GAME 37: DAL (21-16) @ SAS (12-24) | 126-125 win

[DanSchwartzgan]

The defense and rebounding was really poor last night.   Although, last game of the year, I guess I can understand some thought of just getting out of there with a win.  

Mavs have taken advantage of their competition lately.   You have to give them credit there.  Luckily this stretch lined up with their current injuries.  If they played a tough stretch, we may be looking at 2-3 games under .500.  It feels like we have been playing better but we need to factor in the competition and Luka's peak level play.   

D-Rating was in the 130’s for just about everyone.  Basically, we took the night off at that end of the court.  Earlier in the season we lost these games and it was super frustrating.  We had games like this last season too…even in the good run post 12/31/21.  Yet, we have the best record in the league against good teams.

I’m pretty convinced the team just doesn’t care about certain games.  It is a long season and as long as you win at home for your fans and continually prove to yourself you can beat the better teams, then the theory goes that the only season that really matters comes after 82 games.  It is hard to criticize them too much.  It has been a crap start to the year and yet, they are in 4th in the west.  That is pretty well the exact peak any of us predicted when the season started.  Someone might have said 3rd/4th.  I thought/hoped 4th.  But, the bulk of the prognostications (if not all of them) was 4th or worse.  Oh, and they are doing this while missing three important cogs in the 9 man rotation.