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Dennis Smith Jr. took to social media Tuesday evening to address a topic that has been surrounding the Mavericks for the last couple of weeks.
On Monday, ESPN’s Tim McMahon sounded off on the state of one of the Mavericks’ most polarizing figures.
“Don’t be deceived by DeAndre Jordan’s solid statistics. He has been a major disappointment for the Mavs. He has rubbed teammates the wrong way with what they perceive as selfish play, the most blatant example being when he stole an uncontested rebound from Luka Doncic by putting his forearm in the prized rookie’s back and tipping the ball away. Jordan’s disinterest in playing help defense has been a big problem as Mavs opponents light up the scoreboard,” McMahon wrote
This is far from the first whisper that the new Mavericks center is not getting along well with his new teammates, but point guard Dennis Smith Jr. came to his defense on Instagram Tuesday evening.
“That be fake news shawty and we already know it… Our eyes on da prize,” Smith wrote in his post.
Eddie Sefko, Mavericks beat writer for SportsDayDFW.com and The Dallas Morning News responded to a question on this topic during his weekly chat Tuesday.
Q: Is there any internal beef going on between Luka Doncic and DeAndre Jordan/Wesley Matthews?
Sefko: Not that I’ve seen. And I saw LD and Jordan clowning together after the game Monday night. Hey, everybody gets testy when you’re losing. Don’t mistake being upset with losing as a sign that players don’t get along.
Smith Jr.’s post is an attempt to extinguish the fire that was started by Jordan seemingly taking a rebound away from Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic in their loss to the New York Knicks on Nov. 2.
Jordan never apologizes for hunting down rebounds, even if they come at the expense of teammates, Sefko wrote after the game.
“I guess I’ve been poaching for the past 11 years,” Jordan said Monday. “I feel like every rebound that comes off is mine. So I am guilty of that. But honestly, when I’m going for the ball, I don’t really look for anybody else.”
That was the case in the New York game. With Doncic stationed to the left of the basket to collect an errant Knicks 3-pointer, Jordan flew in from near the free-throw line to snatch the rebound. He didn’t exactly shove Doncic out of the way. But if Doncic had been a Knick, it would have been a clear over-the-back foul on Jordan.
The play drew criticism on social media platforms. And Doncic’s body language on the play suggested he wasn’t happy with Jordan’s aggressiveness. Remember, Doncic has been dealing with a sore back.
The Mavericks have won two in a row, and three of their last four games heading in to Wednesday night’s matchup with the Utah Jazz, who will see the Mavericks for the third time in just two weeks.
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