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The Dallas Mavericks are tied for the worst record in the Western Conference through the first two weeks of the season, and one NBA writer says it’s easy to see why. In a column detailing every team’s biggest issue at the moment, Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes is blaming Dallas’ struggles on its “ridiculous roster construction.” “Who would’ve thought a team intending to start two centers and three power forwards might struggle to generate shots?” Hughes wrote. General manager Nico Harrison set out to mold this team into a more defensive-minded squad when he traded Luka Doncic last February. In doing so, however, it appears he’s left the Mavericks without adequate scoring. Dallas is missing some key pieces right now with Anthony Davis injured and Kyrie Irving yet to make his season debut, but the results on offense have not been pretty: dead last in points per game and offensive rating through eight games. Mavericks Roster Construction is Questionable When Harrison made the trade that stunned the sports world last February, sending franchise player and All-NBA guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, he justified the move in part by repeatedly saying “defense wins championships.” Despite his elite scoring ability, Doncic struggled defensively and was exploited often in isolation by the Boston Celtics during the 2024 NBA Finals. By bringing in more size and defensive prowess in acquiring Davis, Harrison believed the team would be better positioned to compete for a title. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they lost their other major scoring threat, Kyrie Irving, to a torn ACL on March 3, 2025, and there’s a good chance he won’t return until 2026. The Mavericks added No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg and guard D’Angelo Russell in the offseason, but neither player was considered to be a primary scorer (at least not yet in Flagg’s case). What Dallas has now is a starting lineup of Russell, Flagg, guard Max Christie, forward P.J. Washington and center Daniel Gafford. It’s a group of mostly defensive-minded bigs that has struggled to space the floor, as the Mavericks rank 26th in the NBA in field goal percentage (44.0%) and 28th in three-point percentage (32.1%). Mavericks Struggling On Offense to Begin Season Hughes is not liking what he’s seeing from the Mavericks offense through the first two weeks of the season, as this poorly constructed roster has played itself into some unwanted territory. “Dallas has the third-worst half-court scoring efficiency in the league, trailing only the New Orleans Pelicans and Indiana Pacers,” Hughes wrote. “Indy is missing half its roster due to injury, and it’s mostly the good half. The Pelicans engaged in self-sabotage over the summer, are coming unglued and seem moments away from firing head coach Willie Green. So you could argue the Mavs have the worst offense in the league if you only count actual NBA teams.”
