The Dallas Mavericks have no excuse for that loss
It’s true the Mavericks are missing four rotation guys. It’s likely smart in a long season to rest Kristaps Porzingis with Dallas playing their fifth game in seven nights. Dallas played last night on the road. The start of this season has been unkind at times to the Dallas Mavericks, there’s no doubt about that.
But they have no excuse for their collective effort. The Houston Rockets experienced a season shifting trade recently. Against Dallas, they were missing three rotation players, two of which are arguably their best players in Victor Oladipo and Christian Wood. They’ve played five games in the last eight nights. They, too, played last night on the road.
And yet, their entire team played hard from the opening tip. Dallas, as a team, often played like a team taking a nap. It was gross to watch.
Tim Hardaway is too important to play that badly
It’s one thing for Hardaway to start the game 0-for-6, which he did, but where he crushed Dallas was everywhere else. The Rockets bullied him on the boards, he was tremendously unaware on defense, and he also couldn’t hit a shot for most of the game. He’s too valuable to be that inconsequential or ineffective.
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