The Dallas Mavericks, with a 19-14 record following a 119-112 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, are currently holding on to the eighth spot in the ultra-competitive Western Conference but All-Star and franchise player Dirk Nowitzki believes his team is not a playoff team yet.
Voicing his frustrations after his team lost a 13 point lead and yielded the game to a team without All-Star point guard Chris Paul, Nowitzki told ESPN.com: "The way we let those games slip away, I don't think we're a playoff team. We've got to win those games. We've got to find a way to get those stops and protect the home court."
Although the Mavericks are 2 ½ games ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the final seed in the West playoffs, Nowitzki is well aware that other teams like the Wolves, Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets and even the Los Angeles Lakers are equipped to chase the final playoff spots out West.
The German superstar is also hoping for one last championship run after the team's magical 2011 title campaign. Still, he believes that the current Mavericks squad lacks the defensive intensity to compete with other contenders on a nightly basis.
"It just always comes down for us to getting stops and rebounds," Nowitzki said. "If we don't, we're in trouble. If you look at the numbers, we scored 112 [and] we shot over 50 percent. There's no way we should have lost that game.
He continued: "We've got to do better. We knew coming into the season that we were going to be challenged on rebounding and defense. We've got to try harder."
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