The NBA season is 20% over and the Dallas Mavericks are dead last in the standings. This isn’t the season that anyone envisioned for the team but it’s how things have shaken out. It’s not anyone’s fault in particular, though. A string of injuries, including one sidelining Dirk Nowitzki for all but five games, is to blame. However, rather than throwing in the towel and hanging their heads, the Mavs are still fighting.
“I’m encouraged by the competitive part of this,” Carlisle said of his team’s effort after a recent loss to the San Antonio Spurs. “Our guys have been fighting hard. We had a very bad game in Cleveland where we didn’t compete at a very good level. A lot of these other games, we’re fighting hard. The other night we were down six with eight [minutes] to go and came back and found a way to win it. Everybody is grinding and that’s what we’ve got to keep doing.”
Against the Spurs, Dallas built a 13-point lead before squandering it in the fourth quarter. Ceding the lead, however, was the result of yet another injury as Seth Curry was forced to leave the game with a right knee sprain. That left the Mavs with undrafted rookie Jonathan Gibson as their only available point guard.
The injury to Curry was just the latest blow to the team. Nowitzki and J.J. Barea remain out, nursing a sore Achilles and left calf muscle tear, respectively. And while the most optimistic outlook had Nowitzki returning next week, that likely won't be the case. The team is playing it safe and he's out indefinitely.
“We’ haven’t had a reason to rush him back,” Mark Cuban said of Nowitzki’s pending return. “With other guys being hurt, you don’t need him to be the first guy back. You want to make sure he comes back for good. We thought we’d given him enough time but obviously that wasn’t the case.”
Luckily for the Mavs, guys are starting to get healthy. Deron Williams has returned to action but is on minute restrictions. Dallas was also blessed with the presence of Devin Harris, who had missed the entire season, against the Spurs. Like Williams, his playing time is restricted.
Even still, the team struggles to find wins. Yet, the players continue to echo what Carlisle said despite the hardships. They’re finding reasons to play hard.
“Every possession we’re fighting for each other and it’s fun playing basketball like that,” Wesley Matthews said. “It’s fun playing basketball again. Obviously, I don’t do the moral victory stuff but this is who we’re supposed to be. It’s a game of inches.”
And Matthews is right. For the most part, the Mavericks have kept games close this season. Dallas, as a team, has a Plus/Minus of – 8.8. That’s tied with the Brooklyn Nets for second worst in the league. Yet, that’s a statistic that could easily improve once the team returns to full strength, especially considering that Nowitzki averages 12.2 points (which should improve by a fair margin if and when he's truly healthy) and Barea gives them another 16.3.
Regardless of the tanking talk that has surrounded this team, the Mavericks really haven’t been blown out all that often. Only seven of their losses have been by more than 10 points. And, for the most part, that’s because the team has played above-average defense. So, if the Mavericks are tanking they’re doing their best to disguise it.
Obviously, these few hopeful positives can resemble lipstick on a pig. There’s no hiding the team’s record. And with a fifth of the season over, it might be easier to look towards this summer’s draft (Markelle Fultz anyone?) rather than trying to improve now. Yet, the players continue to go out each night and give their all.
“Our fight is still there,” Devin Harris said. “Guys are playing their butts off. And one of these days our luck is going to change. If we continue to fight this way, we’ll win some of these games.”
In spite of everything, the Mavericks don’t sound like a team that’s willing to give up.
You can follow Doyle Rader on Twitter at @TheKobeBeef
