Mavericks starter contradicts former GM Nico Harrison after loss to 76ers

The Dallas Mavericks now sit at a crossroads after losing four straight games.

Oct 6, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison looks on before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickie's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

"Defense wins championships." That was Nico Harrison's reasoning for making the disastrous Luka Doncic trade with the Los Angeles Lakers 11 months ago, and he'd continuously repeat it over the next few months, hoping people would start to believe it.

The Dallas Mavericks are now 12-23 after a 123-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on New Year's Day. It's their fourth straight loss, and their sixth in the last seven games. It wasn't that long ago that the Mavs were winners of six in seven games, with impressive wins over the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets in there.

Nico Harrison has long been fired. Team governor Patrick Dumont let him go after a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in November, which dropped the team to 3-8. But the team's flaws are still because of Harrison and how he constructed this roster. This team has mostly been horrific on offense this year, and as much as Nico Harrison would disagree, you have to score to win games.

"They were just playing good basketball, they were making shots down the stretch. I thought we played solid defense, but offense in this league is superior to defense sometimes." That's what Mavericks starter Max Christie said after the loss to the 76ers on Thursday night, a game in which he led the Mavs in scoring with just 18 points. Christie was a part of the Doncic trade, as he came over with Anthony Davis, who was hardly even noticeable in Thursday's loss.

“Offense in this league is superior to defense.”

Max Christie spoke on the loss to the Sixers.

Tyrese Maxey 34 PTS, VJ Edgecombe 23 PTS and Joel Embiid 22 PTS. pic.twitter.com/Yk9MijVc2U

— Abby Jones (@_abigaiiiil) January 2, 2026

READ MORE: Mavericks have reached out to Warriors for potential Anthony Davis trade

Mavericks' Defense Isn't Good Enough to Make Up For Their Bad Offense

For the season, the Mavericks are 28th in offensive rating and 10th in defensive rating. The only two teams they're ahead of on offense are the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers, who are a combined 14-54 this year. Meanwhile, the teams in the top five of offensive rating are 117-47.

In the last nine games, the Mavericks' offense has crept up to the 25th offensive rating, while the defense has plummeted to 20th.

Defense wins championships once you're actually in the "championship games," as Patrick Dumont once said. But you have to win enough regular-season games to get to that point first. And this team isn't good enough to win a lot of games. Even once Kyrie Irving returns, there's reason to believe that they won't be healthy enough or have enough shooting to make it matter.

A lot of analysts keep wanting to see this team fully healthy, but that may never happen at this point.

READ MORE: 3 overreactions as 76ers sweep season series against Mavericks

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