The Dallas Mavericks, missing Kyrie Irving all season and recently without Anthony Davis as he rehabs, have struggled through the first nine games of the NBA season.
On Friday night, the Mavericks fell 118-104 to the Memphis Grizzlies, dropping to 2-7 on the season. They’ll be back in action on Saturday against the Washington Wizards.
Dallas currently sits last in the Western Conference and has struggled to find offensive rhythm, lacking a true point guard to run the offense — a problem that’s been evident on the court.
After the loss to the Grizzlies, NBA on Prime analyst and Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki didn’t hold back on the team’s current struggles.
“I feel bad for my Mavs fans,” Nowitzki said. “This has been a disastrous start… obviously there’s a hole at point guard and the playmaking position… so there’s a hole at shot creation, there’s a hole at shot-making. We said coming into the season that health is big for them.
“Obviously, Kyrie is out for a couple more months, and you need AD healthy, Lively getting healthy, and both of those guys have already been out for a while… so it’s just been a disastrous start. They’re practically on pace to have a record bad start on offense… nobody can make shots. It’s been tough to watch.”
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The Mavericks currently sit dead last in offensive rating at 103.2 and rank 29th in three other key offensive categories, struggling to find any rhythm outside of a promising start from No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.
With Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and Dereck Lively sidelined, Dallas has been relying on a starting five of Flagg, PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, D’Angelo Russell, and Max Christie. So far, the production has been inconsistent and hasn’t come close to meeting expectations.
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