The Dallas Mavericks will have a short turnaround time as they get ready to face a Memphis Grizzlies team who is having a similarly painful start to the season. Dallas will be on the second night of a back-to-back, but on the bright side, they did win the front half of this one — staying alive in the NBA Cup with a fun, down-to-the-wire game against New Orleans that was probably Cooper Flagg’s best game as a pro.
The Grizzlies are also coming off a win, a 137-96 drubbing of the Sacramento Kings. So,
these may be two teams who are struggling mightily, but they both have at least a little momentum. Or at least don’t have the cloud of a multi-game losing streak hanging over them.
For Memphis, Ja Morant is out and Jaren Jackson Junior will be a game-time decision, so even on tired legs, Dallas will have a puncher’s chance against a depleted Grizzlies lineup.
Rook off
When things aren’t going great in the present, it’s nice to be able to cast your eyes upon the future. There was a big element of that in the game against New Orleans, as Cooper Flagg and Derik Queen were going blow-for-blow down the stretch. There will be a similar dynamic to watch for against Memphis as Flagg takes the floor against one of the bigger rookie success stories thus far this season in the 11th overall pick in Cedric Coward.
On Kia’s latest Rookie Ladder, Coward ranked one rung above Flagg, coming in at two with Cooper at the three spot. (Flagg’s performance against the Pelicans might be cause for some movement there.) Flagg has been looking better and better, and when it comes to rookies, it’s an especially interesting matchup since, like Derik Queen and the Pelicans, Coward and the Grizzlies are in Dallas’ division. What we see could be the beginnings of a decade-long rivalry if both players pan out.
Coward averages nearly 15 points and six rebounds per game, very similar to Cooper’s 16 and six statline. With both teams playing without a number of their go-to starters, expect the rookies to be the focus of the game.
Keep doing what you’re doing
Dallas is coming off of two extremely close games. First, a 2-point loss to the Knicks, then, a 3-point win against New Orleans. In both of them, their opponents were absolutely dreadful from the 3-point line.
New York shot 42 three-pointers but hit only 12, good for just 29%. New Orleans shot much fewer, just 27, and downed an even worse 27% including going 0-for-12 from deep in the second half. With both games turning into nailbiters, it’s easy to see that, if either team had been even league average from deep, they would not have been all that close.
Memphis attempts the 10th-most threes per game this season, taking over 40 per game. If they get hot, (which they did against Sacramento, how else would you get to 137 in regulation) this could get ugly quick. Santi Aldama and Coward had the hot hand in Sacramento, so the Mavs better do what they can to ensure those get doused.
Get right on ball protection
Not only did Dallas get a little luck that New Orleans didn’t shoot well from three, they also somehow managed to win after giving up 20 turnovers to the Pelican’s 13. Memphis this year is one of the worst teams at generating points off of turnovers. They’re only managing 7.8 steals per game, sixth-worst in the league, and generate only 17.5 points off of turnovers, which ranks 20th in the league this season.
Granted, both of those marks are better than what Dallas has managed, but perhaps by going up against a team equally as bad as they are when it comes to forcing the other team into mistakes, they’ll be able to solve some of their own ball security issues that have plagued them this year, and been a big part of why they’ve lost so much clutch games already this season.
How to watch
The game will be on KFAA Channel 29, MavsTV streaming, NBA League Pass, and starts at 7:30 pm local.
