Dallas Mavericks: Too soon to hit the panic button?

After starting the month of November 3-0, the Dallas Mavericks have hit reality, going 2-3 in their last five games. Key loses include the Oklahoma City Thunder and last-place Houston Rockets.

However, even with the recent struggles, Dallas has been managed to hold a float the Western Conference, as the Mavs remain half a game ahead of the eight place spot and two game or less behind the first place slot.

With a packed conference, should the Mavs be worried? Is it too soon to hit the panic button?

 Dallas has a lot of issues they must overcome if they want to take that next step.

Should the Dallas Mavericks be worried? Honestly it is too early to tell, but Dallas has a lot of loopholes they must overcome.

Here are things holding the Dallas Mavericks back from moving forward.

1. An Overworked Luka Doncic

So far this season, Doncic has been on a tear. He is averaging 34.4 points per game, a league high. Most games he has averaged 30 plus points or more. However during the month of November, he hit a two game snag where his numbers dipped for a small period of time.

On a back to back night between November 9th and 10th, Dallas fell to Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic. In those losses, Doncic averaged 23 points per game, while shooting 34.5 percent from the field. From the three-point line, his number dropped even more as he knocked down just 27.8 percent of his attempts.

After those two games though, Doncic’s pace picked up once again, as he scored 42 and 35 points, while shooting above 50% percent.

For the season, he is averaging 37.2 minutes. Could an exhausted star hurt the team again? It is hard to tell, but Dallas will need someone help pick up his workload.

2. The Team’s Shooting Woes

Aside from Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie, other players on the team have struggled to hit their shooting mark. For example. over the past three game guard Reggie Bullock has shot 5-19 from the field. From the three, his numbers struggled even more, as he knocked down 4-18 attempted shots.

However, Bullock hasn’t been the only Mav struggling as Tim Hardaway Jr. has failed to regain his old form. The former third leading scorer has been inconsistent from the beyond the arc, going 8-24 on attempted threes.

Against the Houston Rockets Wednesday,  Dallas shooting showed its true colors  as the team made 21.8 percent of their attempted threes. For the game, the Mavs made 30.4 percent of their shots from the field.

So what’s the issue? Is the team too reliant on Luka or have other players failed to step up when needed?

Either way, Dallas must get the most out of their players if they hope to be a dominant team in the West.

3. Coach’s Game Plan

Coach Jason Kidd had an excellent 2021-2022 season leading the team to the Western Conference finals for the first since 2011. However so far this season, he has struggled to win fans over. In the final minutes of games, he has struggled to call timeouts when need, and failed to use Christian Wood  at crucial times.

One big issue has been the team’s ability to hold onto large leads. On Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, the team blew a 22 point lead, only to comeback and win by by two. This has been a huge issue this season.

If the team can find a way to stay on track without falling behind, then they can easily compete with anyone in the Conference.

So, while the season is young, Dallas has many struggles they must overcome. The Mavs will have their work cut out for them the next couple days, as their next three games include back to back matchups against the Denver Nuggets, and an away game against the Boston Celtics. ‘

Sink or swim will be the Dallas Mavericks new motto in the upcoming days.