Mavs 0-2 as 'Fire Nico!' chants grow loud again

DALLAS -- Many Mavericks fans vented their frustration, in what has recently become familiar fashion in Dallas, chanting for the termination of general manager Nico Harrison as the final minute played out in Friday night's 117-107 loss to the Wizards.

"Fire Nico!" chants have frequently been heard in the American Airlines Center since the stunning trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 2, months after the homegrown superstar had led the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals.

Dallas' improbable win in the draft lottery, which delivered No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg to the Mavericks, somewhat reinvigorated the fan base over the summer. But the Mavericks have stumbled out of the gate, getting routed by 33 at home by the San Antonio Spurs in Wednesday's opener before losing by double digits to a Washington squad coming off an 18-64 season.

There were scattered "Fire Nico!" chants during the season-opening loss, although "Go Spurs Go!" and "MVP!" chants for San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama were louder. There were thousands of empty seats in the arena by the time the chants broke out multiple times late in Friday's loss.

"I think they have a right to vent, but there's a patience [needed]," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "It's a different team. It's a new team. We're just getting to understand each other. We're going to keep learning each other.

"So I would say be patient, but I understand the frustration. We all want to win. We all want to compete at a high level, but it's a game of expression, and fans have a right to express themselves. But that doesn't stop us from coming to work tomorrow and getting better and getting ready for Sunday [against the Raptors]."

Kidd signed a multiyear contract extension during the preseason, a negotiation that began after the Mavericks denied the New York Knicks permission to pursue him for their head coaching vacancy in the offseason. Sources told ESPN that there have not been any discussions about a contract extension for Harrison, who has two years remaining on his deal.

The Mavericks, who are starting Flagg at point guard despite him playing forward at Duke, rank last in the NBA in offensive efficiency after two games, averaging 95.5 points per 100 possessions. Dallas has averaged 18.5 turnovers per game, including 21 in the loss to the Wizards.

"Everything's correctable and internal," said power forward Anthony Davis, the headliner in the package the Mavericks received in the Doncic deal who had 27 points, 13 rebounds and 5 turnovers in Friday's loss. "We are beating ourselves, and as long as we are doing that, we can correct it. But we also have to learn from it and be ready for Sunday."

Meanwhile, Doncic is scoring 46 points per game after going for 49 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in the Lakers' 128-110 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Flagg praised the Dallas crowd for its energy Friday night, especially during the fourth quarter, when the Mavericks rallied to slice a deficit that had been as high as 17 points to four at one point.

"The fans showed up. They were amazing tonight," said Flagg, who had 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and finished with five rebounds, six assists and five turnovers. "I thought we were competing at a high level in that fourth quarter. A lot of things were right -- getting stops, playing the way that we want to play -- and that kind of sums it up. It was just periods tonight, and we got to be able to sustain that for the whole game. I think we took somewhat of a step in the right direction, but it has to be a lot better."

Flagg said he did not hear the chants calling for Harrison's termination, adding that he was "locked in on the game" and listening to his coaches and teammates. Veteran shooting guard Klay Thompson said the blame should be shouldered by the players.

"You got to give 'em something to cheer for," said Thompson, who had eight points on 2-of-7 shooting in 17 minutes. "I got to give 'em something to cheer for. It's the nature of the game, man. I've been there. I was a fan for 20 years before I got in the NBA. I would've definitely criticized players. I mean, we deserve a lot of criticism. We're the ones out there making it happen."

Thompson described his concern about Dallas' slow start as "high" but expressed optimism that the Mavericks would work their way out of the rut.

"There's always this urgency," Thompson said. "We're all competitive. It's embarrassing, especially for myself [after] talking championship preseason, all that. But I mean, it's the only thing I play for at this point. So it's not fun, but there's only one way out. Stick together and get better and work even harder every day. I know I will, and I know the rest of the guys will.

"So it's just a matter of being not patient but just being relentless in our efforts."

Asked about his level of concern after the 0-2 start, Davis said, "Zero." He stressed that the Mavericks' improvement needed to start on defense and shot down a question about how the team and Flagg would deal with adversity.

"This is adversity? What's adversity?" Davis said. "We've got 80 games left. You can run off 10 straight [wins] and then what? This is how I look at it and I'm sure that's how he looks at it, and that's what we talked about. We know we have to be better on both ends of the floor, but the NBA season is a roller coaster, so we're staying positive."

The poor start is particularly foreign territory for the 18-year-old Flagg. In his only college season, Duke went 35-4 and never lost consecutive games.

"I know I'm kicking myself, and I'm obviously not happy," Flagg said. "I'm a little upset. I mean, it's just I'm a competitor. I love to win and I want to win as many games as possible, so it's not a great start. We got a lot of film to look at, a lot of stuff to look at and a lot to improve."