The Dallas Mavericks are set to take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday at 7 p.m. as the team looks to bounce back from a disappointing start to the 2025-26 regular season.
Dallas has lost three straight games to the New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets, and Detroit Pistons, and now sits in last place in the Western Conference despite entering the year as expected championship contenders.
The biggest issue for the Mavericks to overcome as they open the season has been on the offensive side of the court, as Dallas ranks last in offensive rating with an overall score of just 103.2.
Notably, the Mavericks finished the 2024-25 season with an offensive rating of 113.7, representing a significant decline from the previous year.
For Mavericks rookie forward Cooper Flagg, this type of consistent losing is a new experience, as he says this is already the “most” he has ever lost in a single season.
“So it’s obviously a lot different. You just have to adapt to playing a lot more games and get used to that,” he said, per The NBA. “But I wouldn’t say anybody’s happy. Guys are obviously trying to stay level-headed. We got a lot more games to go. But speaking personally, it’s not fun to just keep losing games. Hopefully we can start making steps in the right direction.”
Mavericks guard Max Christie provided a similar outlook on the early-season performance, saying that there is “definitely a sense of frustration” in the locker room and “there’d be an issue” if anyone were satisfied with the early performances.
“We’re upset, we’re frustrated. We got to do better. We got to figure it out. This is a slow start and I don’t think any of us expected to be here. This is going to be a good character-building stint. But none of us are happy where we’re at right now, for sure,” he added, per The NBA.
Luckily, Dallas does have room to improve, given the defensive success the team has displayed early in the season.
Through eight games, the Mavericks rank fifth in the NBA with a defensive rating of 110, which is slightly better than the 115 defensive rating they secured last season.
This defensive performance should help the Mavericks turn wins into losses once the team starts shooting well, with the team still having a long road ahead for the remainder of the year.
Although Dallas is just 2-6 on the season, this team still has room to make a run to the postseason.
The Mavericks will have another 74 games remaining in the season with time to make up deficits in the standings, though Dallas trails by only one full game for a spot in the NBA Play-In tournament.
The Mavericks will look to get back on track tonight against the Pelicans, with the team then having matchups against the Washington Wizards on Saturday and the Milwaukee Bucks next week.