How is this team sooooo bad against really bad teams

Cuz we are also a really bad team lol

Missed 5 straight FTs in final 2 minutes against Milwaukee tonight. 7-15 in 4th quarter. 10-24 for the game. Clutch like 6th grade B team.

Luka afraid of Caruso so he had to sit out tonight.

There is still a decent chance to turn things around and finish Top 6 in the West. It has been a slog but the West is still very chaotic and it wouldn't take much of a run to jump in the standings. The schedule looks to get a bit lighter soon as well. The biggest issue is still DFS/Reggie/Luka and THJ's poor 3-point shooting. The Mavs looked good last week beating PHX/@DEN and then leading by 10 late against MIL when their 3-pointers were falling. Then they look like dog **** when they miss 6 clutch-time free throws in a row to blow a game and then go cold from outside. They can't really help themselves either, Luka is a cheat code to either get efficient paint points or efficient open three-pointers. But at this point, opponents are doubling Luka and forcing THJ/Reggie/DFS to shoot. This strategy is working which means it won't stop. It also means the Mavs won't stop shooting because that is the correct counter for when Luka is doubled. This means that Mavs fans have to watch (endure?) the same game over and over each night. It is a true nails-on-chalkboard experience to watch Reggie/THJ/DFS brick wide-open 3-pointers at a below league average level as the Mavs play yet another clutch time game.

The big picture is still where the existential crisis still lies. This team has seemingly lost on every major or minor transaction it has made since drafting Luka and Brunson. They have ended up building an aging team of role players around Luka. Maybe there is logic behind why you would look for these types/styles of players, but the lack of individual talent of these role players is what stands out. When Luka is out you can see how ghastly the results truly have been. None of the role players are necessarily bad to have individually (other than Javale McGee) but collectively this group just isn't good enough. I'm not sure I would take this team minus Luka versus literally any other team in the league. If Luka has any kind of 3-week injury this team will go 1-9 in his absence, it's bleak. Asset wise the Mavs are handcuffed this season due to the KP trade and their bad contracts. I would really like to see Jaden Hardy get 15 minutes per game to see if he can be an asset at least. Contract wise it really isn't until the end of the 23-24 season that things clear up. If this were a video game I would tank the hell out of this season and try to get a top 6 pick (maybe get lucky and win the lottery?), then play out next year and get off the KP pick owed. At that point you would have a 26-year-old Luka, A Top 6 pick entering his 2nd season, Hardy, Green, tradeable contracts, and cap space with tradeable future picks. Luka would still be under contract and it would be your final chance to go for it before he is a free agent.