Mavericks: Season-Defining Stretch Set To Begin
The Dallas Mavericks literally have zero room for error as the most telling portion of the 2015-16 schedule begins Friday against Golden State.
It’s true that the month of January was a brutal month for the Dallas Mavericks. A team that had surpassed the expectations of many outside the organization suddenly had more and more difficulties winning games. Certainly the number of back-to-backs against good teams was a problem, but the first signs of weakness started to show as the new year began.
The month of March isn’t unfolding much better, the Mavericks sitting at just 2-6 while also having endured a season-worst five-game losing streak.
Up next: Defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Enough said.
Forget the cushy stretch of six-straight home games in February. The recent shift to ‘small ball’ by head coach Rick Carlisle is an afterthought. More playing time for youngsters like Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson seem meaningless.
With the Warriors coming to town for a Friday night showdown at American Airlines Center, there’s no more critical face-off than this particular game. Worse yet, at least for the Mavericks, is the fact that they’ll take on the Dubs again next Friday at Oracle Arena in Oakland, the ancient arena where Golden State has yet to lose a game this season.
In other words, if you’re going to give yourself a chance to split with this Bay Area juggernaut, now is the time to do it, especially with Stephen Curry in the lineup.
Sandwiched in between these two coming games against the Warriors is two straight against the sixth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, a team that Dallas only trails by a half game heading into the weekend. It’s quite possible that the home-and-away between the Trail Blazers on March 20th and 23rd will determine the fate of the Mavericks this season.
While a somewhat dramatic shift to the starting lineup broke that five-game skid earlier this month, the absence of Zaza Pachulia is going to bring forth benefits and weaknesses, depending on the opponent. It would seem like going pretty small against the Warriors will be the way to go. Playing Dirk Nowitzki at center is more than unconventional, but you can see that the Mavericks can create more space on offense while operating at a quicker pace than they do with a true center in the lineup.
It’s anybody’s guess as to how the Mavericks will close the season, but chances are good that they back into the postseason should they qualify. Currently tied for the seventh seed with the Houston Rockets, there’s no doubt that Dallas’ playoff hopes are beginning to look rather desperate, especially given the opponents they still have to face. There’s still another game against the Rockets, the Memphis Grizzlies and also DeAndre Jordan and the Los Angeles Clippers.
As if these foes weren’t enough to worry about, there’s a regular season finale on March 13th against the San Antonio Spurs, the second seed in the Western Conference who has simply dominated Dallas this season.
No, there’s no easy way into the postseason for the Mavericks, and even if they get there it’s a virtual certainty that this team is wiped out in no more than four or five games – the way it’s looking, the Mavs would draw the Warriors in the first round. Grabbing the seventh seed would earn nothing more than a first-round meeting with the Spurs.
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If the Mavericks are able to find new capabilities with their current roster, the next couple of weeks will show everybody what those new found abilities are. Knowing that there’s still three games remaining on the schedule against either of Dallas’ most likely first round opponents, it’s a good time to throw everything possible into the mix in order to both gain some confidence and also put together a template that might get the Mavericks past the first round.
Yeah, it’s a long shot, but what else can these 2015-16 Mavs do at this point?