The Dallas Mavericks have had an up-and-down season, to say the least. The Mavs are currently ranked seventh in the Western Conference as they make their push for the playoffs. Luka Doncic has played out of his mind this year and is no doubt the best player on the roster.
The organization was hoping to have two legitimate superstars after acquiring Kristaps Porzingis, but he hasn't been quite as good as hoped, with injuries and inconsistency plaguing him at times. In some games, Porzingis is heavily involved, while in others he gets lost in the mix.
During Wednesday night's game against the Houston Rockets, Porzingis was on a roll. However, in the closing minutes, Porzingis didn't even take a shot to help his team win, per Callie Caplan. During his postgame interview, a clearly frustrated Porzingis seemingly threw some shade at Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle:
Kristaps Porzingis was the Mavs’ most efficient starter in tonight’s loss — 23 points (10-19 FG) — but he didn’t take a shot in 7 mins in Q4.
His answer when @espn_macmahon asked: “Good question. It’s just the plays we were running. Happened before also.” pic.twitter.com/lSpre6RrvG
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) April 8, 2021
It's the “happened before also” bit that suggests he's upset with the way Carlisle calls plays down the stretch. He may feel this way, but perhaps Carlisle was trying to protect Porzingis from further injuring his wrist. The Mavs star admitted he's playing through pain and is just trying to give all he has while dealing with it. It's something he says he'll have to deal with in the offseason.
Missing time during this portion of the season would have an impact on the Mavs' playoff hopes. If he goes down and winds up missing more games, an early exit out of the playoffs becomes much more likely. We'll have to see how the wrist impacts his play and if he becomes more involved late in games. Doncic will always be the go-to guy, but Porzingis needs to play a starring role as well when games are tight.
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