Things were supposed to look up for the Dallas Mavericks following the return of Anthony Davis, but that did not go their way against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Mavericks lost to the Nets, which was unfortunate for them as they are far out of the playoff picture. After the game, Davis did not hold back when talking about how the Mavericks failed.
Anthony Davis Calls For Mavericks To Do Better
While talking with reporters after the game, Davis talked about what went wrong for the Mavericks, particularly their defense.
“Definitely a tough loss. A wonderful game for us. A game we should have won, but hats off to (the Nets). They shot the ball really, really well. (They) made 20 (threes). We just gotta do a better job on the defensive end,” Davis said, per ClutchPoints’ Joey Mistretta.
Giving up 113 points to the Nets in a loss is as bad as it gets for the Mavericks. At a time when the Mavericks need every game they can to make it back into the playoffs, losing to one of the worst teams in the NBA only gets in the way.
As Davis alluded to, the Nets made 20 threes compared to the Mavericks’ 10, a 30-point swing in a game that was decided by four points. The Nets may have had a hot shooting night, but losing by four shows that the Mavericks should have been able to work past that knowing how much better they’ve been than the Nets.
Mavs Still Looking For Chemistry
As weird as it sounds, the Mavericks are in a transitional phase, trying to mix and match their new pieces. Davis has barely played for them, due to an unfortunate injury that happened on his debut, and they are still waiting for Caleb Martin to make his debut.
So it’s not all that surprising that there will be some growing pains even with the 2024-25 season mostly over at this point. The real question will be what happens for the Mavericks from here. They are only one-and-a-half games above the Phoenix Suns for the No. 9 seed in the conference.
Dallas could certainly make the play-in, but after everything that’s happened this season, it may be in their best interest to simply regroup after the drastic changes they went through mid-season.
Integrating Davis may take some time, but a promising product is on hand. It just might take until next season for the Mavericks to gel.