NBA
April 8, 2023 | 10:33 am
The Mavericks accomplished their mission Friday night and will officially miss the playoffs after resting their stars and losing at home to the Bulls.
Dallas rested Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, Josh Green and Christian Wood, and Luka Doncic played just 13 minutes as the Bulls beat the Mavs 115-112.
Want to catch the game? The Knicks schedule can be found here along with links to purchase tickets.
Despite Mavericks owner Mark Cuban being the architect of the plan to rest the stars, the painful reaction was to miss McKinley Wright IV’s game-tying three-pointer with two seconds left in the game.
The Mavericks entered the night in contention for the 10th seed in the Western Conference and the play-in tournament, but the strange incentive system in the NBA had their best interest in throwing in the towel.
The 2019 trade with the Knicks that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas included a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2023.
With Friday night’s loss, the Mavericks are bottom-10 in the NBA, greatly increasing their chances of landing a top-10 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery and holding on to it.
So what the Mavericks did Friday night was seen as a clear upset of the Athletics, and a chess move that could pay off in the long run if they can add a top player in the draft.
The Mavericks had high expectations when they acquired Irving from the Nets for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.
The team failed to meet them.
The Mavericks were 29-26 and fifth in the Western Conference at the time the trade fell through, and were 9-17 after the deal — and 8-13 in games Irving played.
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