It’s so easy to put the Dallas Mavericks’ struggles on Kyrie Irving. Irresistible, even.
The Mavericks have gone from a teetering fourth in the West all the way to 11th — a Demon Drop out of the play-in picture since acquiring Irving from Brooklyn and pairing him with Luka Donu010diu0107.
But the Mavericks’ slide goes far beyond whatever one thinks of Irving, and probably doesn’t include him, despite the 3-7 mark in the games Irving has played.
The team that was a Western Conference finalist last spring got there with a clear ethos: Identify the weak spot and squeeze relentlessly.