This was not a scenario the Mavericks envisioned when they acquired Kyrie Irving from the Nets in February.
They’re 7-12 since Irving joined following that Feb. 5 deal and 3-7 with Irving and Dallas star Luka Doncic in the starting lineup.
Mavericks fans booed their struggling franchise in the third quarter of their most recent loss to the Hornets — the Eastern Conference’s 14th-place team, in a game they only led once — Friday night.
Head coach Jason Kidd thought his team “probably should’ve been booed in the first quarter,” according to DallasBasketball.com, and he blasted the Mavericks’ effort and play as “awful” and “dogs–t.”
But Irving had a different view of the boos —
“So? So what,” he said to start his to reporters according to ESPN — and referenced his time in New York City with the Nets as a reason for knowing “what that’s like.”
“You obviously want to play well, but it’s only five people on the court that can play for the Dallas Mavericks,” Irving continued. “If the fans want to change places, then hey, be my guest. Got years of work ahead to be great enough to be on this level. But our focus isn’t necessarily on the boos.
“It should be on our performance and just being there for each other.”
Kyrie Irving managed 18 points against the Hornets on Friday night.Getty ImagesWhen the Nets dealt Irving for guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected first-round pick in 2029 and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029, it was supposed to provide the Mavericks with their missing piece — and a second star — to compete for a title.
The worst-case scenario: It all backfired and Dallas missed the postseason.
It seemed unlikely at the time, but with eight games left, the Mavericks sit in 11th in the Western Conference.
Jason Kidd blasted the Mavericks’ effort against the Hornets, one of the NBA’s worst teams.They do have the same number of wins as the 10th- and 9th-place teams, who sit in the play-in tournament’s final two spots.
But the Mavericks won’t gain any ground if they keep replicating Friday’s performance, specifically in the first quarter and especially against one of the league’s worst teams.
Dallas allowed 37 points in the opening 12 minutes, and it trailed by 14 at halftime before closing its final deficit to eight in the 117-109 loss.
Kidd called the first half and first quarter “disappointing,” where the “interest level wasn’t high,” and in the third quarter.
Mavericks fans inside American Airlines Center voiced their agreement.
“They have a right [to boo],” Kidd told reporters postgame.
Luka Doncic and the Mavericks haven’t turned into the feared team everyone thought they would.Getty Images “They pay to see a better show. It wasn’t there until the second half. We can’t come out like that, especially this time of the year.
Irving has averaged 27.6 points per game since joining Dallas, a 0.5-point increase from his 2022-23 numbers with the Nets, and his shooting percentages are both up in the limited, 14-game sample.
But against the Hornets, Irving only managed 18 points and shot 1-for-8 from beyond the 3-point arc.
