The Mavericks on Saturday were in 11th place in the Western Conference.
That’s out of the playoffs, out of the play-in tournament and out of this world to think about, considering this was a team that made the Western Conference finals last season.
Fortunately, the season didn’t end Saturday. There is time to fix this situation.
But it is, as Kyrie Irving said, reality for the Mavericks.
“I’ve been in positions before in a season when we’ve been under .500 and scratching and clawing to get into the playoffs,” he said. “It’s not a position you want to be in, but it’s our reality. And we got to face it. There’s no time for excuses or pointing fingers any blame game. Just move on to the next game and do all we can to prepare.”
The Mavericks were peppered with boos in the third quarter when they fell behind by as much as 21 points against Charlotte, which eventually took a 117-109 victory.
Irving, who has built up some callouses over the years from heartbreaks as well as successes, shrugged off the boos.
“So what?” he said of the crowd’s reaction. “I’ve been in New York City so I know what that’s like. You obviously want to play well. But there’s only five people on the court that can play for the Dallas Mavericks. If the fans want to change places, then be my guest. You got years of work ahead of you to be great enough to be on this level. Our focus isn’t necessarily on the boos. It should be on our performance and being there for each other. Boos are just part of it.”
At least the Mavericks have eight games left to get the train back on the track. The five-game trip starts in Charlotte and moves along to Indiana, Philadelphia, Miami and Atlanta.
Six of the remaining eight games are against Eastern Conference opponents.
None are against the six teams they are fighting against for positions seven through 12 in the Western Conference.
Four of those teams will be in the play-in tournament. Two will be cleaning out their lockers on April 10, the day after the regular season ends.
Moving up to sixth? That would require a collapse by either Golden State or Phoenix and both teams have favorable schedules the rest of the way.
All the Mavericks can really do is make sure they win the next game. And then the next game after that.
As for the concern level?
“There’s a level of concern every time we step out there, just because we want to execute at a very high level and we want to play well for each other,” Irving said. “We’re in these games. If we were out of these games completely and we were getting blown out, I’d definitely be saying some different words and be a little more worried. But we’re in every single game. And offense is not our issue.
“There’s no time for excuses. We just got to lace them up and get ready.”
Defensive woes: The Mavericks have not been sharp defensively all season, and it hasn’t gotten any better since the trade last month for Irving.
He said it’s been an adjustment for him, as well as his new teammates, who had to get used to his style as opposed to that of Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie.
“I think that was the biggest adjustment coming here for me was going from primarily a switching team (with Brooklyn) where we kept everything above the perimeter . . . and coming here, we’re a very rotation-based team and that just takes some time to get used to – the drives, the close-outs and where everybody is going to be on the extra plays we make,” Irving said.
“We do an unbelievable job of making extra plays for one another, but doing it over and over again, it’s taxing, mentally and physically, so we just got to stay solid on that end. The offense will take care of itself.”
Briefly: The Mavericks have an early (noon tipoff, Dallas time) game Sunday in their rematch with the Hornets. After that, they visit Rick Carlisle’s Indiana Pacers before the competition gets stiffer at Philadelphia, Miami and Atlanta in the final road games of the regular season . . . Dwight Powell was 7-of-7 from the field, all of them from point-blank range, against the Hornets. It was the 21st time this season he’s made every shot he’s taken in a game. That ties the total of perfect shooting nights he had last season.
Twitter: @ESefko
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