After an underwhelming start to the season, the Dallas Mavericks will look to avoid their first 0-3 start in eight years Sunday against the visiting Toronto Raptors.
Dallas was bombarded in its season opener by Victor Wembanyama’s 40 points in a 33-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The Mavericks’ road seemingly got easier Friday, but they were turned away at home by the Washington Wizards 117-107.
Head coach Jason Kidd isn’t going to overreact through two games, but he knows his team needs to find the win column against a third straight opponent that missed the postseason last year.
“It’s still early, but this is Game 2 that we have to work on,” Kidd said. “I’m thinking positive.”
The consecutive disappointments to begin the season have only fueled Mavericks fans’ negativity surrounding the team. As the fan base continues to lick the wounds from trading away superstar Luka Doncic in February, Kidd sympathizes but stresses patience.
“It’s a new team. We’re just getting to understand each other,” Kidd said. “I would say be patient, but I understand the frustration. We all want to win at a high level, and this is a game of expression. Fans have a right to express themselves. But that doesn’t stop us from coming to work and getting better and getting ready for Sunday.”
No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg has totaled 28 points and 15 rebounds through his first two career games, while Anthony Davis paces the Mavericks with 24.5 points and 13 boards per contest.
As the Raptors manage being a secondary story in the city due to the World Series-starring Blue Jays, they have shown glimpses of potential through two outings. After breezing past the Atlanta Hawks in the season opener, Toronto held a fourth-quarter lead Friday before falling 122-116 at home to the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I think we’re going to need 20, 30, 40 games to make conclusions,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We’re going to have nights that are going to look like we’ve figured it out, and then some nights will look (Friday), when we were disjointed at the end of the game. We need to give the team time to gel, work together, watch film together and grow.”
For a team that’s hopeful of snapping a three-year postseason drought in an injury-plagued Eastern Conference, RJ Barrett and newcomer Brandon Ingram lead Toronto with 22.5 points per game apiece.
One piece Rajakovic wants to see flourish over a full season is Immanuel Quickley. After playing in 38 games with the Raptors following a midseason trade in 2024, the 26-year-old was limited to just 33 games last season due to a bevy of injuries.
The career 37.3 percent 3-point shooter can unlock the long-range shooting for a team that ranked 23rd in the league with a 34.8 percent clip in 2024-25.
“(Quickley) needs to shoot seven, eight threes a game,” Rajakovic said. “I don’t really care if he makes or doesn’t make shots. He’s a great shooter. He’s one of the best shooters we have on the team. I have no doubt that he’s going to knock down shots.”
Quickley has gone just 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) on 3-point attempts through two games.
The Mavericks have won the past three meetings.
–Field Level Media
