As the losses keep piling up for the Dallas Mavericks, the tension is bubbling and superstar guard Luka Doncic was frustrated with the team’s effort in their 120-101 blowout loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
“Terrible,” Doncic said following the game, according to ESPN’s Tim McMahon. “I never felt like this,” Doncic continued. “We’ve got to do something, because this is not looking good. We’ve got to step up and just talk to each other and play way better than this. It’s mostly effort.”
Dallas has seen the pandemic impact their roster, with guard Josh Richardson, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, and center Dwight Powell had missed time, with forward Max Kleber yet to be cleared to play.
“It’s just a tough stretch and we’ve got to play through it,” Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle said. “Right now, it’s about sticking together and fighting our way through this thing.”
Doncic is doing his part this season averaging 27.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game, but is not seeing the effort he wants to see from his teammates.
“I would say right now it’s looking like we don’t care, honestly, if we win games or not,” Doncic said. “We just [need] more energy, more effort, dive for every ball, box out, everything. There’s a lot of things we could improve, and I know we will. I know we will, and that’s all that matters.”
The Mavericks will look to get things back on track against the Phoenix Suns.
