The Dallas Mavericks are coming off a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and sit at 5-15 on the season, although they still think they have a chance at making the postseason.
When did it happen for you? Maybe it was when Luka Doncic hurt his calf last season. Maybe it was when he was traded away to the Los Angeles Lakers. Maybe it was after that, when both Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving got hurt.
At some point, I know you lost faith in the Dallas Mavericks. They haven't really given fans a reason to tune it, much less be excited for the season.
The only people who still believe the Mavericks can compete are the Mavericks themselves, and even they sound burned out.
Dallas enjoyed the return of Anthony Davis on Friday night, dropping a 129-119 loss to the Lakers. Davis added 12 points and three blocks, but it's clear that he's ramping up to return to form.
He might be the only player who still believes in the team.
"We're still playing fun basketball, we're trying, we're competing, we're playing for each other," Davis summed up after his return.
Despite their 5-15 record, the Mavericks haven't lost faith yet.
"Remember when Brooklyn started out 5-20 and ended up a four seed?" Davis reflected. “I’m not saying we’re comparing ourselves to that, not going to start out 5-20. But we just keep competing."
The 2022-23 season Brooklyn Nets that Davis is referencing actually started 13-12 over their first 25 games, and boasted both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving before finishing as the sixth seed. No team has ever gotten off to as slow a start as the Mavericks and still made the playoffs.
Dallas is three games back from the final play-in tournament spot and seven spots behind the sixth-place Phoenix Suns.
Davis has missed most of the season with injury, Irving is yet to make his debut, Thompson has aged out of his prime, and Flagg, for lack of a better term, has been largely disappointing.
Keep in mind, the Mavericks entered this season with title hopes, or were at least expected to make the playoffs. Between Davis, Irving, Klay Thompson, Cooper Flagg, and some high-level supporting players, Dallas was expected to be well above .500, not second-worst in the Western Conference.
Insteads, the team seems on the verge of a teardown and rebuild.
Fans can feel vindicated after Nico Harrison was fired, there is hope for the future with Flagg, but the present that fans were promised was clearly a lie, and Dallas is stuck playing catch-up in a loaded Western Conference.