WTF is Wrong with the Mavs??

Luca Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks were a pleasant surprise to the NBA last season. Luca showed the world he is the most ready to take the “best player” torch from LeBron in a few years. Or whenever LeBron turns 60 cause that guy’s a robot. Luca nearly averaged a triple double in just his second year in the league and the Mavericks made it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16. Their offense finished first in the league and their offensive net rating of 116.7 ranked amongst the best of all time. So what the hell is wrong with Dallas this year? The simple answer is that J.J. Barea isn’t on the team anymore. The actual answer is just stinky play.

(Ryan Michalesko/The Dallas Morning News)

The Mavs’ historic offense from last year currently ranks 20th out of 30 teams. They’re currently on a 6 game losing streak to teams like the Suns, twice, the Jazz, twice, and the Rockets. Their defense, while ranked slightly better than their offense at 18th, couldn’t guard a snowman during this recent run. Dallas is giving up an average of about 118 points per game with none of them going into overtime. Their number 2 star, Kristaps Porzingis, has only played 10 of the 20 games so far this season. Their key offseason acquisition, Josh Richardson, has been awful. Richardson, who was brought in for his 3 point and defensive abilities, is shooting a terrible 28% from deep on 5 attempts per game. He is shooting worse from three than both Ball brothers, Marcus Smart, and Blake Griffin. And to make matters even worse, the guy they traded for Richardson, Seth Curry, is 3rd in the league in 3 point percentage at 50% on 5 attempts a night. To play devil’s advocate, Dallas has started with a tough schedule, but everyone expected them to take a leap this year. They have been consistently losing games to teams people thought they could beat. There is still time in the season as Porzingis has barely played, but if Dallas is going to turn it around they need to start now. The Mavs currently sit at 8-13 and 13th place in the West.