The Dallas Mavericks are currently the 11th-seeded team in the West, falling out of play-in positioning with a loss to the extremely shorthanded Charlotte Hornets.
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Kyrie Irving – who shot only 37.5% from the field in the loss – had a rare bad outing. However, boos from his own supporters would definitely have riled him up to no end.
They’re currently 36-38 – tied with the OKC Thunder, but below them in the standings, having lost their season series. Both Luka Doncic and Kyrie expressed their dissatisfaction with how they felt about their team in the post-game presser.
Their 3-game losing streak has seen them fall by 4 places in the most competitive play-in race we’ve ever seen. The Mavericks will almost certainly have to rely on other play-in teams losing to force their way into the tournament.
How tough is the Dallas Mavericks’ remaining schedule?
According to tankathon.com, Dallas have the 7th-easiest schedule for the remainder of their season. A caveat with respect to that is, however, that the Lakers and OKC both have even easier schedules than theirs.
Dallas play Charlotte on the road in their reverse fixture tonight. Although their players will doubtless be feeling the effects of a back-to-back so late in the season, they were 16-point favorites last night for a reason – they have perhaps the 3 best players in this matchup.
Following this, they travel to Indiana, Philadelphia, Miami, and Atlanta to finish out their road trips. All of these teams are playing better than their records and are good home teams. The Mavs should be lucky to go better than 2-2, and could possibly lose all of these games.
They finish out their season with 3 home games. The first is against the surging Sacramento, who look likely to finish the season with the highest offensive rating of all time. Their other 2 games are against the Bulls and the Spurs respectively.
It is clear that the Mavericks have a steep challenge ahead of them. Although Doncic and co proved to be tough in the face of adversity last year, this is an altogether different battle.
What are the Mavericks’ chances of making the playoffs?
Dallas definitely has the offensive wherewithal in their star guard duo to go on a winning streak. Luka Doncic remains perhaps the most consistent high-usage player in the NBA, while Irving’s numbers have always been All-NBA caliber.
However, they will be faced with the challenge of finishing with a better record than 3 teams above them. OKC and Minnesota won their season series against Dallas 2-1. The Pelicans have a better record (10-5 vs 9-6) in the Southwest division currently.
They own the tiebreaker against the Lakers, who’re 1 game above them but seeded 7th. The odds-on probability of the Mavericks making the play-in tournament seems quite low at the moment.
How would missing play-in tournament affect the futures of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving?
While you never know what Kyrie Irving holds dear to him, he might probably leave if he doesn’t feature in the postseason this year. Irving is likely to be a coveted free agent this summer, despite his past troubles.
Losing Irving would definitely impact the Mavericks’ chances of keeping Doncic long-term. For now, the Slovenian is only in the first season of his designated player extension.
Dallas hasn’t been successful at attracting marquee free agents. They also don’t have the cap space to sign an All-Star caliber player this summer, having already committed $107 million for next season.
Their championship window would likely remain close for the foreseeable future, perhaps motivating Doncic to explore his own trade options.
