Mavericks set to repeat Lakers failure after tsunami of injuries

The Los Angeles Lakers are a part of an exclusive club over the past two decades plus. It is one that the Dallas Mavericks are well on their way to joining. Unfortunately for both of those franchises involved, this is not the type of club that a franchise would be proud to be a part of.

The Mavericks have encountered a plethora of injuries this season, and particularly during the last few weeks. Things only got worse for them on Monday night.

Kyrie Irving left the matchup against the Sacramento Kings late into the first quarter with what was initially diagnosed as a left knee sprain. A day later, Shams Charania broke the news of Irving's injury being far more severe.

The Mavericks guard was confirmed to have suffered a torn ACL, ending his 2024-25 NBA season. Dallas' injury list is starting to stack up, with Irving joining his co-star, Anthony Davis.

Mavericks in serious threat of an all-time collapse as a franchise

If Irving and Davis was not bad enough, the Mavericks are also missing notable names like P.J. Washington, Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy, and Caleb Martin right now. Sitting 10th in the Western Conference and freefalling quickly, Dallas could become just the fifth team in the last 25 years to miss the NBA Playoffs after appearing in the NBA Finals during the previous season.

The Mavericks are only three games ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the final spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Even if they do secure their position, there is no guarantee that Dallas can claw their way out of the tournament against potential matchups like the Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Dropping off from a Finals appearance to missing the postseason is something the 2019-20 Golden State Warriors are familiar with, as noted in the tweet above. The Warriors could not overcome a long list of injuries themselves during that campaign.

The story of the 2018-19 Cleveland Cavaliers is a little more simple. LeBron James left the Cavaliers to join the Lakers. It is never easy to replace that kind of hole in your lineup during the following season. To some extent, that story can be copied and pasted for the 2014-15 Miami Heat.

The tale of the 2004-05 Lakers is somewhat reminiscent of the previous two. The feud between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal reached its peak after a massive upset loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Los Angeles opted to trade the legendary big man to the Heat during the 2004 offseason. Bryant and company took a one season off from the postseason before reestablishing themselves.

Ultimately, the Mavericks look well on their way to joining the Lakers in acquiring membership to this club of misfortunes. To some extent, luck has not been on their side. On the other hand, they have plenty of direct blame for their own circumstances.