After completing a season series sweep of the Indiana Pacers on Monday, the Dallas Mavericks (7-4) hit the road once more to start a weekend road trip. That trip starts Thursday, as Dallas visits the Minnesota Timberwolves (8-3). Dallas has won three contests in a row since suffering back-to-back losses against the Kings and Spurs. Meanwhile, the Wolves have been resting since Sunday, when they beat the Utah Jazz at home. Minnesota has won four consecutive contests.
Someone’s streak will come to an
end Thursday night. Before the game tips off, here are a few things to know.
Ball-in
The Wolves have been without Anthony Edwards since he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on October 29th.You might think that has slowed the Wolves down a bit, but in fact has not. Minnesota has won five of six without their franchise cornerstone, with four of the five wins being by double digits. Edwards averaged over 33 points per contest this season, and the Wolves have made up for it in a collective manner.
Some days it’s Lamelo Ball, who is averaging 18 points and six assists per game. Other days, it’s Jaden McDaniels, who is averaging a career best 17 points per game. Other nights, it’s Ayo Dosunmu, who has excelled in his new starting role by averaging 18.1 points per game on nearly 47% shooting from deep. That doesn’t even include defensive stalwart Rudy Gobert, former Warrior Jonathan Kuminga, or bench scorers in Terrence Shannon Jr. or Bones Hyland. Suffice to say, even without their all-world star, these Wolves can still hunt.
Cooper’s conquests
There isn’t a ton that hasn’t already been said about Cooper Flagg. The guy is an unbelievable player already, and there are still levels to go. One of the things that kept flagging (pun intended) during the two-game skid Dallas endured recently was Cooper’s willingness, or lack thereof, to really trust his shot and let it fly from deep. Well, don’t look now, but Cooper has gone six for his last eleven from long range over the last two games. In both of those games, Flagg shot over 60% from the floor. The outside shot opens up so much more inside the arc for him to operate and get downhill. It’ll be worth watching Flagg in this one, as the Wolves have the length on the perimeter and Gobert in the middle to potentially fluster Flagg.
Breaking habit
As I was sitting down to write this preview, I was thinking to myself that Dallas hasn’t beaten Minnesota in a while. What I failed to realize is just how long it’s been. The Mavericks haven’t beaten the Wolves since this game.
As the great man Drake once famously wrote, Nothing was the Same. For the Mavs, yes, old friend Luka Doncic was still around the last time Dallas won a game against Minnesota. Kind of illustrates just how drastically different directions these franchises took since their Western Conference Finals meeting in the summer of 2024. Perhaps these Mavericks can find their winning ways once again against the Wolves.
How to watch
KFAA Channel 29 or your Mavs TV app will have you covered locally for this one. Outside of Dallas, NBA TV will have the broadcast. The radio broadcast will be on KRLD 105.3 The Fan. Tipoff is scheduled for just after 7:00 p.m. CT from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
