Kyrie Irving, never one to pull punches or mince his words, gave a fitting description of the Dallas Mavericks' playoff hopes following a 116-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia Wednesday night. 

Dallas' loss, Oklahoma City Thunder's win, and the Lakers' win pushed Dallas to less than a half-game back from the 12th seed in the Western Conference. And as the Mavericks continue to run out of time, they are headed in the wrong direction concerning reaching the NBA's play-in tournament. Dallas (37-40) is now a full game back from the 10th seed in a season the franchise thought it would be in top contention in the Western Conference. 

Insert Irving, who said what everyone that watches the team thinks, when examining Dallas' near-dwindling playoff hopes. 

"I think that now, again, just where we are in the season, and where other teams are positioned already, it kind of looks like a bit of a clusterf–k, to be honest with you," Irving said after scoring 23 points against the 76ers. "Because we're 37-40, and we're trying to fight to get into the play-in game. It's not the expectations I don't think any of us had in that locker room."

It appears that expectations exist for Dallas to not only fail to reach them but dive under the bar that is objectively already low. 

Wednesday's loss was the fifth in nearly as many games. The Mavericks are 4-9 when Irving and Luka Doncic play together. 

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, again, attempted to inspire some level of change or urgency, but it is clear that his message is falling on deaf ears — causing a need for re-examination. A common occurrence for the Mavericks this season.

“Maybe we need to meet more often, but maybe we’re going to have to add some more players to that meeting so that they can play well, too,” Kidd said. “We talked in Indiana, had a great conversation, and we felt as a group that we were going in the right direction — but it didn’t last long.”

It is the story of the season. 

As the tailspin continues, the figurative plane in a nose-first dive, there have been moments where it looked like a crash was averted. Where Kidd or Doncic or even Irving managed to pull up, exhale, and attempt to level off the wings. A bleeding-stopping win against the Pacers. The return of Doncic from the leg injury that held him out for an extended amount of time. Irving's foot issue not being worse than let on. The belief that if Irving and Doncic could get on the floor together, everything would be ok. The glimpses of how unstoppable Dallas' offense could be with two of the greatest offensive players in the league. But that peace never lasted long. The plane always managed to dive out of control again, warning bells sounding,  regardless of whether it was Kidd, Doncic, or Irving as the pilot flying. 

"When I came here this was going to be a growing process,” Irving said. “This was for the long-term and this was for something that was bigger than ourselves, and we can’t just be a championship team overnight, especially me coming here."

Dallas is a far cry from the team it was when it made the Western Conference finals in 2022. And the team's flaws that led to underachievement could be seen in training camp just the same as those flaws can be seen now. 

But with Doncic, there was the understood assumption his skill and talent could cover several roster-construction sins. 

Letting Jalen Brunson walk was just one. 

The move to acquire Irving near the trade deadline attempted to alleviate the pressure Doncic felt to be generational every night. 

For all the promise the move possessed, trading key starters in Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith, it hasn't worked. Dallas is slinking quietly into the cold goodnight of a long offseason full of unmet expectations and a lottery selection that isn't even a guarantee. 

So, maybe Irving's description of the situation — though colorful — is correct. It's best served if the rest of the Mavericks make peace with the unignorable reality those in charge put off for far too long. 

"I’m at peace with it," Irving said. "It doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on this season or any of my teammates are, but we know where we realistically are, and our destiny is in some other teams’ hands losing games.”