MAVS NEWS:

[OBX Maverick]

DJJ listed as questionable with a wrist sprain. That’s great news. His reaction made me think he had broken it, that was a long way down to fall like that.

I was 100% sure he broke it when i saw it.  What a relief!

[SleepingHero]

DJJ listed as questionable with a wrist sprain. That’s great news. His reaction made me think he had broken it, that was a long way down to fall like that.

I'm shocked he's listed as questionable. I figured even with a sprain he'd be out 2-3 weeks.

[DallasMaverick]

I think his impact would obviously be better with better defense, but also better shot selection. He does way too many heat checks every game and probably at least 5 shots a game that shouldn't be taken or they could have been taken from a better spot.

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We wouldn't have near as many close games if Luka didn't take step back 3 after step back 3 to try to "finish" opponents. If he would just drive the ball when we get up big, they wouldn't rally all the time.

How did you feel about Luka's step back 3's last night?

[BigDirk41]

How did you feel about Luka's step back 3's last night?

That's pretty funny you want to call me out after Luka goes off. Do you want me to come back each game he doesn't finish a game? Come on man. I'm happy Luka played out of this world and got the Mavs a win. Grow up

[DallasMaverick]

That's pretty funny you want to call me out after Luka goes off. Do you want me to come back each game he doesn't finish a game? Come on man. I'm happy Luka played out of this world and got the Mavs a win. Grow up

Thanks

[DallasMaverick]

That's pretty funny you want to call me out after Luka goes off. Do you want me to come back each game he doesn't finish a game? Come on man. I'm happy Luka played out of this world and got the Mavs a win. Grow up

You could complain about his step back tonight.

[omahen]

Orlando next, than perhaps most difficult stretch of 6 games with Minny, Milwaukee, Philly, BKN, NY and OKC. Phi-BKN is a B2B. They really need to get healthy ASAP

[HoosierDaddyKidd]

DJJ listed as questionable with a wrist sprain. That’s great news. His reaction made me think he had broken it, that was a long way down to fall like that.

If it was his left wrist, that's not good. He was already struggling shooting..

[KillerLeft]

Orlando next, than perhaps most difficult stretch of 6 games with Minny, Milwaukee, Philly, BKN, NY and OKC. Phi-BKN is a B2B. They really need to get healthy ASAP

I predict much negativity in this board’s near future.

[Knutsen]

We could very well fall under .500, couldn’t we?

[KillerLeft]

We could very well fall under .500, couldn’t we?

I would say it’s likely.

[Reunion Mav]

Or we could get 2-3 wins and show some good progress. We are 3-3 this 10 game set. Win 2 of the next 4 or 5 and we will still be within a 7-3 set of back to a 60% pace after 60 games. That would be a 49 win pace. Right now we are about 47 win pace. We really could use at least 2 wins in the next 5.

[KillerLeft]

Or we could get 2-3 wins and show some good progress. We are 3-3 this 10 game set. Win 2 of the next 4 or 5 and we will still be within a 7-3 set of back to a 60% pace after 60 games. That would be a 49 win pace. Right now we are about 47 win pace. We really could use at least 2 wins in the next 5.

It's possible, but I don't think it's likely. 

And to be clear, I don't think even losing the next 5 straight necessarily means the sky is falling. The Mavs are a 2nd tier team in the West, even when healthy, and they have been far from healthy for a long time. 

I loathe Jason Kidd's coaching more each week, but I do agree with what he said the other day. Either they'll get healthy soon enough to represent themselves accurately down the stretch, or they won't. If they do, we'll still be disappointed, very likely in the first round of the playoffs - hopefully in the second round. If they don't, they might miss the playoffs again. It's just how things are. 

No matter what, I'm convinced that this team is an improvement over last season's and that some good progress has been made to make the roster better and, more importantly, younger, so that INTERNAL improvement continues to be an element we can expect. 

In my humble opinion, getting younger, slightly better and beginning to develop some roster continuity and chemistry is about the maximum that can be expected as long as Kidd remains at the wheel. He's just not good enough. SO, I think I've set my expectations at a reasonable level. I'm able not to get too up or too down. 

Having said all that, the team IS better than they've shown, recently. Nobody wants to hear it, but after a considerable amount of roster turnover, their injury situation has prevented any sort of gelling/chemistry in the rotation. That's just a fact, and no amount of effort can overcome it.

[omahen]

Mavs really need to get healthy to get any kind of consistency. Now they are just running in circles. With "half" the tema out Luka is playing 40+ minutes per game getting exhausted and collecting little injuries. So when guys come back, Luka is not at his best anymore. They need to survive until all star break and hopefully that week off will get everyone back for the final push.

[Scott41theMavs]

I would say it’s likely.

Very likely.

[Chicagojk]

Orlando had a tough win last night in Orlando. The sad thing is I have no idea which team comes out with more energy.

Please, take care of business. Orlando is good, but they have also had some rough spots recently. Please, limit the hot take early shot possession threes followed by the lazy defense that leads to easy baskets. Mavs work so hard when they get hot on offense only to give it back quickly by giving away possessions on defense and offense. Every team gives up easy points or goes cold, but mavs get in these ruts way too often.

[Nowitzki Way]

Dropping below 500 is a very real possibility.

And i feel like we'll be hovering around 500 the rest of the season. Again, i think this is a 40-42 win roster.  With our injuries we've actually overachieved.

[Chicagojk]

https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/news/da...hysicality

[SleepingHero]

https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/news/da...hysicality

For Slovenian fans who support Doncic's Mavs but want to see him win a championship, what does the superstar see the team lacking to reach the level necessary to win it all?

Doncic first pointed out that injuries should not be overlooked. Before more information was available about Kyrie Irving spraining his thumb, Doncic highlighted how the team was getting healthy and overcome a major problem of various important players being sidelined, including the team's "Big 3," which he mentioned consisting of him, Irving, and Dereck Lively II.

"I'm not saying people aren't taking into account all of our injury problems this season, but maybe not enough of them,” Doncic told Ekipa24 in an answer translated from Slovenian to English. "It was a serious injury crisis; there was always someone missing, and there was always someone important missing. In my opinion, we are even closer to being in perfect shape and at least approximately healthy now. Especially our 'Big 3,' as we would say here — we have played very little together in matches, even less in training. We still have to get used to it, even though we are already in the second half of the regular season."

Luka is a BIG Lively fan wow.

Mavs are 11-7 with Luka/Kyrie/Lively playing. Thats a 56 win pace!

[Mavs2021]

Luka is a BIG Lively fan wow.

Mavs are 11-7 with Luka/Kyrie/Lively playing. Thats a 56 win pace!

I think your math is a bit off.