porzingis said his right toe/foot problem is something he’s going to have to deal with for a while, but Kidd added: “He still has all 10 (toes), he played, he did great.” . . . The Mavericks waived two-way player Eugene Omoruyi on Sunday afternoon. The 6-6 rookie recently had surgery on his right big toe that will cause him to miss the rest of this season. The move means the Mavericks can sign another two-way player or move one of the COVID-19 hardship allowance players to the two-way deal, if they so choose. Basically, it opens up options for them to add another healthy player. It is likely that Omoruyi will continue to rehab, perhaps with the Texas Legends in Frisco.
Twitter: @ESefko
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