Dallas, TX – Who doesn’t like story lines? I sure do, and there are plenty of them heading in to tonight’s game between our Dallas Mavericks (30-27) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (40-16). The Mavericks are tied for the sixth spot in the Western Conference with Portland, and are in front of Utah by 1.5 games and Houston by one game. We also have the newest acquisition, David Lee, playing in his first game with the Mavericks. The Thunder are coming off a disastrous blowout loss to Cleveland on Sunday, so they should be fired up and ready to go as well.
The Mavericks took care of business Sunday when they took down the young and inexperienced Philadelphia 76ers squad. It was their biggest win of the season in terms of point differential. Despite having a tough one tonight, the Mavericks schedule is very favorable over the next 10 games. They only play two road games and one back-to-back in that time. They need to take advantage of this stretch, and find a way to separate themselves from the bottom of the Western Conference playoff contenders and climb up in the standings.
| Date | Opponent (Preview) | Result (Recap) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, October 26 | @ Indiana Pacers | L 121-130 (OT) | 0-1 |
| Friday, October 28 | vs Houston Rockets | L 98-106 | 0-2 |
| Sununday, October 30 | @ Houston Rockets | L 92-93 | 0-3 |
| Wednesday, November 2 | @ Utah Jazz | L 81-97 | 0-4 |
| Friday, November 4 | vs Portland Trail Blazers | L 95-105 | 0-5 |
| Sunday, November 6 | vs Milwaukee Bucks | W 86-75 (OT) | 1-5 |
| Tuesday, November 8 | @ LA Lakers | W 109-97 | 2-5 |
| Wednesday, November 9 | @ Golden State Warriors | L 95-116 | 2-6 |
| Monday, November 14 | @ New York Knicks | L 77-93 | 2-7 |
| Wednesday, November 16 | @ Boston Celtics | L 83-90 | 2-8 |
| Friday, November 18 | vs Memphis Grizzlies | L 64-80 | 2-9 |
| Saturday, November 19 | @ Orlando Magic | L 87-95 | 2-10 |
| Monday, November 21 | @ San Antonio Spurs | L 9-96 | 2-11 |
| Wednesday, November 23 | vs LA Clippers | L 104-124 | 2-12 |
| Friday, November 25 | @ Cleveland Cavaliers | L 90-128 | 2-13 |
| Sunday, November 27 | vs New Orleans Pelicans | W 91-81 | 3-13 |
| Wednesday, November 30 | vs San Antonio Spurs | L 87-94 | 3-14 |
| Thursday, December 1 | @ Charlotte Hornets | L 87-97 | 3-15 |
| Saturday, December 3 | vs Chicago Bulls | W 107-82 | 4-15 |
| Monday, December 5 | vs Charlotte Hornets | L 109-101 | 4-16 |
| Wednesday, December 7 | vs Sacramento Kings | L 120-89 | 4-17 |
| Friday, December 9 | vs Indiana Pacers | W 111-103 | 5-17 |
| Saturday, December 10 | @ Houston Rockets | L 109-87 | 5-18 |
| Monday, December 12 | vs Denver Nuggets | W 112-92 | 6-18 |
| Wednesday, December 14 | vs Detroit Pistons | L 95-85 | 6-19 |
| Friday, December 16 | @ Utah Jazz | L 103-100 | 6-20 |
| Sunday, December 18 | vs Sacramento Kings | W 99-79 | 7-20 |
| Monday, December 19 | @ Denver Nuggets | L 117-107 | 7-21 |
| Wednesday, December 21 | @ Portland Trailblazers | W 96-95 | 8-21 |
| Friday, December 23 | @ LA Clippers | W 90-88 | 9-21 |
| Monday, December 26 | @ New Orleans | L 111-104 | 9-22 |
| Tuesday, December 27 | vs Houston Rockets | L 123-107 | 9-23 |
| Thursday, December 29 | @ LA Lakers | W 101-89 | 10-24 |
| Friday, December 30 | @ Golden State Warriors | L 108-99 | 10-24 |
| Tuesday, January 3 | vs Washington Wizards | W 113-105 | 11-24 |
| Thursday, January 5 | vs Phoenix Suns | L 102-95 | 11-25 |
| Saturday, January 7 | vs Atlanta Hawks | L 97-82 | 11-26 |
| Monday, January 9 | @ Minnesota Timberwolves | L 101-92 | 11-27 |
| Thursday, January 12 | @ Phoenix Suns | W 113-108 | 12-27 |
| Sunday, January 15 | vs Minnesota Timberwolves | W 98-87 | 13-27 |
| Tuesday, January 17 | @ Chicago Bulls | W 99-98 | 14-27 |
| Thursday, January 19 | @ Miami Heat | L 99-95 | 14-28 |
| Friday, January 20 | vs Utah Jazz | L 112-107 (OT) | 14-29 |
| Sunday, January 22 | vs LA Lakers | W 122-73 | 15-29 |
| Wednesday, January 25 | vs New York Knicks | W 103-95 | 16-29 |
| Thursday, January 26 | @ Oklahoma City Thunder | L 109-98 | 16-30 |
| Sunday, January 29 | @ San Antonio Spurs | W 105-101 | 17-30 |
| Monday, January 30 | vs Cleveland Cavaliers | W 104-97 | 18-30 |
| Wednesday, February 1 | vs Philadelphia 76ers | W 113-95 | 19-30 |
| Friday, February 3 | @ Portland Trailblazers | W 108-104 | 20-30 |
| Monday, February 6 | @ Denver Nuggets | L 110-87 | 20-31 |
| Tuesday, February 7 | vs Portland Trail Blazers | L 114-113 | 20-32 |
| Thursday, February 9 | vs Utah Jazz | W 112-105 (OT) | 21-32 |
| Saturday, February 11 | vs Orlando Magic | W 112-80 | 22-32 |
| Monday, February 13 | vs Boston Celtics | L 111-98 | 22-33 |
| Wednesday, February 15 | @ Detroit Pistons | L 98-91 | 22-34 |
| Friday, February 24 | @ Minnesota Timberwolves | L 97-84 | 22-35 |
| Saturday, February 25 | vs New Orleans Pelicans | W 96-83 | 23-35 |
| Monday, February 27 | vs Miami Heat | W 96-89 | 24-35 |
| Wednesday, March 1 | @ Atlanta Hawks | L 100-95 | 23-36 |
