Overview
- Dallas owns the NBA’s worst offensive rating through nine games and fell 118-104 to Memphis on Friday, with a road game at Washington set for Saturday.
- Dirk Nowitzki called the start “disastrous,” citing a glaring hole at point guard and playmaking plus poor shooting and shot creation on Amazon’s NBA on Prime.
- ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said it is a legitimate question whether GM Nico Harrison’s job is in jeopardy, and an April clip of Harrison promising a 2025-26 contender has resurfaced.
- Injuries have compounded the issues: Kyrie Irving remains out with a torn ACL, Anthony Davis missed four games with a calf strain and was upgraded to questionable for Saturday, Dereck Lively II has a knee issue that could clear next week, and Daniel Gafford is questionable after an ankle aggravation.
- Analysts fault the defense-first roster construction and the decision to use No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg as a primary ballhandler, while media chatter floats stopgap guard options as speculative trade ideas.