Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle on Mavs' Luka-Kyrie Duo: 'I Expect a Big Run'
The Dallas Mavericks' current six-game homestand out of the All-Star break hasn't exactly gone the way they hoped it would. Five games in, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have put up great offensive numbers, but the Mavs only have a 2-3 record to show for it after their latest 130-126 loss to Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon.
Another close loss during that stretch came last week against Rick Carlisle's Indiana Pacers. Although Dallas ultimately lost 124-122, the former Mavs coach said he isn't worried about Doncic and Irving figuring things out in the last part of this season.
“Nobody is going to want to play these guys,” Carlisle said. “Nobody. Dallas has a way of getting things worked out in the second half of the season.
“They did it last year and went on a big run. I expect them to do the same now.”
The circumstances are slightly different this time around, as Dallas got things rolling as soon as the calendar turned from 2021 to 2022 last season. However, with just 17 games remaining, Carlisle could be onto something when considering the Mavs' upcoming schedule.
The Mavs' next 10 games are as follows:
- vs. Utah Jazz (31-34) - Tuesday, March 7
- at New Orleans Pelicans (31-33) - Wednesday, March 8
- at Memphis Grizzlies (38-25) - Saturday, March 11
- vs. Memphis Grizzlies (38-25) - Monday, March 13
- at San Antonio Spurs (16-49) - Wednesday, March 15
- at Los Angeles Lakers (31-34) - Friday, March 17
- at Memphis Grizzlies (38-25) - Monday, March 20
- vs. Golden State Warriors (34-31) - Wednesday, March 22
- vs. Charlotte Hornets (20-46) - Friday, March 24
- at Charlotte Hornets (20-46) - Sunday, March 26
All of those games are winnable for Dallas, especially when considering that Grizzlies star Ja Morant is out indefinitely after an incident occurred recently where he was showing a gun at a night club on his Instagram live story. Also, there's a good chance LeBron James is going to be out for the Mavs' next matchup with the Lakers too.
After getting shown up by Devin Booker on Sunday, Doncic should have a fire lit under him from here on out. Booker's front-running trash talking even had Irving jawing back and forth with him, and Irving is usually pretty mild-natured on the court. So not only will the schedule lighten up over these next 10 games, but the Mavs should have some extra juice after enduring their latest heartbreaking loss.
Not to mention, Irving, as good as he is, has only been with the Mavs for nine games and has only played with Doncic in seven of those games. It takes time for teams to adjust to the addition of another superstar. Even if Doncic and Irving are getting their numbers, the rest of the players on the roster have to figure out their adjusted roles as well.
Dallas has shown flashes of brilliance, but it just hasn't been able to put it all together for multiple games yet. The hope is that will change, starting with Tuesday's game against the Jazz.
And after all of the upcoming 10 games have come and gone, the Mavs will playing against Carlisle's Pacers once again -- this time, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana. We'll soon see if Carlisle's prediction for his former team going on a big run comes true.
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