Mavs' Spencer Dinwiddie & Wizards' Kyle Kuzma Engage in Postgame Beef
The Dallas Mavericks fell to 25-24 on the season — one game above the .500 mark — after losing 127-126 to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.
It was another underwhelming defensive performance for the Mavs, giving up 127 points to the Wizards without Kristaps Porzinigs. Washington shot 50.6 percent from the floor and got to the free throw line 41 times.
One of Dinwiddie's early post-game answers to a reporter's questions involved him mentioning that losing to a team that is "not exactly stalwarts" in the Wizards was disappointing.
"You know, just in terms of keeping the mood solid. But as far as the frustration and disappointment in ourselves, we can all look in the mirror and, with that same maturity, recognize that we're not doing our jobs at the level that we're capable of,” said Dinwiddie.
“You know what I mean? If you come in here and get in a shootout with, you know, the Warriors last year, right, or the Celtics this year or something like that, it's a little bit different tone, right? Like not exactly stalwarts over there."
When discussing the officiating that led to the Wizards receiving 41 free-throw attempts, Dinwiddie made clear that the Mavs' defense had no business allowing that many to an opponent without one of their two max players, Porzingis.
"I'm not here to get fined. Obviously, we all have different opinions on this game, on how it should be called, what plays should be called on, and what shots we should take. Like we all have that right. And refs are human. They have emotions. We got to do a better job overall, starting with myself,” said Dinwiddie.
“Right. Just controlling the controllables at the end of the day, you know, we can't get on the refs. I'm saying we gave up 41 free throws. Right. Again, as you know, they got two max players over there. One of them hurt. You know what I mean? Like, there's no reason to give up 41 free throws. So that's on us."
Dinwiddie felt as though being in a final possession deciding situation "with them" was an indictment on their defense. He felt the Mavs' defense should have had "like 15 more stops" against the Wizards, who are more worried about "trying to get paid" than actually "trying to play winning basketball."
"We shouldn't be in a game like that with them. Like I said, they got two max players, one’s hurt. We should be able to stop them enough to where our 126 points beats their 125 or less," said Dinwiddie. “That's that's really all it comes down to … We just got to be better in that respect. They're not playing for nothing for real.”
Dinwiddie went into further detail: "Because at the end of the day, for them, it's a showcase. They over there trying to get paid. They're not trying to play winning basketball. So for a team that has real aspirations and has an MVP … went to the conference finals last year … we have to be better to a man, right? And not offensively, because 126 can win you a lot of games defensively.”
As one might expect, Kuzma did not take kindly to Dinwiddie's remarks about the Wizards being a losing basketball team. After seeing part of Dinwiddie's quote on Twitter, Kuzma responded by saying how the Mavs don't play winning basketball.
Earlier in the season, the Mavs had a disappointing 113-105 loss to the Wizards in a matchup that also featured Christian Wood sidelined. Doncic finished with just 22 points while shooting 8-21 from the floor and 3-9 from the free throw line. After the game, Kuzma took a clear shot at the team's supporting cast around the superstar.
"We just did a good job. We know their team is very limited outside of him," Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma said of the team's defensive efforts against Doncic.
"With Christian Wood out — big-time player — the ball was going to be in his hands the whole time. For us, we wanted to make sure, certain situations, whether it was him posting up — making sure we were doubling at the time, making sure our rotations were really crisp."
Kuzma explained further: "When we didn't double, playing him on the perimeter, guard 1-on-1 by ourselves without fouling. Playing on a string defensively, that was huge, especially with a player like that. If you just play 1-on-1 with him on an island, it's going to be a long night. We did a great job, entire team, everyone, came in with attention to detail on the game plan."
Given the reporting of Dinwiddie's unpopularity in the Wizards' locker room before he was traded to the Mavs, it's not a surprise that he is taking jabs at their team when given chances to do so. There is a clear sense of mutual disrespect between the two sides with this being the most recent display.
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