Kyrie Irving Calls NBA Playoff Picture a 'Clusterf--k' as Mavs Drop Outside Play-in
All-Star guard Kyrie Irving provided a fitting description of the NBA's Western Conference playoff race following the Dallas Mavericks' 116-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Irving acknowledged the Mavs' precarious position in the standings and how tight the competition is while speaking to reporters:
"I think that now, again, just where we are in the season, and where other teams are positioned already, it kind of looks like a bit of a clusterf--k, to be honest with you. Because we're 37-40, and we're trying to fight to get into the play-in game. It's not the expectations I don't think any of us had in that locker room."
In losing for the fifth time in the past six games, the Mavericks fell to 37-40 on the season, dropping them to 11th place in the Western Conference, which is one position behind the final spot in the postseason play-in tournament.
The Mavs are just one game behind the 10th-place Oklahoma City Thunder, but time is running out to make up the difference, as Dallas has just five games remaining.
Further illustrating the Western Conference logjam, the Mavericks are only two games behind the seventh-place Minnesota Timberwolves and 1.5 games behind the respective eighth- and ninth-place Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans as well.
After Dallas reached the Western Conference Finals last season, it was almost unimaginable that the team would be in this spot late in the 2022-23 season.
Superstar guard Luka Dončić, who has once again put up MVP-caliber numbers this season, called the Mavs' recent struggles and spot in the playoff race "frustrating."
The one major area of concern entering the season was finding a second star to play alongside Dončić after Jalen Brunson signed with the New York Knicks in free agency, and the organization attempted to address the issue by acquiring Irving from the Brooklyn Nets before the trade deadline.
For whatever reason, Dončić and Kyrie have not meshed as well as hoped on the court thus far, and the Mavs are only 7-10 in games Irving has played.
Still, there are few teams that can boast a more talented backcourt than the one possessed by the Mavericks, and that makes them a threat if they can figure things out over the next handful of games.
If Dallas can find a way into the play-in, anything is possible, as top Western Conference teams such as the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings all have at least some question marks.
