Mavericks' Daniel Gafford makes surprising admission after Game 1

The Dallas Mavericks dropped Game 1 of their first-round playoff matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers in an ugly loss that wasn't as close as the score might indicate. However, after the 109-97 loss, Mavericks center Daniel Gafford made a surprising admission regarding his effort on Sunday. 

"There were guys that came out that were ready to play and guys like me that was out there on the floor just running back and forth," Gafford told Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News. "I just felt like I couldn't commit to anything, give anything to the team at the time." 

Acknowledging that he wasn't performing at his best is an admirable move from Gafford, especially after a loss. Though, denying it wouldn't have been an easy task. 

In only 14 minutes of action, Gafford scored three points on 1-of-4 shooting, coming away with more turnovers (one) than rebounds (0). 

Aside from 64 combined points from the guard duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Gafford wasn't the only Maverick who failed to pull their weight against the Clippers. In addition to Doncic (33 points) and Irving (31 points), the only other Dallas player to finish in double figures was power forward P.J. Washington, who had just 11 points in 37 minutes of action. 

Dallas lost by 12 points on Sunday, but it trailed by as many as 29 while shooting just 38.8 percent from the field. A late run in virtual garbage time made things closer than they appeared, but the overwhelming theme from the loss is that someone other than Doncic and Irving has to step up.