The Dallas Mavericks (19-35) will try to end their nine-game losing streak as they play the Minnesota Timberwolves (34-22) at Target Center.
After a long and Mavs-less All-Star break, Dallas returns to action against the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, while the Mavericks are back, they will still be without rookie Cooper Flagg, who remains out with a foot injury that forced him to drop out of the Rising Stars game.
For Minnesota, it will mark the start of a second half of the season that will see
Anthony Edwards try to help the Wolves claw their way higher in a tightly packed Western Conference. They are currently sitting in sixth place, just a half-game back of the Houston Rockets and home-court advantage in the playoffs.
The Gobert factor
For a Mavericks team that has struggled with three-point shooting during their losing streak — connecting on just 9.3 threes per game over the last nine contests and shooting a league-worst 34.2% from deep — Gobert’s rim protection presents a significant challenge. Dallas will need to find ways to draw Gobert away from the basket, whether through pick-and-pop actions with P.J. Washington or by attacking in transition before the defense can set. If Gobert is allowed to camp in the paint, the Mavericks’ already limited offensive options become even more constrained.
Gobert, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 11.1 rebounds per game (fourth in the NBA) and shooting an incredible 70.3% from the field, leading the league in field goal percentage.
Losing like it’s 1997
Dallas’ nine-game losing streak is its longest since the 1997-98 season, when they lost 10 straight. That’s a nearly 29-year-old mark, should they hit it. The 90s were not a nice time to be a Dallas fan, so to match a record from those dog days would be a stark indication of Dallas’ season trajectory.
The Mavericks’ nine-game losing streak has been characterized by poor shooting, defensive breakdowns, and an inability to close out competitive games. During the skid, Dallas has been outscored by an average of 12.4 points per game, with their only truly competitive performance coming in the 120-111 loss to Phoenix, where they cut a 31-point deficit to just six late in the fourth quarter.
The absence of Cooper Flagg has been particularly damaging. The rookie was averaging 20.4 points and 6.4 rebounds before suffering a foot injury, and his two-way presence gave Dallas a fighting chance in games against superior opponents. Without him, the Mavericks have relied heavily on Naji Marshall (averaging 16.8 points during the streak) and P.J. Washington to carry the offensive load.
Grievous injury
The idea of seeing Cooper Flagg play with Kyrie Irving has been something nearly every Dallas fan has been waiting to see. Even with the postseason out of reach and the Mavericks’ sights set firmly on ping-pong balls, basketball is still about entertainment, afterall. There’s little denying that watching Flagg play with a guard of Irving’s skillset has the chance to produce some pretty eye-popping highlights, even in a season where Kyrie would have been mostly shakingoff the rust from his ACL injury.
While having Cooper develop his game as a ball handler and offensive initiator, we’ve seen the results when he’s paired with even a replacement-level NBA guard. It speaks volumes that even just playing alongside an undrafted rookie in Ryan Nembhard, Flagg’s production noticeably improves. That’s no shade on Nembhard, he’s a great find and a promising player, but he’s not going to be opening the floor in the same way Kyrie Irving will when those two finally get on the floor together.
How to Watch
Tipoff is at 6:30pm on ESPN
