Dallas Mavericks Return Home After A Disappointing 5-Game Roadtrip

The Dallas Mavericks completed a five-game road trip through the Western Conference, the first of three such trips this season. It didn’t start on a good note, as Dallas fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder and ended even worse, with the Mavericks getting blown out by the Portland Trail Blazers twice.

In all, the Mavericks went 1-4 on the trip with losses to the Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers and Blazers. Their only win came in a double-overtime thriller against LeBron James and the reeling Los Angeles Lakers. If the Mavericks were hoping to find some positives on the trip, they’re few and far between.

“We thought this was going to be a good road trip for us to be able to improve our road record,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said after falling to the Blazers Sunday night, 140-123. “Unfortunately, we ran into some teams that were playing well.”

Entering the road trip, there was hope that Dallas could get either Dorian Finney-Smith or Josh Green back into the rotation. For weeks, both have been sidelined with injuries—a right adductor strain for Finney-Smith and a right elbow sprain for Green. Neither played; however, Green may return to action this week.

Getting one or both of them back would be a boon for the Mavericks’ lowly defense. Dallas’ defense ranks twenty-fifth in the league, with a defensive rating of 114.7. During the five-game road trip, the team posted a defensive rating of 124.3, which ranks second to last over the last five games for every team.

“Just really bad defense, you know,” Luka Doncic said after dropping the first game to the Blazers, which the Mavericks lost 136-119. “We were just letting them pass by. It was a pretty bad defensive night.”

Doncic was undoubtedly a bright spot for the team during its road trip. He hit the game-winner in double-overtime against the Lakers while notching another 35-point triple-double. Doncic averaged 31 points, 10.3 rebounds, 10 assists, and 1.3 steals in three games.

He didn’t play against the Thunder or in the second game against the Blazers. They were both on the second night of a back-to-back. He has sat out most of these games this season. Dallas has lost every game he’s sat.

Another bright spot, especially Sunday night, was rookie Jaden Hardy getting some playing time. He appeared in all five games and averaged 17.3 minutes per night to go along with 9.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists. Hardy had the best game of his short career in the second game against the Blazers. He scored 25 points, a new career-high, in 27 minutes off the bench.

“It felt good just to be out there and help contribute to the team,” Hardy said. “I just wanted to get out there, and once I heard my name called just bring energy and contribute any way I could. Whether that was scoring the ball, playmaking or playing defense, getting back and having energy.”

The Mavericks will need Hardy’s energy and Doncic’s brilliance as they return to Dallas for a four-game homestand. They’ll face the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Clippers and Washington Wizards in the span of a week.

Dallas is a much better home team than they are on the road. They are 16-6 at the American Airlines Center and 8-15 away from it. Getting key rotation players back and notching a few wins at home, especially if they can pull off upsets against the Heat and Clippers, could make the team’s poor road trip a distant memory.