Not that he’s searching for excuses, but coach Rick Carlisle knows there are valid reasons why his Dallas Mavericks started this season with a dismal 9-14 record.
And it had a lot to do with a very difficult schedule combined with losing five players – to a total of 41 games – due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
“Our first-half schedule, I believe, was the hardest in the league, and we had 13 of 19 (games) on the road with a very difficult schedule in terms of level of opponents to start the season,” Carlisle said.