For a moment there, it looked like the Dallas Mavericks might put together a nice little win streak after a rough 4-game skid to end December. But things got ugly late in the 4th against the Utah Jazz
– and now Dallas heads into Chicago starting from square one yet again.
The Chicago Bulls enter Saturday’s game looking for any stability after a whirlwind week. Their Thursday night game against the Miami Heat was cancelled in bizarre fashion (condensation on the court after an unseasonably warm, rainy day in Chicago). Prior to that, the team dropped three in a row, including a very winnable game against the conference-leading Detroit Pistons. In other words, Chicago comes into this contest with unexpected rest and a reason to try.
The Mavericks, on the other hand, aim to close a 3-game road trip strong. This has remained a consistent problem for the team – as pointed out by Mavs Moneyball’s Tyler Edsel, Tuesday’s victory over Sacramento was only Dallas’ fourth road win the entire year. Also hanging over everyone’s heads is the Anthony Davis injury news. In another life, Saturday night might have been Davis’ showcase special for the Bulls front office, but ESPN’s Shams Charania confirmed Friday that the Mavericks’ often-sidelined big man has sustained ligament damage in his left hand. According to reports, he is likely to miss a period of multiple months, well past the February 5 trade deadline.
Davis aside, the Mavericks may also be missing a few key players beyond the usual suspects. P.J. Washington likely remains out with an ankle issue, and Brandon Williams exited early against the Jazz due to illness. The Bulls also have no shortage of injuries – most notable are Josh Giddey (hamstring), Zach Collins (toe), Jalen Smith (concussion protocol), and Kevin Huerter (back).
Here are three avenues for Mavericks success as the team takes on Chicago Saturday night.
Hot three-point shooting from Klay Thompson and Max Christie
The numbers change day-to-day but by pretty much all metrics, the Mavericks are a terrible three-point shooting team. In fact, at the time of writing, they’re the worst team beyond the arc, sitting at a miserable 33.4% for the 2025-2026 regular season. This means that, in essentially every game they play Dallas starts in a massive hole where three-point shooting is concerned. Most days they need help wherever they can find it.
Enter Klay Thompson and Max Christie. Both high volume shooters this year, the former is connecting on 35.3% of his 3-point attempts, and the latter on an impressive 46.6%. They’re the lone bright spots where long-range shooting is concerned – and going up against Chicago, they’ll have the opportunity to show it. The Bulls’ tepid defense is allowing opponents a healthy number of makes beyond the arc this year, roughly 14 per game. Especially if Thompson can keep the energy going – he went 6-for-11 against Utah – there’s reason for optimism. So goes the shooting of these two, so goes the final result on Saturday.
Cutting down on turnovers
Here’s something a little more controllable – the Mavericks desperately need to take better care of the ball. Though they’ve made some improvements as the season has progressed, the team is still far from the ideal, coughing up the ball more than 15 times per night. Things have looked especially ugly in the month of January: in the last three games, they’ve committed 15, 16, and 20 turnovers total, allowing their opponents to easily close what would otherwise be some much wider margins.
No doubt, much of this problem stems from the lack of a true point guard on this Mavericks squad. But Chicago will not be particularly forgiving here – while the Bulls’ team defense is, again, not especially strong, they play with energy — and Tre Jones and Matas Buzelis are crafty enough to punish lazy passing and sloppy ball-handling. Altogether, this means that the Mavericks really need to cut down on the small mistakes on Saturday, and whoever’s bringing the ball up the court needs to keep a very tight handle.
Feeding Cooper Flagg around the floor
This one’s simple. Give Cooper Flagg the ball. It doesn’t matter where he is on the floor – find him, give him the ball. He’s very likely to put it through the hoop.
Seriously, though, the young rookie has gotten noticeably more comfortable from several different spots. There was never much doubt about his abilities in transition and under the hoop, but in the last few weeks, he’s also been knocking down looks from the midrange, above the break, and even in the corner. In fact, Thursday night was a great showcase: not only did he officially connect on two great three-pointers, he also hit another wild shot off a quick inbound pass that was later scratched.
There’s no reason to let this momentum die heading into Chicago. Flagg’s offensive control across the floor has been more than welcome, and his connection with fellow rookie Ryan Nembhard has been something to behold. In short: give Cooper Flagg the ball. It’s a great way to win basketball games.
The road ahead
After Chicago, Dallas heads back home for a four-game homestand against the Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets, and two more against the Jazz (as Kirk Henderson put it, familiarity will breed contempt).
How to watch (or listen)
The Chicago Bulls host the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, January 10 at 7:00 PM CT. The game will will be streamed live on MavsTV as well as broadcast on KFAA. As usual, fans can also tune in at 97.1FM KEGL (English) or at 99.1FM KFZO (Español).
