04-21-2021, 09:06 AM
(04-21-2021, 07:38 AM)omahen Wrote: But that was my whole point. They really aren't. Utah and Phoenix had basically zero injuries whole season and I am sure that is a big part of why they are number 1 and number 2 in the West. Everyone else had their struggles, even powerhouses like Lakers and Clippers. But we somehow act as Mavs are the only one with problems. Portland is just in a middle of 3-7 stretch, for example. And they invested everything in win now.
I am not trying to negate problems. Sure there are and everyone should work to improve. There is little excuse for losses against Chi 2x, Hou 2x and Sacramento among others. But I try not to be so critical, it just seems unfair to me. This season is difficult.
Perspective is tough. You've done a good job of maintaining it here, so kudos.
I think part of the problem is expectation vs. reality, and part of that is how quickly the team skipped 1-3 levels of the process during Luka's first two seasons. He clearly elevated the team quickly, but now they have arrived at the "people expect contention" part, and while I'm certainly not trying to discount the good stuff from those first two seasons, it seems clear (and has, since last season's playoffs) that the team has a LONG way to go to get to that "true contender" level.