By DaVince “Dino” Wright
No one saw the collapse of the Dallas Mavericks! I saw it coming from a mile away. Last Friday, I went over to my sister’s and brother-in-law’s house to play dominoes and watch the Mavericks. While sitting at the domino table surrounded by Mavs fans there were so many mixed emotions about the team like, who isn’t playing, the defense and the shot clock not being long enough to get into any offensive set. My brother-in-law opens his signature Mountain Dew soda and says, “Man, the Mavericks need to get rid of Jason Kidd!” That took the wind out of the room. “Hey dude! Watch your mouth!” my Uncle Curtis shared with the room. Jason Kidd is a good coach but has allowed these extremely rich players to run the team. The Mavericks had hung around the 5th spot all season but in the last 3 weeks they’ve dropped to the 11th spot in the Western Conference. Dallas is in a bad place right now. The team has concentrated more on getting Luka the MVP trophy instead of making the playoffs and trying to win a championship. Dallas has struggled and there’s no way that this team make it to the play-in scene this season. Rebounding, defense and player management has been the downfall for this team. Let’s take a look at the last handful of games this season.
4/2 – 5:00 p.m. – Dallas Mavericks vs Atlanta Hawks – TV: NBA TV
Dallas has a chance of stopping their 2-game losing skid on the road in Atlanta. Both teams are healthy and Dallas will need to win the last games to make the play-in scenario to get into the playoffs. This game will be a great start of going down that path. I’m taking Dallas by 4! I still believe. Final Score: Mavericks 120 – Hawks 116
4/5 – 7:30 p.m. – Sacramento Kings vs Dallas Mavericks – TV: Bally Sports Southwest
The Kings are hot and heading to the playoffs under head coach Mike Brown. PG De’Aaron Fox has been solid this year. He’s averaging 25.1 points a game and Dallas struggles with active point guards. The Mavericks defense is null-and-void against point guards that can score. I’m taking the Kings to win this one by 8! Final Score: Kings 101 – Mavericks 93
4/7 – 7:30 p.m. – Chicago Bulls vs Dallas Mavericks – TV: Bally Sports Southwest
Dallas needs to win every game and some other teams to lose just to get the chance of making it to the playoffs. Chicago is in the same boat. Dallas has a chance to salvage this season by getting some much-needed wins. Dallas is favored by 7 points. I’m going to take that and go with the Mavericks in this one. Dallas should play the bench and allow these guys to get some playing time. Final Score: Bulls 93 – Mavericks 100
4/9 – 2:30 p.m. – San Antonio Spurs vs Dallas Mavericks – TV: Bally Sports Southwest
I’ll be in attendance at the AAC for this game. I lived in San Antonio for a few years and I have close friends that still live there. This game might not mean much to anyone but to us it’s huge. Dallas is favored to win this one going away. Both teams have struggled this season, but the Spurs-Mavericks game is big between the two cities. No worries… the Rockets are struggling too. I’m taking Dallas by 10! It would be awesome to get a win in the last game of season! Final Score: Spurs 112 – Mavericks 122
