3 things to watch as the Mavericks visit the Pelicans

SB Nation

The Dallas Mavericks (11-18) will travel to New Orleans Monday to face the Pelicans (7-22) with a 7:30pm tipoff at the Smoothie King Center. The two clubs enter this game rejuvenated by recent success,

with the Pelicans riding a four-game win streak after stuffing the Pacers into a locker Saturday 128-109, and the Mavericks having won six of their last nine games after their 121-114 loss Saturday in Philadelphia.

Like the Mavericks, the Pelicans secured a tough overtime win against one of the league’s best teams Thursday. Against the Rockets they fumbled a first-quarter lead, then came back from down 22 at the half to prevail in overtime, 133-128. Dallas gutted out a rock fight with the Pistons, 116-114.

These teams split their previous two meetings this season, both home games for Dallas. The Pelicans won 101-99 Nov. 5, then the Mavericks got revenge Nov. 21, 118-115. For the Pelicans, forward Herb Jones left Saturday’s game with a head injury and did not return; he is doubtful for Monday. The Mavericks will miss guard Kyrie Irving, out with a knee injury, and center Dereck Lively II (foot).

Ahead of the game

Like the Mavericks, the Pelicans have been energized by a pair of dynamic rookies in the starting lineup, center Derik Queen and point guard Jeremiah Fears. Queen, a rapidly improving playmaker with excellent footwork, touch, and vision, is a creative passer operating with the ball above the break. He’s also a deft manipulator of rhythm on post-ups and drives, where he can score over taller defenders or dump off to a cutter. That aforementioned creativity can tip into some risk-taking; the big man averages 4.0 assists per game but also averages 2.3 turnovers. Against the Pacers Saturday he unsuccessfully tried a couple of sneaky lob attempts from beyond the arc that he’ll either have the wisdom not to try or the skills to pull off a year from now. The speedy Fears, chippy against the Mavericks in their most recent matchup, has a nice pull-up jumper but is most dangerous in transition and on drives. He was one of four Pelicans to top 20 points against the Mavericks Nov. 21.

The Mavericks’ own youth movement continued Saturday against the 76ers as Cooper Flagg shared the team scoring lead of 24 points with Anthony Davis, and guard Ryan Nembhard submitting an unspectacular but steady outing in which he did not worsen the team’s turnover troubles.

Stalwart secondary

Like the Mavericks, the Pelicans’ chances of winning improve considerably when their best player, a former No. 1 overall selection power forward with game-altering abilities on both ends who has been dogged by years-long questions of durability, is in the lineup. Zion Williamson came into this season in the best shape of his seven-year career, determined to avoid the injuries that have limited him to 35.6 games per season going into 2025-26 (he missed all of 2021-22 and played in a career-high 70 games in 2023-24). While he hasn’t been completely immune from health woes, having missed six games in early December with a left hip adductor strain, his improved conditioning helped him return about a week ahead of schedule in their win against Chicago.

Zion, who scored 29 points in 24 minutes against the Pacers, has come off the bench and played limited minutes in each of his three games since returning. He adds to the veteran presence among the reserves also being provided lately by guard Jordan Poole. Poole, who returned the game before Williamson after a quadriceps injury kept him out of the previous 17 games, is enduring a down year of three-point shooting after nailing them at a career high mark of . 378 last year; he’s chipping in 17.8 points per contest for New Orleans. Reserve guard and longtime Mav-tormentor Jose Alvarado is a pest at point guard; the Mavericks will have to exercise more caution than they did early against Philadelphia Saturday, when first-quarter turnovers put them in a hole.

Turning the thing around

Like the Mavericks, the Pelicans have shrugged off a seemingly hopeless start to the season as their offensive identity has coalesced. One silver lining to playing without Williamson so often over the years is that New Orleans has plenty of practice doing it. Although the attention commanded by Zion gave the Pelicans’ shooters space as the team began its comeback against Houston, the team completed the feat using a balanced attack with Williamson sitting for much of the fourth, led by the team’s other three starters, forwards Saddiq Bey, who scored 29 points; Herb Jones, who scored 18; and Trey Murphy III, the team’s de facto No. 1 offensive option for much of the year, who scored 27. The career .381 three-point shooter has picked up right where his breakout 2024-25 season left off, averaging just under 22 points per game.

Monday’s game will be the second for Dallas in a stretch in which it plays eight of 11 games on the road; beating their downstairs neighbor in the standings would give the club as much needed boost. The team can help itself by connecting on more than the three shots from deep it managed against the 76ers; Max Christie, tagged for two fouls early, never got into his game and missed both his attempts from the field. Klay Thompson has had some nice shooting games lately but only made one of seven from beyond the arc last time around.

The Mavericks can also control their fate with another excellent paint performance from Naji Marshall, and improved rebounding against a Pelicans team that has gotten beaten on the boards even in its two most recent victories. Like most NBA teams, New Orleans is capable of controlling the glass in stretches; in jumping out to its early lead in the Houston game, the Pelicans collected four first-quarter offensive rebounds in a frame where they shared the floor with Houston’s Steven Adams much of the time.