Dallas Mavericks shouldn’t concern themselves with playoffs
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban can’t decide whether to push for the playoffs or let off, but he has a simple solution in front of him.
In an article published in the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told reporters, “I know, half the fans want us to go for the playoffs, half the fans want us to go for a [high] draft pick.” He added, “I wish I had a definitive answer for everybody. Honestly, I go back and forth every game.”
The Mavs snapped their three game winning streak Thursday night at the hands of the Miami Heat. The loss drops them to a record of 14-28 with 40 games remaining in the season. Unless they turn around and go 27-13 to finish the season, they’ll finish below .500 for the first time in the past 16 seasons. But as the old saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.”
Of course, that’s a lot easier said than done. Cuban is a highly-motivated and competitive businessman. By nature, he doesn’t go down without a fight. For that reason, it’s understandable that he’d want to keep this streak alive.
There’s also the thought that, “If the Mavericks could somehow just grab even a sixth or seventh seed, there’s no telling what could happen.” But frankly, that should be the furthest thing from his mind.
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An aging Dirk
As it’s been discussed before, forward Dirk Nowitzki is not getting any younger. He’s also told Cuban he intends to remain in Dallas, but that’s only if the team stays competitive.
With a .333 winning percentage over halfway through the season though, that ship has sailed. Their chances are slim to none to make the playoffs. It’s time to rebuild.
While Dirk has shown some glimmers of his prime in the past few days, he deserves better than this. If he can go win himself a second title with another team, he should have that opportunity. Seeing him leave would be a very sad day, but understandable.
What might happen in the playoffs
On paper, another playoff appearance looks good. It keeps some excitement going for another week or two, and brings a quality opponent into the American Airlines Center for a couple of games. But we also have to look at the reality of the situation.
If Dallas squeaks into the tournament, they’re likely to face the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs or Houston Rockets. Any of those three teams stands to mop the floor with the Mavericks. It really wouldn’t look good and at best, they’d be stuck with no better than the 15th pick. Would that really be worth it?
The NBA Draft Lottery
If the Mavericks end up missing out on the playoffs, it could work out really well. They could find themselves with a really good draft pick somewhere between first and 14th. At this point, this sounds like a far better option.
They already have 24 year-old forward Harrison Barnes in place to build the team around. He’s already playing his fifth year in the league and has an NBA Championship to his name. Bringing in a high draft pick would give them two young, athletic stars as a starting point and plenty of time to build up again.
Next: Are the Mavericks really playoff bound?
It’s not an easy decision by any means, but sometimes the writing is already on the wall. If the Mavs can put away the thought of the playoffs, just play solid ball and work on overall improvement, everything will fall into place. It would just help things a lot more if that fall landed them a top draft pick.