The Dallas Mavericks season is over, and it’s probably the best they’ve been chased from their misery.
The NBA finalist was in 2024, and there were no repeat runs for the Dallas Mavericks in 2025.
With general manager Nico Harrison sermoning “defence wins the championship,” the Mavericks gave up 39 points in the first quarter, setting the tone of a 120-106 loss for the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies are currently setting up a playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder through the Play-In Tournament.
The Mavericks’ volatile, inconsistent season was summed up by a scattered offensive show against Memphis.
Anthony Davis scored 40 points, the best performing for the Dallas Mavericks, but he got injured and ran away. Nico Harrison didn’t look happy.
Davis made a statement after the game to thank the fans for their support, but he could have gotten help from his teammates.
PJ Washington failed to score one point from a 0-5 shooting in 27 minutes, but Dereck Lively played for 20 minutes and scored zero points to only two shots.
Caleb Martin and Spencer Dinwiddy also failed to score in minutes from the bench, but it was lively Washington that caught most of the fans.
“PJ Washington and Dereck Lively are two absolutely useless players without Luka Doncic raising them,” one fan blasted.
“Lively & Washington earning 0 points makes the game costly. They could have easily put this in the bag,” says another.
Third blow-up: “We have to make this job a joke. PJ Washington and Lively dropped 0 points in a game where the team lost 14 points. Imagine if they were combined at 15.
And another wrote: “PJ Washington and Derek Livelige were the perfect piece next to Luka Donsic, but without him they would look completely out of place.”
“PJ Washington and Lively. 0 points. It’s difficult in the future,” another added.
Another fan highlighted the point that he missed Luka Donsic’s creativity.
“Yes, the ads dropped 40 points, but the assists for PJ Washington and Livelyes were just in court to get cardio that they didn’t make a shot for them anymore.”
Luka Doncic’s trade sent the Dallas Mavericks’ season to tailspin, but injuries also played a key role in the team’s problems.
Kyrie Irving suffered from a torn ACL. This could be the difference between failing to make the playoffs and putting it in.
But that’s a valid point that without Donsic and without Irving, the Mavericks lack a primary ball handler.
This is an issue Nico Harrison will solve in the offseason, and Brandon Williams was an impressive addition, but we hope that the Mavericks will be offensive in free agency to reset this summer.
PJ Washington and Dereck Lively are capable players with the right system.
Washington had a season-high 30 players in January, while Lively had 21 players in the same month. However, on the play-in, the current team flaws came back and plagued them when necessary.