| Friday, March 3 | vs Memphis Grizzlies | W 104-100 | 25-36 |
| Sunday, March 5 | vs Oklahoma City Thunder | W 104-89 | 26-36 |
| Tuesday, March 7 | vs LA Lakers | W 122-111 | 27-36 |
| Friday, March 10 | vs Brooklyn Nets | W 105-96 | 28-36 |
| Saturday, March 11 | vs Phoenix Suns | L 100-98 | 28-37 |
| Monday, March 13 | @ Toronto Raptors | L 100-78 | 28-38 |
| Wednesday, March 15 | @ Washington Wizards | W 112-107 | 29-38 |
| Friday, March 17 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | L 116-74 | 29-39 |
| Sunday, March 19 | @ Brooklyn Nets | W 111-104 | 30-39 |
| Tuesday, March 21 | vs Golden State Warriors | L 112-87 | 30-40 |
| Thursday, March 23 | vs LA Clippers | W 97-95 | 31-40 |
| Saturday, March 25 | vs Toronto Raptors | L 94-86 | 31-41 |
| Monday, March 27 | vs Oklahoma City Thunder | L 92-91 | 31-42 |
| Wednesday, March 29 | @ New Orleans Pelicans | L 121-118 | 31-43 |
| Friday, March 31 | @ Memphis Grizzlies | L 99-90 | 31-44 |
| Sunday, April 2 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | W 109-105 | 32-44 |
| Tuesday, April 4 | @ Sacramento Kings | L 98-87 | 32-45 |
| Wednesday, April 5 | @ LA Clippers | L 112-101 | 32-46 |
| Friday, April 7 | vs San Antonio Spurs | ||
| Sunday, April 9 | @ Phoenix Suns | ||
| Tuesday, April 11 | vs Denver Nuggets | ||
| Wednesday, April 12 | @ Memphis Grizzlies |
“We just need to seize this opportunity,” said Wesley Matthews, who seemed to shoot his way out of his slump. We just need ‘em. It doesn’t matter if we play these games in Alaska. We need ‘em. It’s too tight right now. I don’t feel that we’re a team that deserves to be in the situation that we’re in, but we put ourselves there, so we’ve got to get ourselves out of it. And we got the best opportunity to do it.”
The Mavericks also have the ability to catch the reeling Memphis Grizzlies. It was announced yesterday that big man, Marc Gasol, underwent surgery to repair his broken foot, and is out for the remainder of the season. The Grizzlies also traded Jeff Green and Courtney Lee before the deadline, so I’m not sure what direction they could go but down.
Tonight is crucial for the Mavericks to set a positive tone in the locker room and throughout Mavs Nation. A win over the Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder would do just that. The Mavericks have lost all three match ups with Oklahoma City this season, so hopefully they can put an end to that trend.
Absolute-LEE A Great Addition:
(Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News)
Despite not playing since January 10th, David Lee will take the floor for the first time in a Dallas Mavericks jersey. While there will certainly be rust, he should prove to be a very solid addition for the Mavericks stretch run.
“I haven’t asked for any promises on anything but being given an opportunity, and the rest is going to be determined by how I play,” said Lee. “I look forward to being able to help us on the glass and offensively and defensively fitting in with a team that’s already done pretty well this season.
The Mavericks hope that Lee can serve where Amar’e Stoudemire helped last season, coming off the bench and causing problems for the opponents. He should help with rebounding, and should provide a scoring option as well. His passing has improved over the years, and he is a proven veteran player who won a championship back with Golden State last season. He still feels as though he still has the same abilities as he did earlier in his career.
“[Last season] in Golden State, unfortunately I had some injury problems and wasn’t able to play a whole lot until the end of the year and I was able to help us win a championship. This year in Boston, for a variety of factors, things weren’t able to work out there. But I think I’m in wonderful shape right now and am really coming in here expecting to make an impact and to help this team win games.”
What To Watch:
Wesley Matthews scored 21 points on 8-12 shooting Sunday night against Philadelphia, but he has done this in the past, only to fall back into a slump. With Chandler Parsons continuing to build on his amazing start in 2016, the benefit of having Matthews return to his shooting form would be a welcome sight for the Mavericks heading into this stretch. When locked in, Matthews can cause real issues for opposing defenses, and really allow the team to be able to spread the floor and attack.
It will also be interesting to see who will be affected by the acquisition of David Lee. Who’s minutes will be decreased, and just what type of rotations will Lee be involved with. While I don’t expect to get all of that information tonight, I think Carlisle will try a multiple of options, and find a way to yet again make another piece fit in this crazy never ending puzzle Carlisle deals with night in and night out.
How To Watch:
Game tips off at 7:30 CT at the American Airlines Center. It will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest as well.
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