The Dallas Mavericks were in a free fall that had them slipping in the standings in the tough and rugged Western Conference. Heading into last Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, the Mavs were on a three-game losing streak, and they haven’t had their two superstars, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, on the court during the skid.
After the losing streak, Dallas has won their last two games, defeating the Spurs in overtime and getting a last second win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the process. Irving returned to the court for the Lakers game and scored 38 points.
To aid in the process of turning things around, Kyrie Irving said the team needed to have some “real conversations” about roles and responsibilities, according to Mavs.com.
“We had some real conversations, grownup conversations, mature conversations that I can honestly say that in my 12 years or 11 years on every team we haven’t had those direct conversations sometimes,” Irving said. “It’s no comparisons.
“It’s just we had a real group conversation that we needed to get some things out, and now we’re just living with the wins and losses because we’re together. Those conversations behind the scenes really matter for our organization, so it’s been happening.”
Having those tough talks can be difficult, because people are sensitive in nature. If honest things are said, the potential for someone to get offended and take things personally is real, thus leading to physical confrontation, perhaps.
With that said, the teams who are amongst the top can have these conversations and grow from them. Therefore, if Irving says the Mavericks are having these discussions, this could be a good sign for the team moving forward.
They’ll need them if they want to navigate through the wild, wild West.