The Mavericks' dreadful start to the 2017-18 season is reminding fans of, well, last season's dreadful start, which has many of those fans asking the same questions as last year.

Did Mavericks management, primarily owner Mark Cuban and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, overestimate the talent level of the roster they handed to coach Rick Carlisle and his staff this season?

Is this already a lost season? Should the Mavericks start positioning for an optimal draft position, similar to late last season, when Cuban admitted they kinda, sorta tanked games?

"But not until we were eliminated," Cuban reminded Tuesday night before his Mavericks, then 1-10, faced the Wizards in Washington D.C. "And until we're eliminated, we ain't tanking here, either.

"I still think we can turn this around," he said. "We've been in 1-9 stretches during various parts of various seasons in the past, so it's not like we haven't been here before. It's just that you never want to start the season like that."

Then Cuban laughed and offered some gallows humor: "Hey, we only have to go 2-7 to match last year."

Bringing in a six-game losing streak, and with a brutal rest-of-November and December schedule, Carlisle after the Washington win admitted it was "a must-win game, with where we're at." How big? Both Cuban and Nelson made the trip to D.C.

"Look, we've been getting kicked around and it's no fun," Carlisle said. "Tonight our guys drew a line in the sand and really brought things to another level defensively."

But with the upcoming stretch of opponents -- Cleveland, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Minnesota, Milwaukee, for starters -- the sizable hole the Mavericks dug for themselves could well deepen.

"We've got to play better," Nelson said. "That's what it comes down to. We need our older guys to play younger and our younger guys to play older.

"Look, we've had some downs and we've got to stay together, fight through it."

Nelson said everyone in the franchise was well aware of the difficult October-November-December schedule, arguably the most arduous in the NBA. That, he admitted, made the season's opening games, at home against Atlanta and Sacramento, all the more vital.

Dallas lost to the Hawks, 117-111, and to the Kings, 93-88. Those teams are a combined 2-17 in all other games.

If Seth Curry hadn't suffered a lower stress reaction in his left tibia that still has him sidelined, would the Mavericks have won either or both of those first two games? Probably. Had Dallas pulled those games out regardless, would the early complexion of this season look better? Definitely.

During a 10-minute assessment of the season to date, Nelson never mentioned injuries. The Mavericks are a no-excuse franchise. As for whether the current mix of players is strong enough to climb out of the hole and contend for a playoff spot ...

"I think it's a little early in the game to make a full assessment of that," Nelson said. "I think Rick is pushing all the right buttons. We knew the early going would be tough. We knew we were in for it. That's why those first two games at home were important.

"It's mostly us not playing well. That's kind of where we find ourselves, the first eighth of the season in."

Said Cuban: "It's just crazy. We're shooting better from 3 than we are inside 2s and that just hasn't been the hallmark of a Dallas team. We're dribbling the ball too much because we're getting antsy. That hasn't been the hallmark of a Rick Carlisle Mavs team. We're just pressing too much. We have moments when our ball movement is great. When we see that, we know what we can do.

"And when our defense is good we know what we can do. But it's always something."

When assessing whether roster moves are needed, Cuban and Nelson always take into account team chemistry. Both said they believe the chemistry in the locker room, veterans blending with first-year Mavericks like Dennis Smith Jr., Maxi Kleber and Gian Clavell, is strong.

"That's not lost on us," Nelson said.

"I think it's too early in the game to make any broad, sweeping analyses. That being said, as you look across the board, do we have any glaring weaknesses? You can always upgrade. We're all in the upgrade business."