Preview: Wizards (0-6) at Mavericks (4-4); Mavs look to get back on track vs. winless Wizards
Earl K. Sneed previews the Dallas Mavericks' Wednesday night matchup against the winless Washington Wizards, as the Mavs try to end their own three-game losing skid.
Preview: Wizards (0-6) at Mavericks (4-4); Mavs look to get back on track vs. winless Wizards
DALLAS – After sprinting to a 4-1 start to the season without 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki in the lineup, the Dallas Mavericks have gotten a harsh reality check in their last three games.
Slumping to a three-game losing streak, the short-handed Mavericks have lacked the same sparkle they showcased during the hot start. Monday night was the perfect illustration of that, as the banged-up Minnesota Timberwolves came into the American Airlines Center and controlled 48 minutes of action, handing the Mavs a 90-82 loss to end a 3-0 start at home.
And after shooting a season-worst 36.3 percent in the loss, the Mavs’ players admit something much change quickly if the team is to right the ship before Nowitzki returns to action.
“We’re not as good as we seemed earlier and we’re not as bad as we seem right now,” forward Elton Brand admitted. “Early on, we were playing at a fast pace and getting stops, but it was kind of fool’s gold, because we weren't rebounding and we weren’t doing certain things that you have to do to beat elite teams. We were beating some pretty good teams, but after watching the tape we saw a lot of mistakes and they’re kind of coming back to haunt us right now.”
“It’s not the end of the world, you know. But at the same time, we need to get back to continuing to get better. We can’t stay the same,” sharpshooter O.J. Mayo added. “We beat four teams that we feel we were supposed to beat, and we lost some games we feel we should have won but we let them slip away. So, we’ve gotta just get back to the drawing board and get better.”
But, as a winless Washington Wizards team comes to town that has yet to play with former No. 1 overall pick John Wall (right knee) or center Nene (left foot), the Mavericks (4-4) will have an opportunity to get back on track Wednesday night.
"We've gotta win this next game. It's a must-win game for us, for the simple fact that we did let some ones slip away from us," point guard Darren Collison proclaimed.
In order to do so for a fifth straight time over the Wizards, however, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle says his team will need to show more attention to detail to rebounding and the defensive end of the floor. And with the team’s leading rebounder from a season ago and best perimeter defender, Shawn Marion, slated to miss his fifth straight game with a sprained left MCL, making up for his absence will be a collective team effort.
"I might sound like a broken record. Defense and rebounding. Defense and rebounding. Defense and rebounding. Containing dribble penetration. Defense and rebounding," Carlisle emphatically said following Tuesday’s team practice.
He added: “We’ve gotta personalize our effort, individually and as a team. And right now, we’ve gotta dig ourselves out of this losing streak. The way you do it is you start with a jumpball and you’ve got to dig in on every possession. Simple as that.”
Fortunately for the Mavs, they catch the lowly Wizards (0-6) on the second night of a back-to-back, after Washington shot an NBA single-game low of 29.8 percent in a 92-76 loss at Charlotte on Tuesday.
Note: The Mavs will host the winless Wizards on Wednesday night. The game will air locally at 7:30 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Southwest. Tickets for the game remain available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287 or by visiting Mavs.com.
