The Dallas Mavericks suffered a 116-108 defeat in their last game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
The Mavs (37-40) opened Wednesday in 11th place, tied with the No. 10 Oklahoma City Thunder, who claimed the 2-1 head-to-head tiebreaker. The Los Angeles Lakers were just a half-game up of the ninth-place team.
After blowing a 12-point advantage in Philadelphia, Dallas is now one game behind the 7-10 play-in seeds with five games to go, and it may get worse if tiebreakers come into play.
The Mavs, who reached the NBA Finals last season, are now in a dogfight to make the NBA's play-in round.
Mavs superstar Kyrie Irving acknowledges that the Mavs are in danger of not making it to the playoffs.
"Where we are in the season and where other teams are positioned already, it kind of looks like, you know, a bit of a clusterf-- right now, to be honest with you," Kyrie Irving stated, per Dallas Morning News.
He added: "We're 37-40 and trying to fight to get in the play-in game, and it's not the expectations I think any of us had."
However, his fellow superstar Luka Doncic keeps a positive outlook, per ClutchPoints.
"We still have chances," Doncic told sports journalists after their Mavs' recent defeat. "We shouldn't give up yet."
Luka Doncic after Mavs’ loss to Sixers: “We still have chances, so we shouldn’t give up yet.”
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) March 30, 2023
Mavs NBA Playoffs Chances Still Alive
Since Feb. 11, five days following their historic trade pairing became official, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have lost four of their past five games and 14 of their last 20.
Despite the high level of competition in the West, the Dallas Mavericks are still alive for a playoff spot, per SportsKeeda. There are still a few games remaining in the regular season, but time is running out.
The Mavs next four games will include opponents that are presently in playoff or play-in status and still vying to maximize seeding, including a Saturday-Sunday in Miami and Atlanta, as well as a pair of home games against Sacramento and Chicago on April 5 and 7.
The Mavs final regular-season matchup versus San Antonio on April 9 should benefit them.
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