The Dallas Mavericks have tumbled into a bit of a tailspin in the past week, and it has the on-court face of the Mavericks reaching for answers.
Speaking with reporters after the Dallas Mavericks' 115-110 road loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, Dirk Nowitzki expressed some distress over the Mavs' less-than stellar defensive effort as of late--
“You’re always worried when you lose three games in a row with 20 left and the playoff standings the way that they are,” Nowitzki stated. “So, yeah, are we worried? Sure. Are we going to do anything about it? We’ll see this weekend.”
The Dallas Mavericks remain 1 1/2 games up on the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth and final playoff spot, but a three-game losing streak full of troublesome moments has raised some doubts about how the Mavericks would stack up against the West's elite when the NBA Playoffs roll around.
Wednesday's most trouble number was 41--the number of points that the Dallas Mavericks gave up to a floundering Denver Nuggets squad in the first quarter.
Dirk Nowitzki believes he has a beat on what is causing the Dallas Mavericks woes as of late: “I’ve been saying all along, if we don’t play hard, we can get torched by anybody."
“We’ve got to compete on defense."
The Dallas Mavericks head home to face other potential Western Conference playoff team in the Portland Trail Blazers.