The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Houston Rockets on Sunday, like everyone expected. The Mavericks were without Dirk Nowitzki, Wesley Matthews, and J.J. Barea, yet they gave the Rockets all they could handle before eventually losing by seven points.
The effort by the Mavs impressed former Rockers superstar Hakeem Olajuwon, who reportedly entered the visiting locker room to talk to the team. He seemed genuinely confused as to why a team that plays that hard does not have a higher number in the wins column, per Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
“Why doesn’t that team have a better record?” he asked about the Mavericks. “They play really hard. If they play that way all the time, no way they have that record.”
The Mavs were within just three points in the third quarter, and fought from the opening tip to the final buzzer. But there was one Dallas player who came up with a solution to Olajuwon's inquiry.
“Unfortunately, we have the record we have because we haven’t played hard all season,” said Harrison Barnes. “Now we’ve been doing it more consistently for some stretch. Now it’s just a matter of getting more experience and executing down the stretch.”
The Mavs are 18-39, the second-worst team in the Western Conference, behind only the 17-38 Sacramento Kings. They were last in the conference before beating the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
Playing hard is something that has nothing to do with schemes or execution or anything like that. A team has to want to try hard. And so far this season, it appears the Mavericks are not doing enough of it.
And when it takes a Hall of Fame legend to point it out, that should hurt.
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