As we approach the end of his 2022-2023 season nba, Dallas Mavericks it’s not where I expected it to be in the box Playoffs of the Western Conference.
After falling in the Western Conference Finals last year, expectations that Dallas would pull through were real and reached the NBA Finals for the first time with Luka Doncic. The All-Star signing is supposed to Kyrie Irving would be the missing piece to achieve it.
Instead, the complete opposite happened. On Wednesday, the Mavericks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, adding them fifth loss in last six games. Since having Irving, Dallas has gone 7-9 in 16 games with Kyrie.
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Today Mavericks are 37-40, one game back of Oklahoma City Thunder in contention for the final spot in the Play-In tournament.
Yes, you read that right. Doncic, Irving and the Mavericks would miss the playoffs if the season ended today.
More | NBA Play-In 2023: Format, Qualified Teams, Places, Ranking, Games, Days & When They Start
After the loss to Philadelphia, Irving gave a lengthy answer when asked about Dallas’ playoff hopes and what it was like to be traded midseason for the first time in his career.
“It’s human nature. I am moving to a new work environment and there are many new features. I try to introduce myself to everyone, find out who the guys on the team will trust off the field. Who are our coaches? Who are the administrators? What do they expect from me? The big question, why did they sign me? And, you know, what does the future look like?”Irving told the media, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
“Just with where we are in the season and how the other teams are already, it all seems really chaotic to be honest with you”.
“We’re 37-40 and trying to fight to get into the Play-In game. It’s not the expectations that I think any of us had in the locker room.”.
Will the Dallas Mavericks miss the playoffs?
As things stand, the Mavericks would be the first team out of the Playoffsone game behind the Thunder for 10th place with five games remaining in the Regular Season.
| pos. | Equipment | Record | % wins | chief diff |
| 7. | Timberwolves | 39-38 | .506 | 13 |
| 8. | Lakers | 38-38 | .500 | 13.5 |
| 9. | pelicans | 38-38 | .500 | 13.5 |
| 10. | thunder | 38-39 | .494 | 14 |
| eleven. | Mavericks | 37-40 | .481 | fifteen |
| 12. | Jazz | 36-40 | .474 | 15.5 |
From the Mavericks they have already lost the tiebreaker with the Thunderthey would have to finish one game ahead of Oklahoma City to qualify for the Play-In.
Dallas tied the Regular Season series with the Pelicans, meaning the tiebreaker with them will go down in the division record. New Orleans (10-5) has one more win than the Mavericks (9-7) in this section.
Dallas holds tiebreaker advantage over Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazzbut the Timberwolves lead the tiebreaker against the Mavericks.
According to the FiveThirtyEight playoff prediction model, the Mavericks have only 19% chance of making the playoffs.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
