The Mavericks will play their first true road game of the 2025-26 season on Monday. Although it is preseason, it is still a trip they have to make and play basketball on. That means this is the Mavericks’ first opportunity to demonstrate how they perform after a flight. Listen, preseason basketball will test the limits of what you can take away from a game. However, if you decide to tune in to the Mavericks rather than Monday Night Football, here are three things you can expect to see.
A much better Anthony Davis
Assuming the
starters will continue playing significant minutes in the preseason, Davis should be much better than he was on Saturday night. The Jazz are a very large team and, while they took nearly 40 threes a game last season, do not share the perimeter bombers that the Hornets have. Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, and Jordan Clarkson took about 22 of the 40 threes for the Jazz in 2024-25. George is inefficient, Markkanen is not super fast, and Clarkson is now a Knick. The game should be much more paint-oriented than Saturday’s contest, which favors Davis in a big way.
A collection of immovable objects
Utah has five (!) players listed at seven feet. The Mavericks have Davis, Dereck Lively, Moussa Cisse, Daniel Gafford (who is out), and Dwight Powell all listed at 6’10” or taller. Some nights in the NBA, it appears that you or I could go out there and fit in with some of the smaller lineups teams throw out. When Ryan Nembhard is on the floor, basketball is relatable. Unfortunately, Monday is not one of those nights. The teams are going to look big, because they are.
An Ace up the Jazz’s sleeve
My pick for rookie of the year this season is Ace Bailey. I hope Cooper Flagg proves me wrong, but Bailey looked fantastic in his first NBA action against Houston and San Antonio. This will be Dallas’ first look at him, and a good test for Bailey as well. He is uber-talented and greatly under the radar because of weird agent stuff that led to him falling out of the top four picks, as well as the fact that he plays in Utah. Either way, his highlights do not lie. When he is on, he is special. It will be fun to see how Jazz head coach Will Hardy can mold him this year, but first, we get a glimpse at how well he does against Dallas’ size on Monday.
How to watch
The game will tip at 8 PM Central Time and will be available on Channel 29 (KFAA) locally in Dallas as well as on MavsTV. For those out of market, the game will be on NBA League Pass.
