The Dallas Mavericks find themselves in a tailspin.
Entering Thursday’s road game against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Mavericks have dropped eight straight and 18 of their past 20, including Tuesday’s 124-112 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
But Dallas coach Jason Kidd isn’t overly concerned. He understands during a rebuilding process, difficult stretches like the one the Mavericks are experiencing are possible. And he knows grooming a projected star like Cooper Flagg involves some growing pains as well.
Flagg, the team’s first-round pick out of Duke, has spent the season playing a combination of point guard and wing. Kidd moved Flagg to point guard early in the season and watched the decision attract its share of critics.
“People who are critical never played,” Kidd said. “I’ve seen it. I saw it in Milwaukee (with Kidd’s use of Giannis Antetokounmpo). People might have been critical there, too. If you’re challenging or trying to change or help someone become successful, there are going to be critics. You need critics because critics are not always right. That’s just the nature of the beast.
“But it’s basketball. There are no more positions. What’s your skill set? Can you handle it? If you can handle it, you can play. KD (Kevin Durant) got the ball early in his career (with Seattle). Was P. J. Carlesimo (Durant’s coach at the time) criticized for it? Yeah, maybe. But it worked out.”
Flagg will benefit from the experience, too, Kidd promises.
“There is no limit on this young man,” Kidd said. “Time and strength. Once he gets those two, it’s over.”
Flagg has fought through some injuries recently and said his focus is on “playing basketball and trying to lock in on defense.”
He’s also trying to knock off some last-season rust caused by the injury layoff.
“I was in a great rhythm when I got hurt,” Flagg said. “Now it’s about finding my rhythm and getting my (shooting) touch back.”
Like Dallas, Memphis is in a late-season slump.
The Grizzlies lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 139-129 Tuesday night for their fifth-consecutive defeat. Memphis had dropped 12 of its past 15. In the loss to the 76ers, the Grizzlies had only 10 players available because of a combination of injuries and load management issues. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Walter Clayton Jr. were among eight players who missed the game.
Memphis was led by Ty Jerome, who spent the first half of the season sidelined and recovering from injury. He paced the Grizzlies with 26 points against the 76ers before being ejected in the final two minutes after drawing technical fouls.
Rookie Cedric Coward has been impressive since returning from a knee injury suffered just before the All-Star break. He finished with 13 points and a career-high-tying 16 rebounds against Philadelphia.
If there was something Memphis coach Tuomas Iisalo took away from the game, it was the aggressiveness on the offensive boards his team displayed.
“One thing I think we didn’t do really well (against 76ers), we weren’t very disruptive defensively,” Iisalo said.” We didn’t pick up enough. We didn’t get enough friction in the backcourt. We only forced 10 turnovers. But I do think we did a great job on the offensive boards with a very small squad.”
The Grizzlies have won all three prior matchups this season and have held Dallas under 106 points in all three contests.
