DALLAS, TEXAS — After losing to the Rockets on Friday, the 8-8 Mavericks will have another chance to redeem themselves at home against the 9-7 Denver Nuggets. The last time the two teams met the Mavericks grabbed the dub and it helped the Mavericks add the second win to their win streak at the time. In that game the Mavericks turned adverse circumstances into triumph, winning the game in overtime. It was the first signature win of the year for Dallas, and an unveiling one at that.
In the last matchup, Luka Doncic was close to achieving another triple double performance on the night but fell short scoring 38 points and finished with 13 assists and 9 rebounds. Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Richardson, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Boban Marjonovic scored in double digits and combined to score 51 of the Mavericks points. The Mavericks out shot the Nuggets from the field (48%), from the three (40%), and stole the ball 12 times in a back and forth effort.
Fast forward to now, Dallas has won two out of four games and they are still missing four players three of whom missed games since the win in Denver due to Covid 19 procedures and protocols. The good news is, Josh Richardson was seen courtside in their loss against the Rockets and also shared he was back conditioning with the team in a recent instagram story which could only mean the Mavericks are closer to being at full force.
Although the Mavericks have faced challenges with player availability, when the Mavericks aren’t at full force, they are still a decent team and sit at the middle of the pack in offensive & defensive ratings. A stat that illustrates the potential this team has is how likely they are to win if they lead the game throughout the first quarter. Dallas is 8-1 when they secure an early lead, but are 1-7 when they trail in the first quarter. Coincidentally, the one game where they did not lead during the first half was the game they won in Denver.
After tonight’s game they will travel to Salt Lake City to play the Utah Jazz in a back to back away series, then they will head home to play the Suns in back to back games, then play the Warriors at home in a back to back primetime series.
While Dallas waits until they get all of their players back, they need to win now and they have an advantage of not having to travel as much as they did during the early stretch of the season. The caveat is that they will play some of the better teams the NBA has to offer.
