Dallas Mavericks Report Card: Games 11-16
Grade: C
It’s never easy to play six games in nine days, but when you play without 4 potential starters the task becomes that much more daunting. Although shorthanded, double-digit losses to the sub .500 Bulls, Raptors, and Rockets are still unacceptable if you are trying to contend for a championship. The Mavericks have been wildly inconsistent and seemingly take on one of two identities: a defensive powerhouse that has sky-is-the-limit potential on offense, or an uninterested group of guys that can’t hit a shot or grab a rebound and Luka. There is no in-between.
You can look at the four losses the Mavericks suffered over this stretch and make the excuse that “they were missing four key players so you can’t hold these losses against them.” While that is true, they beat two teams with the same roster, which begs the question: where does the root of inconsistency lie? The most likely answer is that Dallas is disregarding opponents they deem “not worthy,” leading to them getting burnt by teams they should not lose to. The bottom line is when you have two superstar players healthy and on the court, you simply cannot lose to teams that are out of the playoffs.
Tim Hardaway Jr. shot 0-for-12 in one of the worst shooting games in NBA history against Toronto, two games later shot 8-for-12 from the floor, and then followed that up with a 4-for-13 shooting performance. If Dallas wants to take the next step, Hardaway Jr. has to have a consistent middle ground, and not two extremes. I praised him in the last report card, but he gets no love from me this time.
With all of that being said, you should not overreact too much because I have faith that the Mavericks will figure it out when everyone is available to play. It was a tough stretch of games with two great wins, and the Mavericks maintain a passing grade… barely.
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