Dallas Mavericks: It’s time to say goodbye to tanking mindset

The Dallas Mavericks have put together some of the most entertaining heartbreakers over the last week, finding new ways to lose despite looking like the better team often. It’s time we accept that the Mavs are a team capable of getting wins.

Everyone who has been on Twitter or speaks regularly to the Dallas Mavericks fanbase has seen the angry side of the team. They are upset that a talented team has fallen this far in the standings and can’t figure out what is going wrong with the team.

At 2-7, Dallas is starting to show some signs of dysfunction. The loss to the New York Knicks was one of the ugliest games I have ever witnessed as a Mavs fan and I have been very vocal about that. So is this loss the time for Mavs fans to hit the panic button?

The fact is, it is way too early to lump the Mavs in with every other bad team in the league. Before the season started, I wrote a piece specifically talking about the importance of allowing this team to find their stride, particularly Luka Doncic. What I never could’ve guessed from that piece was that Luka would be the only constant on the team.

Dallas is dealing with a lot of turnover once again this year. That has been a pretty constant theme since 2011, but this time the talent level is much higher. This season, the Mavs are incorporating big pieces into the team. Luka is the heir apparent to Dirk Nowitzki and is looking excellent already as a rookie. He will continue to grow in the right direction.

DeAndre Jordan is the new center in town. There have been some hiccups early on with his effort level and concerns of rookie hazing, but when he is on his game, he is accurately considered one of the best centers in the league. He just needs to adjust his mindset.

Jalen Brunson is becoming an important part of the team off the bench as well and his search for minutes will become really interesting when Devin Harris comes back from injury.

Aside from just the new guys, others on the roster are adjusting to new roles. Dennis Smith Jr. is going from one of the focal points of the offense and the playmaker of the team to a secondary role looking to catch and slash as opposed to creating for the team. That has been a tough transition for the youngster so far.

Dirk Nowitzki has moved to the bench this year as well, although we haven’t gotten a chance to see that yet due to injury. It may take some adjustment period, but I think Dirk will fall into his bench role without an issue.

The point is, the Mavs need time to adjust to the new lineup and the young talent on the team. Yelling for the Mavs to embrace the tank and assuming that they are keeping next year’s draft pick is not only overtly pessimistic, it is also incredibly short-sighted. I mean we are nine games into the season.

Not only that, but the Mavs have shown flashes of brilliance and no one can deny that. During their comeback against the Lakers, Dallas was clearly the better team on the court. I know that LA is full of dysfunction right now, but there is no denying that the Mavs looked really good at the end of the game.

I know some of the people that are saying this regularly are just the ones that are still upset about the fact that Dallas traded next year’s first round pick. For those of you that fit that category, just remember that this is what it took to get Luka. No matter what happens, that was the right decision for the Mavericks.

For the rest of you, there is no need to overreact. This Mavs team is going to be successful, even if it takes time to find that success. Coach Carlisle, Dirk and Luka are just a few reasons that this team is not going to continue to look this way for the rest of the season. Mark my words.

I am still very excited about this Dallas Mavericks season and believe that great things are in store for the team in the 2018-19 NBA season.