The Dallas Mavericks (2-5) will host the New Orleans Pelicans (0-6) Wednesday night in Dallas at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks are trying to claw their way to a .500 record, while the Pelicans just
want a win, any win, anyway they can get it.
Dallas is coming off a loss to the Houston Rockets Monday night. New Orleans will be on the second night of a back-to-back. The schedule favors the Mavericks, but so far this season, nothing has come easy for them. They’ll need to take advantage of the weaker schedule while they can, because in the Western Conference, there are few easy games.
As of this writing, the Mavericks haven’t released their injury report for the game. On Friday, they announced Anthony Davis would miss the next two games and be re-evaluated, so his status is up in the air for Wednesday’s tilt. Dereck Lively II has missed the last four games and Jason Kidd said he would be re-evaluated once the team returned to Dallas. Dante Exum is still injured but listed as a game time decision. The medical staff is having to do a lot of evaluating is the message here.
The Pelicans, meanwhile, were dealt a tough hand with star Zion Williamson being sidelined with a hamstring injury. He’ll be re-evaluated in 7-10 days.
The absence of so many talented players will make it an odd matchup, but the games move on. Here are three things to consider before the game:
Zion Williamson’s absence makes life easier on the Mavericks
Williamson leads the NBA in free throw attempts this season with 11.4 per game. For a decimated Mavericks front court, that makes things much easier. Williamson is the motor of the Pelicans offense, and without him, things will get much tougher for New Orleans. The Pelicans don’t do much well, so taking away one of their offensive strengths pretty much neutralizes their scoring. Dallas just needs to make sure they don’t allow easy penetration to the less talented players they’ll see Wednesday night.
A 3-point barrage is unlikely
We’re still in small sample size theater this early in the season, but the Mavericks are second in the league in 3-pointers allowed (something you can control) and not so coincidentally first in the league in 3-pointers allowed at 9.9 (you really can’t control if the 3-pointers go in, but limiting the attempts helps keep the made number down). The Pelicans, meanwhile, are 18th in the league in 3-pointers attempted, and 24th in 3-pointers made with 11.7 per game.
It’s unlikely we’ll get a weird game where the Pelicans just launch a billion 3-pointers and somehow make enough to win. The Mavericks aren’t allowing teams to get off shots from deep like that, and the Pelicans can’t make them even if they did. So don’t worry about a fluky win by New Orleans Wednesday night.
Limit Jordan Poole
New Orleans’ only real chance of escaping with a win is by Poole having a big game. With Williamson out, the Pelicans will likely turn to Poole to create offense. If the Mavericks guards can contain him, or better yet, tempt him into trying to shoot the Pelicans to a win on his own, they will likely cruise to a win. At 18.3 points per game, Poole is the best scorer New Orleans has that’s healthy.
How to watch
The game will tip at 7:30 p.m. CST on Mavs TV, KFAA 29, and NBA League Pass.
