With the Dallas Mavericks season over, there are reports that the team is about to shut down its two biggest stars. The team reportedly will shut Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving down for the rest of the season which is essentially this week.
“I’m told the organization is seriously considering the possibility of shutting down those guys,” Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Monday.
The Mavericks currently sit in 11th place in the Western Conference, just one game back of the final spot in the play-in tournament. However, Oklahoma City Thunder sits at No. 10 with the tie-breaker over Dallas, so basically, the season is almost over for them.
“I think the Mavericks have to seriously look at whether you shut down Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving these last 3 games of the regular season” 😬@ShamsCharania on the #Mavs mindset going into the final 3 games#RunItBack #MFFL pic.twitter.com/IPqgwS2YHm
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) April 3, 2023
The Mavs are 1-7 in their last eight games, their latest loss coming in overtime against the Miami Heat. And their playoff chances are out of their control.
It would take a miracle now for the Mavericks to even make the NBA play-in game.
So what’s the plan? According to Charania, shut the superstars down and just get ready for next year.
“They have a top-10 protected pick. So being out of the play-in race, it behooves them not to try to keep their pick,” he said.
The biggest question is: Does Kyrie Irving want to come back to Dallas? The organization may want to build around him and Luka Dončić, however, everyone knows that Irving really wants to be back out in LA and play for the Lakers.
But at this juncture, are the Lakers winning to sacrifice their chemistry for Kyrie? That may all depend on how they do in the playoffs.
