Dallas Mavericks Lose To Another Injury-Ravaged Opponent

The Dallas Mavericks can’t help themselves. The Mavericks fell flat despite playing an undermanned Toronto Raptors team missing several key players due to injury. They allowed the Raptors to capture the momentum and played from behind for much of the game.

It’s a story that’s played out time and again this season for the Mavericks. And once again, Dallas allowed itself to be bested by a team that showed more fight and grit despite missing Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, Precious Achiuwa and Otto Porter Jr., losing to Toronto, 105-100.

“We just gotta stay together,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told reporters after the game. “The group in that locker room—they all play hard; they all want to play. You’re not guaranteed wins; you’ve got to play to get wins. So, we’ve got to stay together.

“A lot of us have been through this last year. We’re not in a panic here. We’ve got to start continuing to be consistent on both ends of the ball if you want to have success in this league.”

Kidd is right about last year. The Mavericks started the 2021-22 season poorly. They’ve almost exactly replicated last season’s start—poor shooting combined with inconsistencies on both ends—again this year.

The Mavericks didn’t figure things out until well after Christmas last year. Even though the Holiday season is here, that seems like a long time for Dallas to continue struggling. Compounding matters are all the losses to teams missing their best players.

Toronto is just the latest depleted roster to top Dallas. The Mavericks have also dropped games to the Denver Nuggets without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon; the Washington Wizards without Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis; the Orlando Magic without Paolo Banchero and the New Orleans Pelicans without Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

“Teams can play basketball, even if their best player is out,” Mavericks center Maxi Kleber said. “So, a lot of credit to Toronto. They have really good players, but it’s definitely on us.

“We’ve got to step up with the right mindset and play the right way, especially when teams have one of their stars out. A lot of times, they play a lot more physical, harder and you’ve got to match the energy.”

Dallas now sits at .500 with a record of 9-9. They are currently outside of play-in seeding, looking in at the time of this writing. There’s still a lot of season left to play, but the Mavericks are a team heading in the wrong direction. They need to find some momentum if they hope to rebound.