The Dallas Mavericks suffer another loss in Philadelphia as the competition celebrates victories. Kyrie Irving then speaks very openly about his trade and the Mavs’ prospects in the final sprint.
“It’s looking like a clusterfuck right now, if we’re being honest,” Irving said after the 108-116 loss in Philadelphia. The gap to OKC has grown to one game again, the Thunder also hold the tiebreaker over Dallas. It seems realistic that the Mavs will need four wins from their last five games to even have a chance at the postseason.
“Realistically, it was to be expected that this would be a process,” Irving said. “It’s a long-term project and bigger than just one person. You don’t become a championship team overnight,” said the guard, who could leave the team again as a free agent in the summer. In 17 games so far, Irving has put up 26.1 points and 5.9 rebounds at 50 percent from the field and 39 percent from the three-point line for Dallas.
“It’s also not what we expected when they traded for me,” Irving stated. “I had to adapt and I did that. Now we have to live with the results, whether we make it or not. (…) I’m glad I was given the opportunity here and it’s really great here, if you disregard the defeats.” But Irving also stated that the Mavs no longer hold their destiny in their own hands and are dependent on slip-ups from the competition.
Luka Doncic struck a similar chord, but it sounded more like a perseverance slogan. “We still have chances. We shouldn’t give up now.” It won’t get any easier, however, at the weekend there will be a back-to-back in Miami and finally in Atlanta, both teams are still fighting for a good starting position in the east.
