The Dallas Mavericks host the New Orleans Pelicans in their third contest of the preseason. It’s the first game in the United States after playing the Houston Rockets twice in Macao last week. The Pelicans played the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat last week in their effort to tune up before the start of the regular season. Be aware of the new start time for home games that aren’t on national television. We all get to go to bed a little earlier (unless you’re not in the Western Hemisphere).
Here’s what you need to know before the game starts:
- WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs New Orleans Pelicans
- WHAT: First home game of the preseason
- WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
- WHEN: 7:00 pm CST
- HOW: NBAtv or KFAA
While there is no official injury report yet, here’s what I’ve been able to deduce: Dereck Lively isn’t playing, as he’s still recovering from the surgery that ended his year last season. I don’t expect Santi Aldama to play either, though he’s been ramping up in practice due to his offseason knee procedure. Morez Johnson and Kyrie Irving each split games in Macao, but I expect both to at least see the floor tonight. Marcus Sasser is dealing with an abductor injury, so don’t expect to see him either.
UPDATE: EVERYONE I WANT TO WATCH ISN’T PLAYING. COOL COOL COOL
Obviously, offseason isn’t about winning or losing; it’s about seeing what you have against different competition and not getting hurt. My recommendation for tonight is to watch the various two and three-man actions that happen on offense. The team has raved about head coach Dusty May’s offensive mind so far in preseason; let’s see who he has working together.
If you’re checking out this post, it’s for one of two reasons:
- Injury report news
- Discussion and comment thread
If you’re part of the former, please consider signing up for an account. You get way fewer ads and you can comment on things! If you’re part of the latter group: GO GET THE APP. I’m serious. The app has some real time features specifically for game threads like this one and you can comment and get notified really, really easily. It’s part of what’s keeping this whole series of sites going. So go do it for us and in doing so, you’ll see why the experince is simply better.
Consider joining Josh and me on Pod Maverick liveafter the game on YouTube; we will be going live tonight after the game.
