Don’t worry – we’ll all get through this one together.
After a tight game in Indiana and a dicey last-minute flight to Brooklyn, the Dallas Mavericks head back home to host the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. Your feelings about this matchup depends entirely on your current operating theory of the Mavericks: if you’re team tank, this is a nail-biter, one of several dice-rolls that will have a material impact on Dallas’ lottery odds in the coming offseason. If you’re team let’s-get-out-there-and-try-our-best,
this is likely a breezy contest, as few teams in the Association have the moxie to truly out-bad this Kings squad.
As you might have guessed, Sacramento comes into town scraping the bottom of the barrel. They’re 13-46 at the time of writing, and likely to be 13-47 after a matchup against the Houston Rockets Wednesday night. That’s enough for #30 across the entire league. If that isn’t sufficient to convince you, they’re also on the second night of a back-to-back, and they’ve won only four road games the entire season. But hey – they beat a struggling Memphis Grizzlies team a few nights ago. Maybe we can call that momentum?
On the flip side, Dallas (21-36) has found something that – if you squint hard enough – looks like footing. They closed out strong enough against the Pacers on Sunday to beat them 134-130, and they thoroughly handled the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday 123-114. If they beat the Kings tomorrow evening, that would make three solid wins in a row after a nasty 10-game skid. Again, there’s an argument to be made that this is a bad thing, if you’re team tank. But this Dallas roster fights hard just about every right, so you can be sure they’ll show up at the American Airlines Center ready to play.
Here are three storylines to watch going to the final Dallas-Sacramento matchup this season.
As goes the three-ball (and the turnovers), so goes the game
It’s no secret that Dallas is a bad three-point shooting team. This has been the case the entire season, and while the Anthony Davis trade was welcome in many (so many) ways, the Mavericks didn’t see much relief in this area. This means that they need all of the shooting they can find – typically, this comes from Max Christie (who is in a bit of a slump right now) and Klay Thompson, but anyone is welcome to join the party.
Since the all-star break, Dallas has done okay enough behind the line, shooting a reasonable 39.3% in the Indiana win and a slightly-less-reasonable 34.8% in the Brooklyn win. Against Sacramento, they’re likely to have plenty of opportunities – the Kings have one of the lowest defensive ratings in the league at 120.9, and their opponents hit on 36.4% of their attempts. This is one potential avenue of Mavericks success, whether or not they actually take the victory.
Another avenue of success? Cutting down on turnovers. It’s been said many times, many ways that Dallas lacks an effective point guard and can’t take care of the ball – so there’s no need to re-hash. But facing off against the Kings, it’s a factor to consider. While this Kings defense is unmistakably bad in the macro, they have some notable defensive threats in the micro. The Mavericks took care of the ball well enough against Indiana and Brooklyn; if they can stave off Keon Ellis and Russell Westbrook, they should cruise to a three-game win-streak relatively easily.
The new guys continue to contribute
When Anthony Davis was traded to the Washington Wizards at the beginning of February, the return of Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Tyus Jones, and Marvin Bagley III was considered by many to be largely incidental. And while that may still turn out true – Khris Middleton is reportedly still considering the prospect of a buyout – the new Mavericks are nonetheless contributing in the meantime. Marvin Bagley III is perhaps the stand-out here: he went for 22 against the Nets on Tuesday, leading the team in scoring in only 20 minutes of play. Against the Timberwolves and Pacers before them, he led the team in rebounds, filling a much-needed role in given the team’s dearth of healthy centers. If he continues to play as he has, he’ll make an outsized impact against Sacramento – hell, he might even convince the Dallas front office he’s a longer-term piece.
Not to be forgotten, Khris Middleton has also played some meaningful minutes for Dallas recently, putting up 18/6/2 against Minnesota and 23/9/2 against Indiana. Though there’s a chance he won’t play against the Kings – Middleton left Tuesday night’s game early with a shoulder stinger – his presence is a reminder that this Dallas team has some fresh tools to play around with.
Injuries are like opinions: everyone has one
Speaking of leaving the game early, P.J. Washington also exited late Tuesday night with an apparent ankle injury. Nothing definitive has been announced yet – but alongside Middleton’s shoulder, and Cooper Flagg’s lingering midfoot sprain, the Mavericks could be missing three key pieces headed into Sacramento. Taking Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II into account as well, that’s a whole starting lineup that is potentially riding the bench for Dallas.
Beside their ugly records, this is probably the most compelling symmetry between Sacramento and Dallas. The Kings, too, have multiple key players out for the year: De’Andre Hunter had surgery this season to repair a detached retina; Zach LaVine, to repair a torn tendon in his hand; Domantas Sabonis, to repair a torn meniscus. Likewise, a few more are game-time decisions: rookie center Dylan Cardwell suffered a left ankle sprain a few days ago, and guard Devin Carter is dealing with lingering back soreness.
Call it tanking, or call it preparation for next season – whatever the case, the main story of this Mavericks-Kings matchup is whether either team can be anything more once their star players are healthy.
The road ahead
After Sacramento, Dallas enjoys two more games at home, facing off against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then, they’re back on the road for most of the first two weeks of March.
How to watch (or listen)
The Dallas Mavericks host the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, February 26 at 7:30 PM CT. The game will will be streamed live on MavsTV as well as broadcast on KFAA/WFAA. As usual, fans can also tune in at 97.1FM KEGL (English) or at 99.1FM KFZO (Español).
